We recently revealed the impressive impact of a ‘front door’ approach to triaging over 1,000 referrals across ENT and Urology for a Trust in the North of England.
Following the success of the triage work, the same Trust asked us to support them with a pilot project, looking at patients who have been on the ENT waiting list for 50-60 weeks.
The initial pilot covered 200 patients on the ENT waiting list, and 39% of patients were returned to clinicians in Primary Care with written Advice & Guidance.
A full breakdown of the outcomes is as follows:
- 39% of referrals were returned to clinicians in Primary Care with written Advice & Guidance
- 34% of referrals were booked into diagnostics, and a face-to-face routine outpatient appointment arranged
- 19% of referrals were booked directly into a routine outpatient appointment, without additional diagnostics needed (face-to-face for 17% of cases and via a telephone consultation for 2%)
- 5% of referrals were accepted into ENT/Audiology
- 2% of referrals were booked into diagnostics only
- 1% of referrals were marked as urgent and prioritised for a face-to-face consultation without additional diagnostics being needed
The triage work resulted in a clinically validated and prioritised waiting list, ensuring that 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.
As a result of the pilot, we are also supporting the Trust by triaging an additional 200 patients who are on the 50-60 week waiting list.
If you have any questions or would like more information about how our Referral Triage service could support your area, call us on 01865 261 467 or email hello@consultantconnect.org.uk
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