Total Triage: A New Digital System

Nearly every patient is familiar with the 8am daily dash to call their GP for an appointment.

From 1 April 2025, NHS England, the body which manages how health services are run across the country, changed this model for all NHS GP practices in England by introducing a digital ‘Total Triage’ system. Patients now complete a brief online form which can be submitted throughout the day, ideally between 8am-10am daily, describing their symptoms so the GP practice can assess the urgency and nature of treatment required for each patient based on their request. Every request for support or for an appointment from a member of the clinical team is reviewed by an Administrator, Clinician or GP on the day to ensure it is managed in the best and safest way possible.

Moving to this type of digital platform can be daunting for some so while patients get used to it, they can still call or visit the surgery to get help to complete the digital form, and it will be processed in the same way - no-one will lose out. The main benefit is that patients tell their story once and get access to the right clinician at the right time in the right place. We take patient confidentiality seriously and the triage model is built into our Data Protection Impact Assessment and Privacy Policy.

Initial feedback from patients has been positive, notably that moving to digital is the right direction because it reduces the amount of time spent by the patient trying to access an appointment, and it also reduces time spent waiting, sometimes unnecessarily, to see a GP when another member of the practice clinical team is better placed to deal with the problem. Our non-GP clinicians can access a duty doctor if the patient’s health need cannot be met by themselves.

As with all new endeavours, there is more work to be done, and our ambition is great. Excellent quality and accessible general practice remain fundamental to ensuring our patients receive the best possible care as part of the wider NHS system, helping people to stay well and make healthy choices, as well as acting as the front door for referral on to secondary care.