5- The importance of triage and prioritisation

Question 1

Define triage

Answer 1

Process of quickly examining patients who are taken to, to decide which ones are the most seriously ill and must be treated first (group)

Process of examining problems in order to decide which ones are the most serious and must be dealt with first

Question 2

3 cases come in as an emergency
- RTA dog
- Cat mouthing breathing
- Unresponsiveness animal (gdv)

What should be prioritised?

Answer 2

Place cat in an oxygen cage somewhere quiet

Then decompress stomach & start fluids on unresponsive animal

then can look after RTA

Tough problem

Question 3

What is the difference between a primary and a secondary survey

Answer 3

A primary survey should always be conducted first and is designed to detect and further prevent life-threatening injuries. A secondary survey is designed to be conducted once the patient is relatively stable and includes fact-finding about what may have happened to the patient.