ENT triage: 48% of long waiters benefit from management plan

Our Referral Triage and Validation service has been utilised to triage more than 90,000 referrals to date, reducing waiting lists by an average of 38%. The service covers all main elective care specialties, one of the most popular being ENT, where we have triaged more than 12,000 referrals across 10 NHS Trusts.

The project covered more than 12,000 patients on the ENT waiting list, and 48% of patients were removed from the waiting list, freeing up slots for those who need them.

A full breakdown of the outcomes is as follows:

• 24% of referrals were returned to clinicians in Primary Care with written Advice & Guidance
• 23% of referrals were redirected to another service
• 1% of referrals were booked into diagnostics only
• 34% of referrals were booked directly into a routine outpatient appointment, without additional diagnostics needed
• 13% of referrals were booked directly into a routine outpatient appointment with additional diagnostics carried out beforehand
• 5% of referrals were accepted for an urgent appointment

The triage work resulted in a clinically validated and prioritised waiting list, ensuring that the most urgent referrals are seen first at the right service and that those referrals that can be managed in primary care are returned to Primary Care with extensive Advice & Guidance.

If you have any questions or would like more information about how our Referral Triage service could support your area, call us on 01865 951 207 or email hello@consultantconnect.org.uk

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• FAQs – Referral Triage and Clinical Validation for the NHS
• The benefits of Referral Triage
• Referral Triage and Validation Infographic