Purpose
The purpose of these trees would be to appropriately triage patients with Long Term Conditions who need monitoring within defined timeframes and have specific sequalae.
Structure
The trees are arranged to first identify the diagnosed Long Term Condition and then excludes any acute presentation of it that should be triaged through the trees based on symptoms. Once it has been identified that there are no urgent or acute issues, we direct to the most appropriate person eg Pharmacy.
High blood pressure
Patients ringing with high blood pressure are grouped as part of the Hypertension tree. This means that they may or may not have an existing diagnosis of hypertension, but they are concerned that their current blood pressure is too high. High blood pressure can cause damage to organs over a long period of time. High blood pressure can be dangerous in the short time if it is really high - symptoms may include changes to vision or a headache.