Total Triage FAQs

Total Triage means that all patient requests for appointments or medical help are reviewed by a clinician before a booking is made.

Instead of calling to book an appointment with a Clinician, you now start by completing a simple online form using Rapid Health.

Rapid Health is a secure online form where you tell us about your health concern including: 

• Main symptom / complaint
• How long it’s been going on
• Any other relevant symptoms or background

It usually only takes 2–3 minutes to complete.

We are introducing this system to:

• Get our patients the right CARE, from the right CLINICIAN, at the right TIME
• Give Quicker Access to the Right Help
• Enable our GPs to Prioritise Urgent Cases
• Save You Time
• Improve Safety and Continuity
• Stop the 8am rush

Visit our website: www.clmp.org.uk

• Use the QR code displayed at the surgery
• Ask our reception team to send you a link by SMS

A GP will review your request and decide the most appropriate action. You might:

• Be called by a Doctor, Pharmacist, Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Paramedic or other clinician
• Be offered a face-to-face appointment
• Receive a text message or prescription
• Be directed to pharmacy or self-care advice

You don’t need to phone us — we will contact you as soon as we can.

If you can’t complete the form for any reason:

• You can call us and our Reception Team will be able to complete the online form with you or call you back to complete the online form at a less busy time for the Practice.
• A trusted friend or family member can complete it on your behalf
• We may be able to assist you in person if needed

All requests must go through the Rapid Health form first. This ensures fair and safe access to all patients. Once reviewed, the Clinician will decide whether a phone call, appointment, or another type of care is needed.

The doctor will always try and call a second time, so please stay near your phone if you miss the first call. If you miss two calls from the doctor, please call Reception at your earliest opportunity and they will arrange for you to re-book an appointment. Please note this may be for another day as your appointment may have been offered to another patient. You may be asked to submit a further request in this case.

Rapid Health prioritises care based on clinical need.

If you believe it is a medical emergency:

• Call 999 or go to A&E
• If urgent but not life-threatening, call NHS 111

No. In fact, many patients are seen faster under Total Triage, because Clinicians can prioritise based on need rather than the order we were contacted.

Yes. We encourage continuity with a regular doctor, and as much as possible we try to accommodate specific requests.

No – we are still offering forms via our website for the following:

• Sick notes
• Medication queries
• Referrals
• Test results
• Letters or reports 

Please check our prescriptions page first as there’s lots of information on there which may answer your question sooner. To talk about medication through Rapid Health, just start a new request and select the option for ‘Cant find what I am looking for.’ Follow the steps and to tell us what you need in the free text section at the end — it only takes a few minutes. Once it’s submitted, the team will review it and get back to you as soon as possible. Please don’t use Rapid Health for prescription requests, see our prescription page to see how to request repeat and acute (one-off) prescriptions.

Please continue to book Nurse appointments with our Reception Team over the phone or in person at the surgery so that we can ensure the correct time is allocated to your appointment.

Yes. The form is fully secure and the information goes directly to our clinical system. 
Only authorised members of the care team can see your submission. 

Our triage system categorises each request by clinical need so that clinically urgent requests are prioritised quickly. We will always contact you by email or phone if received before 2pm with the plan on the same working day you complete the request.

Yes. Once the form is completed you have an option to add free text – for instance by naming the Clinician you would prefer to support continuity.

If your appointment is non-urgent, we will offer a range of appointments for you to choose from. If there are specific times of day that you are unable to take calls please note this at the end of your appointment request and we will try to accommodate this as much as possible. The clinician will always try and call twice on the day of the appointment.

Please complete the online form as usual and note at the end that you would like a home-visit

Please complete the form for your main health concern. You can discuss the second concern at your appointment.

We recommend booking your appointment at your earliest opportunity as appointments will be offered to patients throughout the day. Depending on the appointment offered, appointments may become available using the same link on the following day. If you are unable to use the link the following day – please call our Reception Team (as some appointments may be up to 5 days ahead) 

Please call our Reception team who will complete the form with you. Please note this may require a call-back to you at a quieter time.

You will be contacted using the details provided on the form (email address or home phone).

Once the clinician has contacted – the need for a face-to-face appointment can be discussed.

Sometimes it feels easier to just speak to someone directly. The questions help the doctor prepare and make sure nothing important is missed, so your appointment can be quicker and more focused. But if you’re really finding it difficult, please speak to our Reception Team

If it’s urgent and you’re going away, we’ll do our best to help quickly. Filling out the Rapid Health form now can get your info to the clinical team straight away, so they can decide the best next steps for you before you go. It only takes a few minutes.

Total triage helps keep things safe for everyone and ensures the team can manage the most urgent cases properly. If your problem can’t wait, you’ll still be given advice on what to do next — like contacting NHS 111 or urgent care.

Yes. If we have a mobile number stored on your record you will receive a text message the day before to remind you of your appointment.