Access & Triage Excellence Award Winner – Harewood Medical Practice
“The introduction of SystmConnect has been a game changer.”
Chris Hollyoake, Practice Manager, Harewood Medical Practice
Harewood Medical Practice, led by SystmConnect Excellence Award winner Chris Hollyoake, supports a highly transient population in Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, including military families, veterans, and large Nepalese and Afghan communities.
Before introducing Total Triage, access to care was consistently under pressure. Each morning was dominated by heavy 8am phone congestion, driven by a first-come, first-served model that didn’t always prioritise clinical need. The practice was routinely reaching Opel 4 capacity by 9am, with little visibility of the true level of unmet demand. At the same time, many patients were travel longer distances to access care, adding further strain to an already stretched system.
The Approach
To address these challenges, Harewood Medical Practice implemented Total Triage using SystmConnect, going live in October 2025.
A key reason for choosing SystmConnect was its full integration within SystmOne. The practice saw no benefit in introducing another standalone platform and instead prioritised a solution that was embedded, familiar, and easy to manage. As an added benefit, SystmConnect is available at no additional cost to the practice.
The approach focused on keeping the model simple, accessible, and adaptable. As an out-of-the-box solution fully embedded within SystmOne, SystmConnect was quick and easy to get started with, enabling a straightforward rollout without adding complexity. Strong engagement with both patients and staff from the outset helped drive adoption, alongside a community-led approach using multilingual materials and tools. Importantly, the model has continued to evolve, with processes being regularly reviewed and refined to ensure it works effectively for both patients and staff.
Award-Winning Outcomes
“Honestly it’s the best thing my Doctors ever did.”
Patient
The results underpinning the SystmConnect Excellence Award are clear and measurable:
- No unmet need – For the first time, all demand is visible and managed providing clearer insight into demand and supporting better planning.
- 75% reduction in telephone calls – SystmConnect has removed the 8am bottleneck and improved how patients access care.
- Rapid triage and response – All requests are handled within 10 hours, but typically within 2 hours, ensuring timely access to care.
- Right care first time – Patients are allocated appointments based on clinical need, not queue position, leading to more appropriate and effective care.
- Better use of resources – GP time is focused on those who need it most, and appointments are used more effectively by having better information upfront. This improved allocation of care has also contributed to reduced UTC/A&E visits by enabling earlier access to appropriate primary care.
- Improved access for vulnerable patients – Enabling forms to be completed with support from family members or case workers allows the practice to gather information in advance and provide more appropriate, less stressful care to more vulnerable patients. For example, Afghan refugee families, where language barriers previously made access difficult.
- Improved staff experience – Reduced pressure from morning phone congestion and patient frustration has improved staff experience, with teams now seeing more appropriate patients and able to follow them through their care journey, leading to more positive feedback and engagement.
“From submitting a form to being invited in and seeing a clinician only took one hour!”
Patient
Harewood Medical Practice’s award-winning use of SystmConnect demonstrates how a simple, fully integrated Total Triage model can deliver meaningful, measurable improvements in access, efficiency, and patient experience. By removing unmet need, reducing pressure on phones and urgent care, and ensuring patients receive the right care at the right time, the practice has created a sustainable approach that works for both patients and staff- even within a complex and transient population.