What an advice-first SPOA model delivers in dermatology
From March 2025 to May 2026, a Trust running its routine dermatology pathway through Consultant Connect’s Advice & Refer approach has managed more than 8,000 cases through a single advice-first front door. 58% were returned to the requesting clinician with specialist guidance – no referral, RTT clock, or outpatient appointment needed.
Each advice-first case saves around eight minutes of clinical time and four minutes of admin time. Across 8,000 cases, that’s more than 1,000 clinical hours, freeing up 142 days of consultant capacity for patients who genuinely need to be seen in clinic, with a further 71 admin days saved.
58% of cases were treated without the need for an outpatient appointment. An estimated 142 clinical days were saved through reduced referrals and easier case review, creating a sustainable front door.
What’s making it work?
Three components of Consultant Connect’s Advice & Refer infrastructure underpin these results, working together across the dermatology pathway.
Structured referral templates that improve quality
Structured requests, specialty-specific templates, and rapid turnaround are built to meet the five-day response standard and drive the quality that delivers a 58% return-to-requester rate.
Optimised triage tool
A clinician-facing interface that makes submitting and reviewing advice requests 2–4x faster with direct EPR integration and a unified attachment view built around how clinicians actually work.
Out-of-area NHS consultants
Remote NHS consultants from Consultant Connect’s National Clinical Network provide flexible, scalable capacity. Operating under local clinical leadership and following local protocols, they integrate seamlessly into existing pathways, scaling up to clear backlogs and stepping back once the system runs sustainably.
The case for acting now
With the 92% RTT standard set for 2029 and A&G compliance now a monitored requirement, the question is no longer whether an advice-first model works in dermatology; this data answers that. The question is whether your system has the infrastructure to replicate it. Consultant Connect’s platform is also built to align with the NHS’s planned e-RS developments, meaning this solution will continue to work seamlessly as the national referral infrastructure evolves.
If you’d like to see how this translates to your dermatology pathway and broader SPOA scope, we would be happy to discuss this approach with you.
