This maunal presents approximately 200 adult, child and maternal protocols and their related home care instructions. It aims to help the reader quickly detect the urgency of a caller's problem by suggesting appropriate questions, grouped according to the degree of urgency. The nurse should then be able to assess the severity of the problem and the need of medical intervention. It should help decide who needs immediate medical attention, who should be seen within 24 hours and who can be monitored at home. In addition the text addresses legal issues, lessening the risk of liability. A format is provided for setting up a personl telephone triage prgramme.