Patients at The Surgery on Canvey Island will face a new way of requesting appointments starting 5 May 2026. Under a new system called total triage, every request for care must be reviewed by a clinician before an appointment can be booked.
The practice is moving to this process to ensure that all patients are directed to the most appropriate care for their specific needs. By requiring a clinical review, the surgery aims to move away from the traditional 8am rush where patients compete for limited same-day appointment slots.
Requests for appointments must be submitted through Anima, which is the surgery’s online triage platform. Residents can submit these requests through the practice website or the NHS App. For those unable to use these online services, the surgery will accept requests over the phone, where an automated assistant can complete the form on the patient’s behalf.
The surgery will accept these requests Monday to Friday between 8:00am and 6:30pm. Once a clinician has reviewed the request, the patient will be contacted with information on the next steps, which may include a same-day or routine appointment, a referral to another service, or self-care advice.
About this article: This story was put together with the help of AI tools and checked by a real person on our team. We're a small crew trying to cover as much of the UK as we can on a limited budget. We're getting better every day - but we're not perfect yet. If something looks off, let us know. You're part of the process.
