Case study: Total triage

Enhancing patient access at Peel Hall Medical Centre

In 2023, Peel Hall Medical Centre moved to total triage to enhance access and drive digital change in line with CQC expectations.

Since then, the practice has resolved 96% of patient requests within 48 hours, cut calls to reception by a quarter and improved satisfaction levels for both patients and staff.

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Before: frustration and low morale

Peel Hall Medical Centre serves a diverse population of 9,547 patients in Manchester. After contacting the practice, a patient would previously receive an appointment on a first-come first-served basis – often with limited information noted about their needs.

This system put a strain on clinical capacity, leaving staff demoralised and patients frustrated – so much that the team decided to take a step back in 2023. After analysing the pain points of their existing triage system, the team moved to a new 'total triage' way of working.

Patients would queue to book in for appointments and then half an hour later, there would be no appointments left, resulting in patient complaints and staff being mistreated.

Jang Bakhat, Business Manager, Peel Hall Medical Centre

You need to find balance for meeting demand with supply. We overcame these apprehensions by ensuring that all staff were on board and part of the transformation process. We thought we’d be overwhelmed [with Patient Triage requests] but this wasn’t the case.

Jang Bakhat, Business Manager, Peel Hall Medical Centre

After: how the practice uses Accurx for total triage today

For their new total triage system, Peel Hall chose to use multiple Accurx products together. While the team had previously had some use of Patient Triage, they now made a coordinated push to embed the product in their workflows and encourage patients to complete requests themselves.

The practice uses Self-Book to get patients quickly booked in for appointments – in particular COVID vaccinations. They send patient questionnaires to capture information such as BP readings and use SMS messaging to resolve some requests remotely, without the need for an appointment. To channel demand online, Peel Hall have also set up an automated workflow which lets patients in their phone queues request a Patient Triage link to be sent to them.

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Happier staff, better patient satisfaction and more efficient care

The practice has seen a substantial uplift in patient satisfaction, with a more timely service and enhanced access for patients.
Staff are enjoying better morale, with fewer patient complaints and a simple, intuitive system for patient communication.
Peel Hall can now manage all inbound patient requests on the same day, helping make the 8am rush much more manageable.

Impact

96% of requests

are resolved within 48 hours

24% less calls

since switching to total triage

87% patients

find Patient Triage easy to use

Dr Selvarajah’s team have made huge strides since moving to total triage at St Andrews.

Peel Hall are in good company...

Across the country, more practices are using Accurx to implement a total triage model of care. See staff at St Andrews Health Centre tell their total triage story.

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Accurx has been priceless in improving communication between patients and our staff. This expedites the patient journey through primary care by them getting the care they need quicker. If you want to improve your metrics and patient experience and reduce pressures on your staff then do this.

Jang Bakhat, Business Manager, Peel Hall Medical Centre

Accurx is very useful for creating our own templates with specific links to websites we use frequently e.g. Asthma UK, Oxford Vaccine Group and cervical screening websites.  

It saves time to message patients with results or arrange appointments without needing to phone, and saves patients from calling back in.

Sister Mandy Hine, Practice Nurse, Peel Hall Medical Centre

I use Accurx frequently to message patients, and find it a quick, effective and reliable method of communication. Patients also seem to find it easy to use and appear satisfied with the ways we've implemented it into our service provision.

Dr E Dayan, GP, Peel Hall Medical Centre

I'm a big fan of accurx. I find it really useful for texting patients information, whether about their medication, negative results, reminders or how to book an appointment. It's helpful when doing routine prescribing and you can ask a patient to reply with a photo if need be. It definitely makes life easier.

Dr F Greenslade, GP, Peel Hall Medical Centre

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