What happens at triage: a naturalistic observational study.

OBJECTIVE: To observe activity and delays at triage in an Emergency Department (ED) using the Manchester Triage System. METHOD: Single-centre naturalistic observational design. RESULTS: 13% patients had observations recorded at triage. 13% of triage interactions were interrupted for an unrelated issue. The mean time to triage was 2.43 min, 0.95 min for patients arriving by ambulance. CONCLUSION: Triage times and experience might be improved by reducing external interruptions to the triage process.