Patient Triage
In November 2022, we started using the Patient Triage platform to allow our patients to be able to access the GP surgery at a time that’s convenient for them. It also means that you won’t have to queue on the phone as soon as the practice opens in order to get an appointment!
The information you submit is sent to a GP inbox, and if routine requests are received before 5 pm, we will be able to give you an outcome to your request within 24 hours.
Why are we moving to Patient Triage?
At The Lawson practice, we are always looking for ways to improve what we do and ensure that we practise as safely as possible. This has become increasingly challenging over the last few years due to the national issues surrounding GP shortages.
The government, to help the GP shortages in the NHS, has funded additional roles: pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, care coordinators, social prescribers and more alongside the traditional nurse practitioners, all of whom we have at the surgery.
We have looked long and hard at what we can do so that our patients have access to their doctor when they need it. It. One such platform that would help us is Patient Triage. This is widely used in many GP surgeries all over the country.
How will Patient Triage Work?
Let me give you some scenarios – you call up asking for a blood test to monitor a medication you are taking, and your neighbour calls up as she needs a letter to be completed by the doctor. Another patient is calling because she is having a drug side effect.
Another may be calling with chest pain and another with issues with ear wax. All of these at the moment are being booked in with the GP, and many of them don’t have to.
This clogs the system and those patients that do need to see a GP are not able to see them.
We have looked long and hard at what we can do so that our patients have access to their doctor when they need it. It. One such platform that would help us is Patient Triage. This is widely used in many GP surgeries all over the country.
Patient Triage Solves This Problem
Once you submit a form, this is then added to a list which a GP reviews. This means we have the most experienced person looking at what you have written and then they can safely ensure you see the right person.
In this way, we hope to be able to reply to your online query within 24 hours.
And, of course, we are aware that not everyone can access the internet or complete the form. Our patient navigators are trained to go through your questions and concerns and complete an eConsult on your behalf over the phone to make sure no one gets left behind.
As you can see only one of the five patients needed to see a GP and this then frees up more capacity with GPs. It means the right patient is seen by the right person.
With our current extended team, your blood test query could be actioned by our patient navigators. Our Medical Assistant could deal with the patient wanting a letter.
The patient with the drug side effects could be managed by our pharmacist. The patient with the chest pain would be seen by the GP, and the patient with the ear wax with the physician associate.
The trouble is most patients don’t ring up and say, ‘Please, can I have an appointment with your medical assistant?’ or ‘Please, could I have an appointment with your physician's associate?’
Most people don’t know what one is, and that’s ok. These are really new roles so they are difficult to get your head around (but be sure that they are robustly supervised by our GPs)