Low compliance with a validated system for emergency department triage

Bispebjerg Hospital has introduced a triage system at the Emergency Department (ED) based on "primary criteria" and a physiological scoring system named the Bispebjerg Early Warning Score (BEWS). A BEWS is calculated on the basis of five vital signs which are accessible bedside. Patients who have a "primary criterion" or a BEWS ≥ 5 are presumed to be critically ill or severely injured and should be received by a multidisciplinary team, termed the Emergency Call (EC) and Trauma Call (TC), respectively. The aim of this study was to examine compliance with this triage system at Bispebjerg Hospital.