Brownlow Health
Key stats
- Patient List size: 6 sites across 4 practices in Liverpool CCG (combined list size of 65,00)
- Launched: 2017, but switched to Total Triage in 2019
- Model: Total Triage
Key message:
Brownlow Health were one of the first pioneers of Total Triage, developed in combination with eConsult, and have been using this model since September 2019: In the Total Triage model of care, all requests to the practice come via an eConsultation where possible. This allows the practice to manage the demands of their patients through one, information-rich channel. (Total Triage is now being pushed by NHSE as a blueprint for online consultation).
Brownlow Health has been live with eConsult since 2017. They switched to a Total Triage model of care in late 2019. Having a Total Triage model in place across their sites set them up to handle the challenges that have been brought on by COVID-19.
“Being up and running with eConsult, and having already set up a full infrastructure around our delivery of this, has been massively helpful in dealing with the challenges of COVID-19. As we were already accustomed to dealing with around 1300-1400 eConsults a week from two of our four sites, this has allowed us to be flexible in emphasising a Total Triage model for all of our sites. Due to the pressure to avoid any face-to-face contact that isn’t absolutely necessary we have gone from turning about 40-45% of our eConsults into face-to-face appointments, to managing over 90% remotely. This has been a challenge to our clinicians, but this learning will likely help us develop our skills in the long run.”
Dr Ian Pawson
Brownlow has been using eConsult alongside other resources to deliver a completely digital end-to-end consultation solution for patients. The combination of eConsult and video consultation has allowed them to be confident in dealing with the majority of their patient presentations remotely, which they say would have been impossible a few weeks ago. As eConsult takes a detailed patient history upfront, the information submitted at this first stage allows the team at Brownlow to confidently triage those who do need a follow-up into: telephone, video or face-to-face appointments, and gives the flexibility to plan when this will be: same day or routine.
Thinking of moving to a ‘total triage’ model? Get in touch with our team
“We are all feeling that the impact of COVID-19. The response this has generated already within NHS and particularly primary care is likely to change the landscape of general practice entirely in the future. It feels like we have made years’ worth of progress in a matter of days and I am hopeful we can continue to build on this to consolidate and develop even more intuitive systems, and a way of working that can benefit both patient and doctor.”
Dr Ian Pawson
