I need to do triage / be triaged.
TRI-azh — French-origin word, pronounced with a soft 'zh' sound at the end. Widely used as-is in Italian medicine.
Say this when you arrive at the pronto soccorso — the triage nurse will assess your urgency code.
'Triage' is used directly in Italian emergency medicine (borrowed from French/English). 'Fare il triage' = to be triaged. The triage nurse ('infermiere di triage') will assign your urgency code. Be honest about all symptoms — under-reporting can lead to inappropriate codes. The triage nurse is not the treating doctor.
L'infermiera di triage mi ha dato il codice giallo.
The triage nurse gave me a yellow code.
Yellow = urgent, should be seen within 30 minutes
Mi hanno assegnato il codice verde. Quanto aspetto?
They assigned me a green code. How long do I wait?
Green = minor urgency — may wait 1-4 hours in a busy A&E
Ho peggiorato. Posso rifare il triage?
I have gotten worse. Can I be retriaged?
You can always ask to be reassessed if your condition changes while waiting
Italian triage codes are: bianco (white) = non-urgent, can be referred elsewhere; verde (green) = minor urgency; giallo (yellow) = urgent (30 mins); arancione (orange) = very urgent (15 mins); rosso (red) = immediate/life-threatening. Since 2019, Italy has been standardising to a 5-level scale. Triage is performed by trained nurses ('infermieri di triage') who use standardised protocols.