Armed Forces: Health Services
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for military medical appointments.
Answered by Al Carns
A new appointment management approach adopted by Defence Primary Healthcare (DPHC) medical centres across the UK, has resulted in a 26% reduction in waiting times for patients accessing doctor appointments in primary healthcare.
Total Triage, introduced by DHPC, is designed to reduce unnecessary face-to-face appointments and enable greater and quicker access to medical care for those in need. Under the new arrangements patients submit a request through the online form, or phone the medical centre where the request is triaged and allocated to a suitable qualified clinician. This ensures the patient gets to see the right healthcare worker at the right time.
This has resulted in an end to the usual morning rush of phone calls to book appointments, reducing pressure on reception staff, and in patients being treated more quickly.
Total Triage is part of wider programme of primary healthcare to deliver better healthcare to Armed Forces personnel, including the introduction of SMS appointment reminders and combining practices to increase access to medical services and resources.
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