Hospital and Telephone Triage (VTQ)™
Course Content
- Course Introduction
- What is Triage?
- Triage in the Medical Setting
- ABCDE and triage
- Active listening
- Analgesia in triage
- Assessing pain
- Documentation and triage
- Establishing patient presentations
- Establishing patient history
- Existing medications
- Managing patient expectations
- Mental health and telephone triage
- NEWS2 and triage
- Computer-based telephone triage
- Triage categories
- Professional considerations
- Ten Second Triage
- Clinical Observations
- Triage Example Scenarios
- Heart Palpitations
- Debrief - Heart palpitations
- Chest pain
- Debrief - Chest pain
- Headache
- Debrief - Headache
- Allergy
- Debrief - Allergies
- Anaphylaxis
- Debrief - Anaphylaxis
- Meningitis
- Debrief - Meningitis
- Vaginal bleeding
- Debrief - Vaginal bleeding
- Ectopic pregnancy
- Debrief - Ectopic pregnancy
- Mental health - Potential suicide
- Debrief - Mental health - Potential suicide
- Mental health - Depression
- Debrief - Mental health - Depression
- Abdominal pain
- Debrief - Abdominal pain
- Testicular pain
- Debrief - Testicular pain
- Urine retention
- Debrief - Urine retention
- Minor arm injury
- Debrief - Minor arm injury
- Lower back pain - Difficult patient
- Debrief - Lower back pain - Difficult patient
- Falls vs collapse
- Debrief - Falls vs collapse
- Head injury
- Debrief - Head injury
- Dental problem
- Debrief - Dental problem
- Eye injury
- Debrief - Eye injury
- Poisoning
- Debrief - Poisoning
- Circumference burn
- Debrief - Circumference burn
- Unknown condition - Possible stroke
- Debrief - Unknown condition - Possible stroke
- Diarrhoea and Vomiting
- Debrief - Diarrhoea and Vomiting
- Rectal bleeding
- Debrief - Rectal bleeding
- Ear, nose and throat
- Debrief - Ear, nose and throat
- Telephone Triage
- Course Summary
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Diarrhoea and Vomiting
Hi. My name is Mark. I'm the triage nurse tonight. Could you just confirm your name and date of birth, please? Yeah. It's Fred Yates, and it's April 16, 1962. Excellent. Thank you. Alright, so just while we are talking, if we can do your blood pressure to save time if that's okay? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. No problem. No problem. Okay. With your left arm, yeah? Yeah. Yeah, it's fine. Relax your arm. Put your finger into there. We do your temperature in your ear here. Okay. That's great then. So what's been happening to you? Well, I've just come back off a cruise. And since I've been back off this cruise, I've had deer beef... Well, I've been sick for about a week. I feel I cannot be sick anymore because all I'm bringing up is a yellow bile from the stomach. I still wretch. I've got... My ribs hurt but I've still got the diarrhoea. I cannot stop. Every time I drink anything, it comes pouring back through me. I'm in a right mess and I don't know want to do. I just feel absolutely crap and I cannot get off the toilet. Okay. If I drink water, I have to sit on the toilet to drink it and I really feel absolutely awful. Headache and I feel sick as a pig. Anything I eat, it either comes out one end or the other. Alright. And shall we take this off of you? Your pulse is quite fast. And how long did you say this has been going on for? Well, I've been back in the UK for just over a week but since I came off the cruise liner, just... I think we called in a service station on the way back and I don't know whether I had some dodgy food or whether it was something I picked up on the boat but I've been sick continually. I just cannot be sick anymore. I'm just fed up of being sick. Okay. Okay and you have a headache and was there anything else? Well, I've just got no energy. I just feel lethargic and I just don't have any energy. I just feel... I don't feel hungry. I just feel awful. Alright. Now, you say you've had diarrhoea? Do you have any blood in your diarrhoea? To be honest with you, not that I've noticed but it's been coming out like water since... For the last few days. It's just been streaming... Any mucus or jelly? Yeah, yeah. I've had some of that coming through. It feels like I've passed the whole of my internal organs out through my back passage at the minute. Alright. So what we need to do is just get you back to A&E. It sounds like you're probably going to be dehydrated. Could you just lift up the skin on your arm like this? Yeah. And then let go. Okay. So that looks like your... It's what we call skin tenting when your skin doesn't return. Yeah. It can be a sign of dehydration if your skin stays that... I'm trying to drink but it just goes straight through me again. Yeah, okay. Let's get you back. I'll get a wheelchair for you and then we'll get you back, get you to see a doctor, because one week's vomiting is quite a long time really. So you are going to be quite dehydrated, I think. Okay. Alright. Now you haven't had any chest pain? No, no, no, pain. My ribs hurt but that's just from the amount of vomiting I've done. I don't feel anything apart from I've just wretched my stomach, my abdominal muscles and my chest muscles from being sick. Okay, alright. We'll get this wheelchair and we'll get you around there. Okay? Okay. Thank you.
Previous lesson
Debrief - Unknown condition - Possible stroke
Next lesson
Debrief - Diarrhoea and Vomiting
Assessment of Gastrointestinal Symptoms: Potential Dehydration
Patient Presentation
Introduction: Hi, I'm Mark, the triage nurse on duty tonight. Could you please confirm your name and date of birth?
Patient Details: Yes, I'm Fred Yates, born on April 16, 1962.
Triage Assessment
Blood Pressure Check: Let's check your blood pressure while we talk to save time. Please use your left arm.
Medical History: Patient returned from a recent cruise and has been experiencing severe symptoms for over a week.
Presenting Symptoms
Gastrointestinal Issues: Patient reports continuous vomiting of yellow bile, ongoing diarrhoea that's watery with mucus, and inability to retain fluids or food.
General Condition: Symptoms include headache, lethargy, and overall malaise.
Further Examination and Action
Dehydration Assessment: Skin tenting observed, suggesting possible dehydration due to fluid loss.
Plan: Immediate referral to A&E for evaluation and likely treatment of dehydration.
Conclusion
Next Steps: Patient will be provided with a wheelchair to facilitate transfer to A&E for prompt medical attention.
Additional Information: No chest pain reported; rib pain attributed to frequent vomiting.
