Referrals, Waiting Lists and Prioritisation

Referrals, Waiting Lists and Prioritisation supports P 3.8. For dental nurses this means recognising when to prepare, hand over, or escalate without working beyond scope.

Resource management in care decisions covers appointments, staff time, equipment, referrals and primary and secondary care pathways. The objective is to use those resources fairly, safely and proportionately rather than to ration care by instinct.

What to notice in practice

• Triage information: identify what the patient or colleague needs next and then hand over or escalate clearly.
• Referral quality: check that referrals are complete, document concerns and prevent unsafe workarounds becoming routine.
• Waiting lists: check what the patient or colleague needs next and then hand over or escalate clearly.
• Safety-netting: check what the patient or colleague needs next and then hand over or escalate clearly.
• Updates: check what the patient or colleague needs next and then hand over or escalate clearly.

Dental nurses support safe resource use by preparing thoroughly, spotting missing information, improving referral quality, avoiding waste, using appointment time efficiently and escalating persistent bottlenecks that affect patients.

Good practice is practical and visible: prepare for sessions, listen to patients and colleagues, check understanding, hand over clearly and report recurring problems so the practice can learn.

Research and system context

Good resource management protects patients by using time, equipment and care networks appropriately.