Total Triage

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Dear Aegis, Medical Patients,

We wish to share some very exciting news about a significant change to our appointment system that will improve the way you receive care from our surgery.

GP practices across the country are moving to a ‘Modern General Practice’ model to make access to care and treatment easier for patients and help improve patient satisfaction. This is a national NHS project, and all general practices must adopt the system by Oct 2025.

From the 04th of September 2025 we are moving to a Total Triage model.

What is Total Triage?

Total triage is a General Practice workflow where every patient contacting a practice first provides some information on the reasons for contact and is triaged before making an appointment.

All patient requests will be triaged by one of our experienced Clinician who the main purpose of the Total Triage model is to:

  • You do not have to call or Queue at 8 0 clock to book an appointment
  • enhance the quality of care our patients receive
  • ensure they are given the most appropriate appointment or advice to meet their needs
  • communicate with patients in a timely way

How does it work?

All patients need to submit their request via the surgery’s website OR using your NHS app and filling the Accurx online consultation form

Once the GP has reviewed your request, you will either receive a call to be offered a same day appointment, receive a self-book link or you might receive a message with advice from the GP.

Please note that in order for the GP to triage your request in a timely manner it is very important to provide detailed and accurate information about your symptoms.

For example, if a patient has a cough, it would be much easier for the GP to triage the request with the following information: ‘I had a cough for 10 days. I have already used over the counter medicine, but it is not helping and in the last couple of days my cough has been worsening, and it feels chestier. I also have a high temperature.’

If the information given is less detailed, such as ‘I had a cough for 10 days’, it makes it harder for the GP to triage and we will need more information.

The Total Triage service will be open Monday to Friday. During the weekend or bank holidays please continue to use the 111 service or call 999 for life threatening emergencies.  

Please note that at times we may temporarily suspend the online triage form to help manage the demand. In these circumstances you will see the following:

  • a message to advise that the Patient Triage is temporarily unavailable and information on when the link will be active again and how to contact the practice another way
  • a message prompting patient to use NHS 111 online, to find a local pharmacy or attend the Urgent Treatment Centre

How does this benefit you?

We know that change can be difficult sometimes, but we are confident that Total Triage will bring many benefits to our patients – for example:

  • Total Triage has been shown to reduce waiting times, and it enables us to attend to your medical needs more promptly.
  • Using digital communication will mean that you can engage with us from the comfort of your home or workplace.
  • Triage ensures that limited healthcare resources are allocated to patients who need them most urgently.
  • Total Triage will address the increasing demand for appointments and reduce the frustration of having to call and be in a long queue at 8am.

If you have any questions or concerns our team is here to guide and support, you.

Thank you for supporting us with this new project.

Sincerely,

Aegis Medical Centre