The SAPhTE Study: The comparison of the SAPhTE (Safe-T) workload measurement tool against the current in-service tool within Queensland Health's Emergency Medicine Departments

SummaryBackgroundEmergency Departments need management tools that keep up with the changing demands of the emergency work environment. There is a need for a tool that accurately measures overall Emergency Department demand in real time that can provide predictive ED information and be linked to local escalation strategies.MethodTo test the validity of the SAPhTE scoring matrix as a tool to measure Emergency Department pressures in real time. To achieve this, the relationship between the SAPhTE matrix and other Emergency Department performance indicators were explored.ResultsThe SAPhTE score had a high correlation to the ECHO score, however both scores had a poor correlation to the daily mean number of presentations/admissions.ConclusionThe SAPhTE score is a viable tool for use in the Emergency Department setting, and has the advantage over ECHO in that staffing and environmental factors are reflected within the scoring system.