Structural and organisational interventions
| Introduction of a new triage ‘silver code’ | In Italy, a four-colour level triage system is used (in ascending emergency order: white, green, yellow and red). The ‘silver code’ is a priority green code assigned to elderly patients (>70 years) with certain clinic characteristics to ensure shorter waiting times21 22 (see Annex 1 online only) | Organisational |
| Review of criteria for paediatric triage | A multidisciplinary working group established new standards and pathways for paediatric triage to ensure paediatric patient care pathway uniformity, less resource utilisation and more rational pathways to meet the patient needs (see Annex 2 online only) | Organisational |
| Create a new triage room with a dedicated nurse | To accelerate and streamline triage operations, a new position, namely, a ‘welcoming manager’ with management and patient sorting skills, was defined. | Organisational and structural |
| The dedicated nurse is the professional reference for a patient and his/her family. | ||
| Improvement of the waiting room | The waiting rooms were improved by renovating the design (or layout) of facility spaces and increasing the number of facilities23 | Structural |
| Creation of a waiting room specifically for paediatric patients | A paediatric patient waiting room was furnished according to the needs of this age group | Structural and organisational |
| Introduction of volunteers | In the early stages of the project it was decided to define clearly the roles and assigned tasks of volunteers. Volunteer staff training was ensured by developing a course that was organised by the hospital | Organisational |