The aim of the study is to evaluate whether it takes people with two or more long-term conditions longer than other groups of patients to see or speak to a doctor or nurse when their practice is using telephone triage.
We will do this by analysing data from a routinely conducted national survey called the General Practice Patient Survey. We will also use more recent data from a different national survey called Understanding Society, collected since Covid-19, to put this analysis into a more recent context. We also want to examine if there are any other factors that affect the impact that telephone triage has on access to primary care, such as their gender, ethnicity, age, whether they live in more or less affluent, or rural or urban areas, and whether or not they are working.
This is a rapid evaluation that started in January 2021 and is expected to be completed and written up by late 2021. We intend to publish the findings through a number of different routes, including a final report and blog on the BRACE website, and in other ways suggested by members of the public who are advising the research team.