Getting Started for New Surgeries

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A simple step-by-step guide to help practices set up and begin using the Signposting Toolkit safely and confidently.

This onboarding process usually takes 30–60 minutes for an admin lead + a clinical lead.

1. Create Surgery Admin Users

Each surgery needs at least one admin user to configure settings and approve changes.

1. Go to the Admin area.
2. Create one or more users and assign the Surgery Admin role.
3. (Optional) Add a Superuser if this surgery will serve as a central management site.

Tip: Surgery Admin users cannot alter base symptoms, but they can override them locally.

2. Configure Surgery Details

Before adding symptoms or instructions:

• Check your surgery name
• Check your site configuration
• Ensure appointment types and team members match your current setup

This ensures that downstream signposting rules point to the correct services.

3. Review the Symptom Library

Every practice starts with:

• A shared base library of symptoms
• The ability to create local overrides
• The ability to add completely custom symptoms

Recommended setup for new surgeries:

1. Browse the symptom list.
2. Flag symptoms that need local adaptation (e.g., different referral pathways).
3. Add local override text where appropriate.
4. Add highlight rules for important phrases specific to your team.

4. Complete the Clinical Review Workflow

Before any symptom goes live, it must be reviewed.

For each symptom:

• Check the instruction clarity
• Check the safety guidance
• Ensure the advice matches your local workflow
• Mark as Approved once satisfied

Tip: The Clinical Review tab lets you see:

• Symptoms awaiting review
• Approved symptoms
• Symptoms needing updates

This creates a simple governance loop and a clear audit trail.

5. Configure the Appointment Directory

Reception teams rely heavily on the appointment directory.

You should:

1. Import or manually add appointment types (e.g., GP Same Day, Nurse Dressing, Podiatry).
2. Add team members and roles.
3. Specify age restrictions or conditions where relevant.
4. Reorganise categories so they match what your reception team is used to seeing.

Outcome:
Your signposting rules will now direct staff to your actual appointment types, not generic ones.

6. Test the Toolkit with Your Reception Team

Before going live:

• Pick 5–10 common symptoms (e.g., sore throat, UTI, rash).
• Ask reception admin staff to run them through the tool.
• Confirm:
  • Highlighted text makes sense
  • Instructions are clear
  • Appointment options look correct
  • High-risk flags behave as expected

Fix issues now while testing is quick.

7. Update Training Notes (Optional)

Use the built-in AI Suggested Questions panel to help staff gather consistent information.

Examples:

• “When did symptoms start?”
• “Any red-flag features?”
• “Is this for a child or adult?”

This acts as a mini-training module inside the workflow.

8. Go Live

Once the clinical lead is satisfied:

• Inform reception/admin staff
• Hold a 10-minute intro session (optional)
• Begin using the toolkit for all incoming calls, walkins and eConsults

Most practices adopt it fully within 24 hours.

9. Monitor Usage (Optional)

If enabled, the admin dashboard can show:

• Most-used symptoms
• Most active users
• Areas where staff struggle

This helps identify where further training or refinement is needed.

10. Maintain Governance

Simply repeat the clinical review cycle whenever:

• New symptoms are added
• Local instructions change
• Pathways change
• Highlight rules need adjustment

Your documentation updates will reflect changes automatically.

Need help?

For onboarding, support, or demos:

contact@signpostingtool.co.uk