Triage and how it works at WHC

What is Triage & Why is it so Important?

Clinical Triage is the process of assessing patient needs and prioritising care based on urgency, complexity and need for continuity of care.

It’s about delivering smarter, faster and fairer care for every patient. Triage plays a vital rol in addressing many challenges in modern healthcare: It ensures:

• Resources go to those who need them most
• Quick access to the right care helps prevent minor issues from escalating
• It reduces unnecessary appointments saving time for patients and staff.

How it Works at WHC 

The morning triage is shared between the three Partners. The on-call Partner, triages patients via reception staff to the appropriate healthcare clinician. This could result in a Face to Face appointment or telephone call back from one of the clinical team above. It may also result in referral to other services such as community pharmacy (Pharmacy first scheme), Talking therapy services, Self-booking with Maternity services etc.   There is one duty doctor for each morning and each afternoon. In the morning session the triage doctor focuses on triage and is not available for consultations due to the high volume of work.

Our Patient Triage Tool, Accurx

Our Practice uses a patient triage tool called AccurX, which patients can access through this website. If patients are unable to complete the online form, they can telephone the practice or pop in and our reception team follow the same process as patients to fill the forms out on patients’ behalf.