The scheme, due to begin this week, would allow selected NHS 111 patients to be booked directly into a face-to-face appointment with a clinician in Wycombe.
It follows a winter healthcare plan which found a shortage of face-to-face capacity created “a real challenge” last winter, despite the success of telephone assessments.
Dr Sarah Avery, co-chair of the Buckinghamshire Urgent and Emergency Care Board, told councillors the pilot was expected to provide between 20 and 30 additional appointments a day using existing resources.
Speaking at a Buckinghamshire Council health scrutiny meeting, she explained that some patients currently receive a further telephone consultation after contacting NHS 111, before being booked to see someone in person.
Clinicians had identified groups of patients whose assessment outcomes showed that 70 per cent or more needed a face-to-face appointment that day.
For selected patients, the pilot would replace that further telephone consultation with a direct booking, allowing the same GP to assess them in person.
Dr Avery said: “The same GP is going to be managing it but they’ll have been booked in to be seen directly at Wycombe rather than receiving a telephone call.
“So in that way, we’re able to create additional capacity with existing resource.”
She added: “We anticipate from the data that we’ve got that that’s going to be about 20 to 30 additional face-to-face appointments each day.”
The explanation came after Cllr Larisa Townsend asked how the planned expansion would work, how many appointments it would provide and whether staff had been recruited.
She also asked how the increase would compare with the unmet need identified last winter.
Dr Avery said there were no additional resources available, so the aim was to use those already in place more efficiently.
The initial pilot would run during normal working hours, Monday to Friday.
An initial evaluation is planned for November, with hopes of expanding the approach during winter if it delivers the expected benefits.
Dr Avery said the intention would then be to extend the model into out-of-hours services and other areas, including the A&E front door at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.
Buckinghamshire’s winter plan identifies increasing face-to-face capacity at Wycombe’s Urgent Treatment Centre as a priority.
It says the change is driven by evidence of increased demand and should reduce repeated handling of cases, helping patients reach the right clinician and place of care sooner.
The centre treats patients with minor illnesses and injuries.