All emergency departments must have GP led triage by October

Every hospital in England must have a “comprehensive” GP led triage system in emergency departments by October 2017 in a bid to avoid a repeat of the winter crisis that gripped the service this year, NHS leaders have said.

The requirement is one of several “concrete changes” demanded by NHS England’s chief executive, Simon Stevens, and the chief executive of NHS Improvement, Jim Mackey, in a letter sent after the chancellor Philip Hammond’s budget pledge to give the NHS an extra £100m (€115m; $120m) in 2017‑18 to spend on easing pressures in accident and emergency departments.1

Announcing the budget in a speech to the House of Commons on 8 March, the chancellor said, “Experience has shown that onsite GP triage in A&E departments can have a significant and positive impact on A&E waiting times.”

In a joint …