In response to the modern-day pressures faced by the NHS and our patient needs, the Practice will now be transitioning to a total triage model. This approach will enable us to clinically assess patient medical enquiries and ensure you are seen by the appropriate clinician in a suitable timeframe. The clinical triage process will be conducted by a team of clinicians and healthcare professionals to ensure we offer appointments based on medical urgency rather than our demand and availability. By streamlining the triage process, we will significantly reduce hold times on our phone lines, offering a smoother, more efficient experience for our patients.

What is Total Triage?

To summarise, the total triage model will ask patients to provide information about their reason for contacting the practice, which will then be reviewed by a clinician. The patient will be contacted and offered an appointment or signposted to an appropriate service based on this clinical assessment.

Steps to Booking an Appointment at Our Practice – Simple as 1, 2… 3!

Step 1:

Patients or carers will need to provide information regarding their condition/enquiry. They can do this using our preferred method of filling out an online consultation form, which you can find here.

If the patient is unable to complete a form online, they can call or come into the Practice, and our Patient Support Team will fill out a form on their behalf. The receptionist will not be able to book an appointment until an online consultation has been completed and reviewed by a clinical triage team. However, there are some exceptions for our palliative end-of-life care patients and our most vulnerable patients.

Step 2:

The online consultation will be assessed by a clinical triage team who will evaluate your condition/needs. They will then provide a booking timeframe for your appointment or offer information for an appropriate service. If you have submitted your request before 15:30, it will be reviewed the same day. If it has been submitted after this, it will be reviewed the next working day. We will notify all patients the same day we receive your request if we are unable to contact you with an outcome by the end of the day.

Step 3:

The Patient Support Team will contact the patient to offer an appointment or provide the information given by the clinical triage team. This contact will be in the form of a telephone call, self-bookable appointment link, or text message. If your condition is urgent, we will always call the patient, so please make sure you provide up-to-date contact details.

Opening Times

Our online consultation system will be open 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. We will pause the submission of requests daily between 15:30 and 18:30 to ensure we can contact all patients who have submitted a request. Our surgery opening times will not be affected; you will still be able to contact us between 15:30 and 18:30 for urgent enquiries.

Response Time

If you have submitted your request before 15:30, it will be reviewed the same day. If it has been submitted after this, it will be reviewed the next working day. We will notify all patients the same day we receive your request if we are unable to contact you with an outcome by the end of the day.

Your Feedback and Engagement Around Total Triage

During the month of July 2024, we invited patients to participate in engagement sessions around Total Triage. We understand that not all our patients have been able to attend, so please find the presentation discussed along with some frequently asked questions.

• Total Triage – Patient Engagement (PDF)
• Total Triage Patient FAQs (PDF)