This article looks at a telephone triage assessment clinic that was set up to improve the bowel, bladder and pelvic floor service in the authors’ locality. A pelvic floor triage questionnaire was developed to identify patients’ faecal, urinary and prolapse symptoms then, between April and December 2013, patients were referred to the colorectal pelvic floor clinic via telephone triage assessment. Investigations could also be requested directly from the telephone triage assessment clinic. The need for any investigations and patient responses to the telephone triage assessment clinic questionnaires were reviewed in the pelvic floor multidisciplinary meeting. Previously, the wait for a new pelvic floor appointment was four months and this has been reduced to two weeks (or five weeks for a new consultant appointment). The telephone triage assessment clinic has led to a reduction in waiting times, an improvement in patient experience and more efficient referral. It is also more cost effective as
it can replace a new consultant appointment.