Telephone triage for frontline staff and reception staff

  • LEAD event

Improve reception team members' confidence in advising patients and signposting them to colleagues within the practice team or external care providers.

 

Target audience:Front line reception staff
Time:9:30am-1:00pm

Allow 10 minutes before the start of the session for registration and AV equipment check

Delivery mode:Virtual: MS Teams
Cost:
  • £95 per delegate (inclusive of VAT) for attendees from Londonwide practices.
  • £120 per delegate (inclusive of VAT) for attendees from practices from other areas.
Overview:General practice is embarking on a transformational journey – a journey that is re-evaluating the people – the clinical resources it has, the processes – how it deploys those resources and the technology – the mechanisms by which it manages the engagement with the patients.

Frontline staff will also actively manage requests for GP appointments and safely redirect inappropriate GP consultations to the most appropriate care providers.

Key objectives:The key objective of Telephone Triage is to help patients access the right care at the earliest opportunity – and in a way that provides them with flexibility, convenience, security, a sense of ownership and the stimulation to invest in their wellbeing. There are numerous drivers for this patient centred approach and outcomes will include a more streamlined workload for GPs, ACPs and other members of the team in carrying out front line triage. The aim to drive further practice efficiencies in terms of access to services and patient satisfaction. It will achieve this by releasing valuable clinical time.

Telephone triage and signposting can present a challenging cultural shift for some teams and individual team members – and we will explore the mechanisms to help make the change as smooth as possible – some of this will build on the existing understanding, within the practice, of the need to change and a realisation of the benefits these changes can have.

Telephone Triage is an essential patient engagement technique that will further develop the skills and career paths of non-clinical staff – frontline GP practice staff, who will move away from a passive role and have a more direct impact on patient health outcomes. The skills and abilities needed to undertake telephone triage and the necessary signposting are valuable in other new non-traditional roles such as Document Management, HCA and Care Navigation. After this web workshop, staff will be confident in handling the triage call, in advising and referring patients to care providers who work either within the practice team or to external care providers.

Telephone triage and signposting can present a challenging cultural shift for some teams and individual team members – and we will explore the mechanisms to help make the change as smooth as possible – some of this will build on the existing understanding, within the practice, of the need to change and a realisation of the benefits these changes can have

Course aims:By the end of the workshop delegates will be able to:

  • Realise the impetus
  • Promote the benefits to patients
  • Work as a team with all practice staff
  • Keep patients and staff safe
  • Understand clinical and non-clinical triage differences
  • Gain the skills and confidence in triage
  • Incorporate care navigation and signposting
  • Develop effective communication strategies
  • Engage in processes for improving systems
  • Be involved in the implementation and development
  • Help them formulate a ‘plan of action’ for their role
Format:Practical exercises that will require the attendees to think about a situation that they have previously encountered and to think about how they dealt with it and what they would do differently.