FAQs

For reception and care-navigation staff

A card says it’s pending clinical review. Can I still use it?

Yes. Pending means the current wording hasn’t been signed off yet, not that it’s wrong. Follow it, and check with a clinician if you’re worried. If a card needs to be taken out of use, your practice switches it off and you won’t see it. See Reading a card.

Nothing fits what the patient is describing. What do I do?

Pick the closest card and read its brief instruction first. If nothing fits, or you’re unsure about safety, don’t book a routine slot: speak to a clinician or the duty GP. See When you’re unsure.

Why are there separate cards for Under 5, 5–17 and Adult?

Safe advice for a toddler is often different from advice for an adult. Check the age badge matches your patient before you follow a card. Some practices use one card for all ages instead, with no badges. See Age groups.

What do the coloured highlights mean?

Your practice chooses them, usually to match its appointment book. Ask your practice admin what each colour means at your practice. See Reading a card.

Can I rely on the suggested questions?

Use them as prompts, not a script. They’re created by AI there and then from the card’s wording, and a clinician hasn’t checked them. If a question and the card disagree, follow the card. See Smart visuals and suggested questions.

A colleague has a button I don’t have. Why?

Optional features, such as suggested questions, appear only once they’re switched on for your practice, and your practice admin can switch the AI tools off for individual staff. Ask your practice admin. See Optional features.

How do I tell someone a card is wrong?

Use Suggest an improvement on the card. It goes to your practice’s toolkit administrators, linked to that card. If it’s a safety problem, tell a clinician straight away as well. See Sending feedback.

Where do I report a problem with the toolkit itself?

Choose Suggest a feature in the menu, choose The Signposting Toolkit team, then Bug report. You can follow the reply in My suggestions. See Sending feedback.

Can I change how the cards look?

Yes. Choose Preferences in the menu to pick a card style or quick-scan cards. The setting applies only to the browser you set it in. See Finding a symptom.

How do I change my password?

Choose Preferences in the menu, then Change password…. If you’ve forgotten it, ask your practice admin. See Data and security.

For practice admins

Who decides which features our practice has?

The Signposting Toolkit team switches optional features on or off for each practice. You can see what you have in ☰ Menu›Practice settings›Module access See Optional features.

Can I switch AI off for one member of staff?

Yes, for improved wording and suggested questions. Use the User-level access table in Module access. The setting follows the person to every practice they work at. See Optional features.

Someone already has an account at another practice. How do I add them?

Choose Add User in Users & access and enter their email address. Their existing account and password are kept, and they get access to your practice with the role you choose. See Team and access.

Why can’t I reset a colleague’s password?

Your practice admin role covers your practice, not the whole account. If the account also belongs to a practice you don’t administer, or it’s a system administrator’s account, the person changes their own password or the Signposting Toolkit team resets it. See Roles and permissions.

Does editing a card undo our go-live?

No. The edited card goes back to Pending, and Surgery Health shows how many cards are waiting, but your practice stays live. See Setup checklist and Surgery Health.

Why can’t staff see the new card I’ve added?

New cards start switched off. Switch it on when it’s ready, ideally after your clinical reviewer has approved it. See Cards.

Can I remove the high-risk buttons?

You can switch off any default button and add your own. If every default is off and you have no custom buttons, staff still see a built-in set of five. See Highlights and buttons.

Do updates to the shared library change our cards?

The Signposting Toolkit team updates shared cards centrally. These updates don’t reset your approvals, so an updated card can still show as Approved. Watch the release notes and re-check any cards they mention.

Should I re-run AI customisation after changing our questionnaire?

Only for significant changes, such as a new appointment model. Reviewed cards are left out unless you choose to include them, and rewritten cards go back to Pending. For small wording changes, edit the card directly. See AI tools.

Is the usage data about individual staff?

Analytics and the Engagement tab are for spotting training needs, not monitoring performance, but they do show named staff and when they were last active. Views from a shared login can’t be linked to a person. See Analytics and engagement.

For clinical reviewers

Do I need a special account to review cards?

You need the Practice admin role at the practice whose cards you review. Standard accounts can’t open Clinical Review. See Roles and permissions.

Does requesting changes hide the card from staff?

No. Choose Request changes and disable if the card must come out of use, then check it shows as disabled. See Working through the queue.

Do I have to re-approve a card after someone edits it?

Yes. Any edit to a card’s content, and any AI wording or smart visual saved for it, sends it back to Pending. See Clinical governance.

Should I use Request re-review to check everything again?

Usually not. It sends every reviewed card back to Pending, records you as the last reviewer and clears review notes. To re-check particular cards, edit or open them from the queue. See Periodic review.

Can two of us review at the same time?

Yes, but agree who is doing what, for example by age group or letter range. Sorting the list differently doesn’t reserve cards. See Working through the queue.

Why doesn’t Next take me to the next pending card?

It does when you open the card from the Clinical Review list. Previous and Next follow that list as you left it, with the same status view, search, age group and Hide disabled setting, in the same order, and the review panel shows where you are, for example Pending · 3 of 10. A card opened another way, such as from the Symptom Library, has no review panel. See Previous and Next.

What should I check on an AI smart visual?

That the red flags, routing choices and their order match the written instructions, and that nothing is missing or added. Staff see the visual only after you approve the card. See AI drafts and smart visuals.

How often should we review the whole library?

At least once a year, and sooner when pathways, staffing or national guidance change. See Periodic review.

About AI and data

Does the AI see patient information?

No. The toolkit isn’t connected to your clinical system. The AI is sent card wording, handbook text or your questionnaire answers, depending on the tool, so keep patient details out of all of these. See Using AI safely.

Where is our data kept, and who can see it?

Each practice’s data is kept separate and only its members can see it; the Signposting Toolkit team can open any practice to support it. See Data and security.