. 2018 Dec 4;69(678):e70–e79. doi: 10.3399/bjgp18X700193

Table 2.

Components of safety netting in primary care

Component	CITATION
Component	Ablett-Spence 2013⁴³	Almond 2009¹³	Bankhead 2011¹⁶	Bertheloot 2016³⁸	Buntinx 2011³⁶	Cabral 2014³⁹	Campion-Smith 2014⁶	CRUK 2016⁵	Chafer 2003¹⁹	de Bont 2017⁵⁶	de Vos-Kirkhof 2015⁵³	Eden 2010⁴⁸	Hirst 2017⁴⁴	Jones 2013⁴⁶	Jones 2014⁴⁷	Kaufmann 2008²⁰	Kurtz 1998¹⁵	McKelvey 2010²¹	MDDUS 2016²³	MDU 2018²²	Mitchell 2013⁴⁹	Mitchell 2015	Morgan 2015²⁵	NPSA 2010⁵¹	Neighbour 1987¹⁴	NHS Healthy London 2016²⁶	NICE 2015	NICE 2013⁹	Nicholson 2016⁵⁵	Pearson 2007²⁷	Rees 2017⁵²	Roland 2014	RCGP 2011²⁸	Schiff 2012	Singh 2010²⁹	van Galen 2018³¹	Walter 2014⁴¹	Young 2010³²
Consultation activity
Communicate uncertainty		●	●	●	●			●			●					●			●		●		●		●				●			●				●		●
Discuss red flag symptoms or signs to look out for		●	●	●				●		●			●	●	●	●		●	●	●			●			●			●	●		●			●	●	●	●
Suggest time course for symptom resolution		●	●	●	●			●	●	●				●	●		●	●	●	●	●		●			●			●	●		●			●
Discuss how and when to represent/seek further help		●	●	●	●	●		●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●				●	●		●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Cover who should make a follow-up appointment			●						●			●							●									●	●						●	●
Outline actions if symptoms persistent/recur			●	●				●	●				●			●		●	●	●				●			●		●	●	●					●		●
Legitimise repeat visits						●							●	●										●					●							●	●
Signpost to additional services				●										●	●				●	●								●							●			●
Arrange planned follow-up			●	●		●	●	●	●		●	●			●		●	●	●	●	●	●	●			●	●	●	●					●			●
Provide verbal or written information		●		●	●		●			●			●						●	●						●			●			●					●
Check patient’s understanding			●	●				●											●	●															●
Document safety netting advice in the notes		●	●	●			●	●											●	●		●							●				●
Diagnostics
Explain reasons for tests	●		●				●	●														●		●		●	●		●
Follow-up investigations or referrals			●				●	●				●	●											●		●	●		●
Practice administration
Follow-up missed appointments	●		●				●	●				●														●
Ensure current contact details for patients			●					●
Liaise with other care providers, for example, OOH							●								●													●

CRUK = Cancer Research UK. MDDUS = Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland. MDU = Medical Defence Union. NICE = National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. NPSA = National Patient Safety Agency. OOH = out-of-hours. RCGP = Royal College of General Practitioners..