AlphaMED Resources · https://alphamedicine.uk/Resources/glossary/triage
Triage
Triage is the sorting of patients by how urgently they need care, so that the sickest are seen first.
Summary
- The word comes from the French for sorting.
- Emergency departments triage patients on arrival, usually into five levels of urgency.
- NHS 111 and GP practices triage by phone and online.
- At a major incident, triage aims to save the most lives with the staff and equipment available.
In practice
- Emergency departments in England are measured on how fast they move patients through. The urgent and emergency care plan for 2025/26 asks for at least 78 per cent of patients to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.
- Calls to 999 are sorted into categories as well. The same plan wants an ambulance to reach category 2 patients within 30 minutes.
In Hong Kong
- Hospital Authority emergency departments sort patients into five categories: critical, emergency, urgent, semi urgent and non urgent.
- The service target is immediate treatment for critical patients, and 95 per cent of emergency patients seen within 15 minutes and 90 per cent of urgent patients within 30 minutes.
- Triage also decides the bill. Since 1 January 2026 an A&E visit costs HK$400, and patients triaged as critical or emergency pay nothing.
Interview questions
- Why are patients in an emergency department not seen in the order they arrive?
- A patient becomes angry that others are being seen before them. How do you respond?
- In a major incident, should a doctor treat the most seriously injured patient first?
Sources
- NHS Englandengland.nhs.uk/…/urgent-and-emergency-care-plan-2025-26
- Hospital Authoritywww3.ha.org.hk/…/a&e.asp
- Hong Kong Governmentinfo.gov.hk/…/P2023101800327.htm
- Hospital Authorityha.org.hk/…/fees_and_charges.asp
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Our interview preparation has you answer questions like these out loud, with feedback on each answer.
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More NHS hot topics, medical ethics case studies and medical school interview questions are in AlphaMED Resources, which we add to and update through the application cycle.