Referral Triage and Validation Service
Increase diversion rates, decrease waiting lists: Switch on remote NHS consultants
Accelerate Elective Recovery with remote NHS consultant-led support
When local consultant capacity is limited, hospitals can rely on our Referral Triage and Validation service to manage referral backlogs and new demand.
Delivered by our National Consultant Network (NCN) of NHS consultants, covering all main elective specialties, the service provides remote, consultant-led triage and validation at scale. Acting as virtual locums, the consultants follow local pathways and protocols under the guidance of clinical leads.
Proven results across specialties
Over 90,000 referrals triaged to date, reducing waiting lists by an average of 39% through patient management plans. The service covers all main elective specialties, including:
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- Cardiology
- Dermatology
- Diabetes & Endocrinology
- Elderly Care
- ENT
- Gastroenterology
- General Surgery
- Gynaecology
- Haematology
- Neurology
- Ophthalmology
- Paediatrics
- Renal
- Respiratory
- Rheumatology
- Trauma & Orthopaedics
- Urology
- Vascular
High volume and high impact specialties include:
Key benefits
- Rapidly reduce referral backlogs and ensure new referrals are sent down the correct pathway first time
- Scalable capacity: switch on/off as required
- 100% outcome reporting and full audit trail
- Supports elective recovery targets
- Frees up consultant time for urgent and complex cases
- Ensures triage consistency across pathways
- Identifies upgrades, downgrades, and redirections quickly
- Generates data insights to improve referral quality/trends
- Seen by the right service first time
- Fewer unnecessary hospital visits and shorter waits
- Clear management plans or reassurance on discharge
- Continuity of care delivered by NHS consultants
Feedback from the NHS…
‘Consultant Connect supported Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust to cast a fresh eye over referrals coming into the service and better understand the source of referrals and, consequently, their understanding of community paediatrics.’
‘Directing referrals to the appropriate clinic, upgrading or downgrading referrals and offering advice and guidance ensures that the patient is in the right place first time. It makes best use of finite resources, maximises treatment in primary care and avoids waste.’
‘One clear benefit of the work is in the management of clinical risk as it’s capturing the upgraded patients to 2WW as all cases are now triaged.
Where appropriate, the service has provided plans to the GP to enable treatment to commence prior to attending for their first appointment.’
‘As an ICB, we have worked closely with Consultant Connect and our Provider Organisations for referral validation and triage. Consultant Connect are a responsive and professional organisation. They have gone out of their way to provide timely support and services to set this project up. They have always been flexible to our needs, working around our systems and processes to help deliver our projects. Their team of staff are friendly and knowledgeable and always engage to provide the best service possible. They deliver a service in the background that has assisted us to improve the delivery of our services and ultimately more timely care to our patients.’
Ready to reduce your waiting lists?
