The total triage model has gained popularity over the years as an easier way to manage rising patient demand in primary care. By gathering information about a patient’s request and triaging to decide if and how an appointment is offered, practices can manage their workload and capacity more effectively. We’ve heard a lot from GPs and administrators about the positive impact this is having on day-to-day workload, but how are patients responding to this change taking place across primary care? We sought to find out.
What is total triage anyway?
With a total triage model, patients are assessed on clinical need, rather than being offered an appointment by default. This means that after triage, only patients who need (or really want) appointments are booked in, whilst the rest have their issues dealt with easily and quickly using digital messaging, or onward referral to another service. Additionally, by promoting digital access, practices can tackle the 8am rush head on, freeing up the phone lines for patients who prefer to get in touch this way.
For example, if a patient has a skin rash, they can submit a photo, answer some questions, and get a prescription sent to the pharmacy, all through a two-way conversation and without picking up the phone or coming in. Aside from being vastly more convenient for patients, it saves a lot of time - replacing a 10-15 minute GP appointment with a two-to-three minute interaction. This means that GPs can treat five times as many patients, and when scaled up across the primary care landscape, is hugely transformative for productivity.
So, this all sounds great in principle, but what do patients think about receiving care from their practice this way?
To answer this question, the annual NHS GP patient survey data (2024), provides some interesting results. Conducted independently by Ipsos, the independent GP Patient Survey is sent out to over two million people registered with GP practices in England to gauge sentiment about access to primary care.
We cross checked the 2024 survey results against our list of Ambassador practices - a group of surgeries that stand out for their best practice delivery of a total triage model with Accurx. Our Ambassador practices run training sessions for peers in primary care who are seeking to get ahead of patient demand.
Thinking of starting your total triage journey? Book a training call here.
The results are in…
Survey data from our Ambassador practices show improvements across various metrics compared to national averages:
The results are interesting. Patients registered with our Ambassador practices find their practice website and the NHS App helped them make contact more easily than patients on average. There was a 20 and 10 percentage point difference in the reported figures for website and NHS App respectively. More patients also reported experiencing faster resolution of requests with a same-day service based on their last contact, (42% vs 22%) suggesting that Ambassador practices are significantly better equipped with the tools and workflows to action requests more efficiently. All other reported metrics were favourable to our total triage Ambassador practices as well.
The positive impact of total triage isn’t just limited to patients. In an October 2023 survey, we found that 81% of practice staff feel better equipped to handle inbound patient demand after switching to an Accurx total triage model, and 50% of staff reported greater job satisfaction. Among the almost 1,000 practices operating an Accurx total triage model, 98% of requests are marked as complete within one day.
Ready to take the leap?
We've partnered with practices across the country that have already trained over 170 practices through our Ambassador scheme to date. Learn from their experiences of implementing this way of working, ask questions and get tips on how to begin your journey.
Our Ambassadors represent various patient list sizes, operating with different clinical systems and workflows. Get tailored support that suits your needs by booking a call here.
Check out our total triage training pack for more on total triage, created in collaboration with our users.