Table 2 Responses to 15 risk items (N = 265 nurses)

Risk tolerance in clinical decision-making

1. When in doubt it is preferable to refer to a service than to wait and see

9%

47%

20%

24%

1%

262

2. An NHS 24 nurse must prefer the certain to the uncertain

7%

32%

29%

29%

2%

253

3. An NHS 24 nurse must not take any risks with physical illness

27%

47%

9%

17%

0%

262

4. For physical complaints an NHS 24 nurse should do everything possible to establish the cause of a complaint

16%

46%

12%

23%

2%

258

5. As an NHS 24 nurse you must always be aware that each complaint might be the beginning of a serious illness

13%

50%

14%

20%

3%

262

Competing expertise of nurse and computer

6. I prefer to use a clinical algorithm than to assess calls on my own

6%

27%

26%

38%

4%

263

7. It is best to avoid overriding clinical algorithms unless absolutely necessary

2%

19%

17%

52%

10%

263

8. The most important thing is to follow the agreed algorithms

<1%

8%

22%

56%

14%

262

9. I often feel I know better than the clinical assessment system

3%

22%

40%

31%

3%

260

10. Intuition or gut reaction plays an important role in my clinical decision making

15%

62%

13%

8%

1%

265

11. I have strong views on where particular patients should be advised to go

5%

40%

38%

16%

1%

263

Competing risks between missing illnesses and overloading services

12. It is important not to overload busy services

24%

51%

13%

11%

1%

261

13. To be safe, it is better to send 100 patients to a service unnecessarily than to leave one at home who needs care

1%

12%

19%

57%

11%

263

14. I feel that nurses in NHS 24 tend to send more patients to services than is really necessary

5%

32%

24%

35%

3%

262

General

15. I tend to be quite a cautious person

7%

42%

29%

22%

<1%

261