Triage is the place most patients will first meet members of the A&E staff. A senior nurse will see and assess most patients within 15 minutes of their arrival in the A&E department. The Nurse will asign each patient a 'triage Category'. There are 5 categories

This means that patients are seen in order of seriousness of their illness, not in order of arrival Some Triage nurses can also prescribe Painkillers and order X-Rays.