Reaching a hospital during an emergency is only part of the journey. What happens on arrival matters just as much.

How do we ensure that the patient who needs care most is seen first?

Triage helps healthcare workers quickly assess patients and prioritise care by urgency. When triage works well, staff can identify patients with life-threatening conditions and provide the care they need without unnecessary delay.

As part of Emergency Medicine Kenya Foundation’s work to strengthen triage systems and improve emergency departments across Kenya, we conducted this study with county governments across ten public emergency departments in Kilifi, Kwale and Mombasa.

What the Study Found

Nine of the ten emergency departments were performing triage. However, only two were using standardised triage tools. The remaining seven relied on clinical judgement without written triage protocols.

Most departments performing triage already had dedicated triage spaces and essential equipment. This suggests that strengthening triage is not only about infrastructure.

Staffing was a major challenge. Eight of the nine departments performing triage identified staff shortages as a barrier, particularly nurse shortages.

Although respondents across all nine departments believed triage improved patient care, respondents at six departments were dissatisfied with how it was functioning.

Turning Evidence Into Better Emergency Medical Care

The findings have been shared with the Departments of Health in Kilifi, Kwale and Mombasa and are informing ongoing efforts to strengthen triage in public emergency departments.

This work forms part of EMKF’s broader triage programme to improve public emergency departments across Kenya. Working with county governments, we are strengthening the systems, tools, training and data needed to ensure patients are rapidly assessed and prioritised according to the urgency of their condition.

Research is an important part of that process. By understanding how triage functions in practice, we can identify gaps, work with counties to address them and continuously improve the quality of emergency care.

Reaching the hospital matters. Recognising who cannot wait matters too.