23 July 2025
Spinney Hill Medical Centre will soon be using Rapid Health Smart Triage for patient appointment bookings.
What is Rapid Health?
Rapid health is a smart triage tool approved by the NHS which allows you to book appointments quickly and offers more patient choice and availability by offering you the right appointment with the right clinician first time.
You can watch a quick 2 minute explainer video here: Watch Video
What are the benefits of Smart Triage?
We are introducing this system because it offers a number of benefits for patients:
• Faster Assessment: With Smart Triage, patients receive a quicker assessment and guidance on the next steps which could be a face to face appointment, a telephone appointment or self-care advice.
• Improved Patient Experienced: The triage process reduces wait times and unnecessary visits, providing a smoother and more efficient experience.
• Avoids the 8am Rush: Smart Triage will help us to tackle the 8am phone rush and ensure a more even flow of appointments throughout the week.
• Safety: Smart Triage is approved as a Class 1 medical device by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and meets all of the NHS security and clinical safety standards.
How will I request an appointment?
You will access Rapid Health through our practice website. Visit our homepage at www.spinneyhillmc.co.uk and click the green ‘Start Now’ button. There will also be posters in the practice with the link and a QR code.
My friend/relative does not use the internet. Will they be excluded?
No, absolutely not. We understand that not everyone can or wants to use online services. Rapid Health will be used whether you go online, call us or visit one of our surgeries as this will ensure that the right information is captured and the right outcome is recorded. If a patient doesn’t use the internet, our Patient Services Team will fill in the form for them so that they still benefit from the system but with a helping hand.
We believe that as more people choose to go online because it is quick and easy, we will have more time to spend with patients who need a little more support from us.
How does it work?
When you access Rapid Health Smart Triage, you will enter your symptoms and answer some questions about your medical history. The system will then instantly analyse the information provided in order to prioritise your care. If you require an appointment, the system will find appointments available within our system within a suitable timescale and with an appropriate member of our clinical team. This may be a GP, an Advanced Clinical Practitioner, a First Contact Practitioner or another member of our clinical team suitable to your needs.
Can I use Rapid Health through my NHS App?
Not at the moment. However, this is currently in development so keep an eye out for further updates.
Will I still be able to book appointments via the NHS App or SystmOnline?
You won’t be able to book GP appointments through these apps anymore. However, you will still be able to view your medical records and test results, and order repeat medication.
Will I be offered a choice of appointments?
Yes, this is one of the best things about Rapid Health Smart Triage. When you request an appointment, the system will offer you a choice of dates, times, locations and clinicians where these are available.
Will I request all appointments through Rapid Health?
Adults will request general appointments which would normally be seen by a GP or Advanced Clinical Practitioner through Rapid Health Smart Triage.
We will not be using the Rapid Health System for the following appointments which will still be booked by contacting our Patient Services Team:
• Nursing appointments e.g. blood tests, cervical screening, vaccinations and injections
• Post natal appointments and 6-8 week baby checks
• Home Visits for housebound patients
Annual review appointments for long-term conditions and medication review appointments will also continue to be organised in the usual way by our Care Co-ordination Team on our normal annual schedule.
What about appointments for children?
For children under the age of 16, you will be able to use the same link to submit your appointment request or you can call/visit the surgery as usual. However, your request will be reviewed first by our duty doctor and we will contact you to arrange your child’s appointment.
Will I always be offered an appointment?
Once you have completed the triage questionnaire, the system will either offer you an appointment within a suitable timeframe or refer your request back to our team for review. This could be for a number of reasons e.g. no suitable appointments are showing as available within the system, you need to attend another service etc. Where a clinical assessment is required, this will be done by our duty doctor and a member of our team will be in contact with you within 48 hours.
I require an interpreter/assistance for my appointment, what should I do?
If you need any additional support for your appointment, such as an interpreter, please do not use Rapid Health. Contact us directly and we will make the necessary arrangements.
Will you be offering any support to help people use the new system?
Yes, we plan to have extra staff on-site for go-live week to help anyone who needs it.
We will also be organising some digital drop-in sessions when we can answer any questions you have about the new system but also help you with any queries you might have about using the NHS app etc.
Dates for the drop-in sessions will be promoted in due course.
Do I need to do anything now?
Please make sure that we have your up to date email address as this is required to use the new system.
You can do this by:
• Updating your contact details in the NHS App
• Replying to a text message we may send you
• Completing a Change of Contact Details Form
• Asking any member of our Patient Services Team to check and update your record
When can I use Rapid Health?
From 1st October 2025, 8.00am, we go LIVE ! If you need to request an appointment after this time, you should use the new system which will be open the same morning.
If you can’t manage to go online, please ring us in the usual way and our team will complete and submit the questions for you. You will then be offered an appointment in exactly the same way as anyone filling it in online. This ensures fair access for all.
Rapid Health will be available Monday to Friday. We will be monitoring things to see how they go and if possible, extending the hours that the system is available as we become more experienced with it.
Thank you
And finally, thank you in advance for bearing with us as we transition to the new system. There will no doubt be some teething problems but we hope to keep these to a minimum. All our team will be working working very hard to get the setup done and we hope you will enjoy using the new system.