Developing a triage tool for paediatric care.

Most paediatric triage systems used in UK emergency departments (EDs) are adapted from adult tools. Paediatric-specific triage tools have been developed in Australia, Canada and the United States but there is no evidence of a similar tool in use in the UK despite support for its development. Staff at New Cross Hospital, in Wolverhampton, are involved in a project to develop a paediatric-specific triage tool that can be used in EDs, assessment units and walk-in centres throughout the UK. The tool has been piloted in the hospital's paediatric assessment unit already with some success, but is yet to be validated.