The ATS has five levels of acuity: 2
• Immediately life-threatening( category 1)
• Imminently life-threatening( category 2)
• Potentially life-threatening or important time-critical treatment or severe pain( category 3)
• Potentially life-serious or situational urgency or significant complexity( category 4)
• Less urgent( category 5).
The ATS has been endorsed by the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine 1 and adopted in performance indicators by the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards. 25
Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale( CTAS)
The Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale( CTAS) was officially included in policy throughout Canada in 1997.
The CTAS has been endorsed by the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians and the National Emergency Nurses Affiliation of Canada.
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This scale is very similar to the ATS in terms of time-to-treatment objectives, with the exception of category 2, which is < 15 minutes rather < 10 minutes as in the ATS.
Manchester Triage Scale( MTS)
The Manchester Triage Scale( MTS) was jointly developed by the Royal College of Nursing Accident and Emergency Association and the British Association for Accident and Emergency Medicine.
The MTS differs from both the ATS and the CTAS in that it is an algorithm-based approach to decision-making. 3 The MTS involves the use of 52 separate flow charts that require the decision-maker to select the appropriate algorithm on the basis of the presenting complaint, and then gather and analyse information according to life threat, pain, haemorrhage, consciousness level, temperature, and the duration of signs and symptoms.
The MTS requires standard documentation, and this streamlined approach is believed to save time as the documentation is simplified. In addition, the approach is thought to be particularly beneficial for novice nurses because the decision-making process occurs within very well-defined parameters.
Department of Health and Ageing – Emergency Triage Education Kit