Most of the hospitals around the world rely on hospital emergency codes to describe the emergency situation in the hospital. If you have noticed that hospital intercoms have unfamiliar codes and responses which might be unfamiliar to patients and visitors, but each hospital has different codes to handle the emergency situation. And today, in this article you will get to know about the different types of hospital color codes, their meaning, and their benefits.
Hospital Codes Lists and its Meaning
- Code Blue
Critical Medical Emergency
Code Blue is officially used to describe the critical situation of the patient. This code will let the hospital know about the patient’s situation and their needs. Most hospitals will have a preassigned medical attender for a code blue. Usually, this code blue represents
- Cardiac Arrest
- Mental status changes
- Chest Pain
- Presyncope
- Code Red
Fire Emergency
Code red alerts the hospitals and the staff about the fire evacuation or probable fire. In order to respond to this code hospitals and staff must follow fire protocols. This code red will often come along with the fire location so that it will be easy to put off the fire. For code red also they may have many preassigned medical attendees to take care of the patients who cannot move of their own will.
- Code Pink
Infant or child abduction
Code pink or purple is used to describe a missing child or child abduction. Some hospitals use code pink especially to alert the infant abduction. This code gives complete information about the missing child from its outfit color to whom they were seen with and when they were last seen. During code pink and code purple, the hospitals will be on complete lockdown to ensure nobody leaves the hospital.
- Code Orange
Hazardous material or spill incident
Code read goes off when the hazardous material or fluid is spilled in the hospital. On the other hand, some hospitals use code orange to deal with violent patients.
- Code Silver
Active shooter
Code silver is used to warn the hospital members about the active shooter in the hospital. This code silver will describe the current location of the active shooter and his appearance. During this code, the hospital members will activate the shooter’s protocol by enabling security codes and evacuating the specific location.
- Code Green
Emergency activation
Code Green will activate the emergency evacuation system in the hospital. The emergency evacuation and activation system undergoes many categories of the hospital. During code green, everyone in the hospital is asked to return to their neighborhood or safer place.
- Code Black
Bomb Threat
Code Black goes for a bomb threat. When this code implies everyone in the hospital will get alert. This code allows everyone in the hospital to search for a suspicious item that has appeared in the hospital before the past few hours.
Despite the above-mentioned codes, each hospital has different codes. This code allows hospitals and its staff to act quickly during emergency situations. Codes are part of hospital culture and it remains useful for decades. This code may vary depending on the state and its preferences. There are even hospital number codes that also represent the emergency situation of the hospital and patient.
