NHS Pathways

NHS Pathways

Developer(s)	NHS Digital
Stable release	December 2023 (41.2.0) / NHS Pathways Update: V42
Website	digital.nhs.uk/services/nhs-pathways

NHS Pathways is a triage software utilised by the National Health Service of England to triage public telephone calls for medical care and emergency medical services – such as 999 or 111 calls – in some NHS trusts and seven of the ambulance services in the country.^[1][2] In its emergency capacity, it has replaced the Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System for some trusts, and in non-emergency telephone triage it is found in many medical care triage systems, such as NHS 111.^[3]

The system, born from a desire to reduce unnecessary call-outs for emergency services, and to reduce the instances of patients rebounding between care providers due to repeated re-triage, is designed to triage any health problem and refer to the appropriate service either within or without the service undertaking the triage. With an attached Capacity Management System, NHS Pathways is designed to factor in what services are available local to the patient when supplying care provision.^[4] In essence, the intention is that any health care problem can be triaged by any arm of the NHS – emergency or non-emergency – and can be directed to any possible health care provider without the need for a second triage on referral, or any delay.^[1]