HealthConnect: a trial of an after-hours telephone triage service.

This paper describes HealthConnect, an after-hours telephone triage and advice service which operated for 15 months in 2000 and 2001. We describe the service, discuss utilisation and implementation issues, and conclude with a description of the key lessons learned from the trial. The service received over of 12,000 calls, of which over half were for information rather than immediately seeking care. Continuing marketing appears to be required in order to ensure ongoing demand for services of this kind. Quality assurance is essential to ensure that an optimal service is provided, and staff recruitment and training are critical to this. A national standardised approach to services of this kind is desirable to provide a consistent service to consumers and realise economies of scale.