Online triage tools are a central part of the NHS’s push to improve access and efficiency in primary care. The goal is clear - reduce pressure on busy phone lines by encouraging patients to submit their queries through a website form. Earlier this year, the NHS reported 99% of GP surgeries in England have now adopted an e-consultation system.
The Challenge: Online triage isn’t a complete solution
In our experience, even in practices with high digital uptake, around 30% of patients still prefer to call the surgery. These calls often come at peak times, causing long waits and overwhelmed reception teams. Furthermore, this 30% will include the digitally excluded, often vulnerable groups who may need support the most, potentially widening the gap in patient access and care.
While some surgeries attempt to integrate these telephone patient enquiries with their online triage system, often this lacks detail, is time consuming and frequently requires a follow up call.
So, how can practices support these patients over the phone while still keeping triage efficient - and without losing the time and workload gains they’ve worked hard to achieve?
The Innovation: AI reception bot that talks to patients
At babblevoice, we’ve developed an AI-powered reception bot that engages with patients on the phone and collects the information your team needs, right from the start.
Instead of waiting in a queue, the patient is greeted by TriageLine AI that asks a set of clinically-informed questions, designed to extract meaningful information and support safe, efficient triage.
These questions are built around structured protocols developed in partnership with GPs involved in our pilot. They are based on their experience of the most common reasons people contact their GP practice, and include:
- Pain management: location, severity, duration
- Breathing difficulties: onset, triggers, current medications
- Mental health concerns: symptoms, urgency, support needed
- Administrative requests: referrals, letters, prescriptions
The Vision: Eradicating phone wait times
Even the most efficient practices report phone waits of five minutes or more at busy times. Our vision is to help practices eliminate that waiting time altogether.
TriageLine AI:
- Handles calls to your practice’s schedule
- Captures detailed triage-ready information
- Integrates with existing systems and workflows
- Frees up reception staff to focus on more complex tasks
We’re currently working with a small group of surgeries to pilot this technology and fine-tune its capabilities. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and development is progressing fast.
We’re looking for more GP surgeries interested in exploring how AI telephony could support their teams and improve patient access.
Interested in joining the pilot or learning more?
Contact Antoine at alever@babblevoice.com to start the conversation.
