Table 1.

Triage system in Hong Kong

Category	Patient’s condition	Target response time and staff actions
1. Critical	∙Suffers from a life-threatening condition(s) caused by a major event	∙ Immediate for all cases
	∙With unstable vital signs requiring immediate resuscitation	∙ Direct patient to resuscitation room
		∙ Attend patient immediately by a team comprising medical and nursing staff
2. Emergency	∙ Suffers from a potentially life-threatening condition	∙ <15 min for 95% of cases
	∙ Borderline vital signs but with potential risk of rapid deterioration	∙ Direct patient to resuscitation room / treatment cubicle
	∙ Requires emergency treatment and immediate continuous close monitoring	∙ Require medical attention and immediate continuous close monitoring within 15 min
3. Urgent	∙ Suffers from a major condition with potential risk of deterioration	∙ <30 min for 90% of cases
	∙ Stable vital signs	∙ Direct patient to cubicle
4. Semi-urgent	∙ Suffers from acute but stable condition(s)	∙ Direct patient to cubicle/walk-in clinic
	∙ Stable vital signs
	∙ Can afford to wait some time without serious complications
5. Non-urgent	∙ Suffers from minor and stable condition(s) (including acute and non-acute conditions)	∙ Direct patient to walk-in clinic
	∙ Can afford to wait without deterioration	∙ Remarks
	∙ Stable vital signs	∙ Conditions can be treated in primary health-care facilities
		∙ Should be based on clinical judgement only. Economic, social factors and availability of facilities should not be taken into consideration