Deteriorating Resident Triage Tool

This page provides information about the commissioned program that supported the development of the DRTT tool. To access and use the DRTT tool, please click here.

Aged care residents are often admitted to hospital after hours, when access to GPs, medical advice and additional clinical support can be limited. In some instances, this could be avoided by supporting aged care teams to detect and addressing deterioration earlier or to triage and provide clinical care to the resident at home. The DRTT supports these teams to make confident clinical decisions when assessing, triaging and treating residents as well as a way to communicate consistently with other services, so that residents get exactly the care they need.

The program uses a clinical decision-support and capacity-building approach. The DRTT provides structured symptom guidance, A-G assessment prompts, escalation pathways, ISBAR communication prompts and practice tools. Implementation has been supported through pilot testing in Residential Aged Care Homes accompanied by a series of in person education session, simulated demonstration and online learning modules.

Initially piloted in selected sites, the tool is now available to all Aged Care homes and is widely promoted throughout the region.

A cross sector working party meets regularly to provide insights and guidance in the development and enhancement of the tool as well as its ongoing uptake and evaluation.

Geriatric Care Australia provide clinical governance of the tool along with a pilot program to assess the outcomes achieved through the tool when used in a multi disciplinary way.

The DRTT was developed and refined with input from Geriatric Care Australia, local residential aged care teams, GPs, NSW Ambulance, emergency departments and Local Health District stakeholders, along with the University Centre for Rural Health.

Pilot sites provided feedback to help refine the tool whilst a DRTT working party supports ongoing improvement and uptake.

• Developing and maintaining the DRTT

• Tailored support for Residential Aged Care Homes on how to use the tool through in service, online and on campus education and simulation-based training

• Region wide promotion of the tool

• Embedding tool in integrated aged care outreach services and virtual care models

• Ongoing clinical governance and enhancements

• A Pilot program to evaluate the benefits of the tools when used by multidisciplinary teams

• Evaluation

The DRTT aims to improve RN confidence in managing unwell residents, support consistent and evidence-based clinical decision-making, reduce unnecessary hospital presentations, strengthen communication and escalation between aged care, GPs, ambulance and urgent care services, promote person-centred care aligned with resident goals and Advance Care Directives, and inform sustainable region-wide implementation.