Code yellow in the hospital: a patient is missing
Code yellow signals a missing patient. What the person who notices the disappearance does, and what the rest of the staff does, according to four Quebec facilities.
In the hospital, code yellow starts the search for a patient who is no longer where they should be. The four facilities consulted give code yellow the same meaning.
What code yellow means
- CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal (integrated health and social services centre): "Code yellow is used to signal a missing patient whose disappearance may have consequences for their safety or that of others."
- CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, July 2019: search for a missing patient
- CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal: missing patient
- CISSS des Laurentides, March 2024: patient who has run away
Why speed matters
The CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal explains it: the health and safety of patients are the facility's responsibility. The procedure starts as quickly as possible to reduce the consequences of the disappearance. Any patient who is missing must be reported.
What the person who notices the disappearance does
According to the CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, the person who notices or suspects a disappearance:
- Searches the area
- Raises the alert, or asks someone else to do it
- Alerts their immediate supervisor
- Alerts other staff members nearby
- Dials the internal emergency number with the immediate supervisor's approval, and asks for a pre-alert or an alert depending on the situation
What the rest of the staff does
At the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, staff take part in the search if needed. They give the person in charge of the search any information that can help locate the patient.
The patient care attendant and code yellow
The patient care attendant (PAB) who cannot find a patient reports it according to the procedure of their facility. The facility then decides whether to launch a pre-alert or an alert.
The other codes
Our articles on the other codes: code white, code blue, code pink, code purple and code red. All the colours are gathered in the table of hospital colour codes.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a code yellow in a hospital?
It is the call made when a patient is missing and their disappearance may have consequences for their safety or that of others. Staff search the premises and the facility organizes the search.
What is a code pink?
At the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, code pink signals a newborn or a child in cardiorespiratory arrest. It does not signal a disappearance. Code yellow does that at the four facilities consulted.
What are the hospital colour codes?
The CISSS des Laurentides lists eleven in its March 2024 sheet: white, blue, brown, grey, yellow, silver, black, orange, pink, red and green. The list and the definitions vary from one facility to another. At work, the procedure of your facility is the only one that counts.
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Sources
- CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Introduction aux mesures d'urgence, consulted on October 10, 2026
- CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, Mesures d'urgence, leaflet, July 2019
- CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Présentation des codes de couleur, consulted on October 10, 2026
- CISSS des Laurentides, Mesures d'urgence, quality sheet, March 2024