It is undoubtedly proven that Advice & Guidance (A&G) avoids unnecessary hospital visits. However, for A&G to be truly effective, specialists need to manage the workload and reply promptly and reliably.
As well as helping clear backlogs, triage outcomes highlighted where existing pathways were helping patients access the right care, and where there were opportunities for pathway re-design.
Our Referral Triage and Clinical Validation service uses the expertise of NHS consultants who work remotely as ‘virtual locums’ to triage referral backlogs in bulk and new referrals as they come in.
Our service is unique for a multitude of reasons, including because Telephone Advice & Guidance calls are answered quickly.
In this article, we share examples of how virtual clinical capacities are supporting NHS areas across the UK relieve pressures on local teams and improve patient care.
Consultant Connect’s clinically-led Referral Triage and Validation service supports specialty teams to reduce their waiting list backlogs in bulk and/or new referrals as they come in.
In 2025, Consultant Connect was certified as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces for the year, including one of the UK’s Best Workplaces for Development, in Healthcare, for Wellbeing and for Women.
In this article, we share an example of how our consultant-led Referral Triage and Validation service is being used to reduce neurology waiting lists.
Kat James, Managing Director at Consultant Connect, shares her thoughts on tackling NHS waiting lists and explains how the company is supporting NHS trusts to reduce their waiting lists using remote consultants.
Several Trusts are coming to us for triage capacity support, knowing they are at risk of failing to meet targets – some with 52-week waits back on the scene.