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Traffic lights for emergency theatre escalation

For any acute hospital, a safe and effective emergency theatre is paramount. Delays in care lead to patient harm.

When emergency cases are booked, they must be able to access theatre in an appropriate time frame. Assessing the operational pressure on the emergency theatre is a complex calculation considerate of the number of cases booked, their acuity, and expected duration. 

The National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA) uses a classification for surgical urgency based on the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) and Surviving Sepsis.1

  • 1: Immediate (<2 hours)
  • 2a: Urgent (2–6 hours)
  • 2b: Urgent (6–18 hours)
  • 3: Expedited (>18 hours).