Our appointment system is changing
on
Monday 10th June
In response to patient feedback about telephone waiting times and appointment availability, we are updating our existing appointment system. Our aim is to improve patient experience and maximise appointment capacity.
eConsult will become the MAIN way for patients to contact us, whether this is to request an appointment, obtain medical advice or request administrative help such as a fit note extension. It is an online system that prompts you to answer questions; the form will only take a few minutes to complete, and information will be used to prioritise and direct your care. Please try to provide as much information as possible to support this.
Patients who do not have internet access can contact the reception team and complete an eConsult form over the telephone.
eConsult will be available from the practice website from Monday 10th June. You do not need to register to use this service, it is available to all patients, just click on the Visit eConsult button and follow the instructions.
When is eConsult available?
From Monday 10th June eConsult will be available Monday to Friday from 7am to 4pm, or until maximum safe capacity is reached; if we receive an extremely high volume of eConsult requests before 4pm we may switch this off earlier, but it will be available again from 7am the next working day.
How will eConsult improve my experience of contacting the GP surgery?
As all patients with internet access will be asked to use eConsult to contact the Surgery, there will be no need to wait in a telephone call queue; this should in turn improve experience of contacting the Surgery for those who rely on telephone contact, such as housebound patients. Regardless of how you contact the Surgery, your request will be dealt with in the same way. eConsult requests are reviewed by a GP who will triage your request and advise the admin team the most suitable outcome, which enables us to maximise appointment capacity by utilising the multidisciplinary team and reducing avoidable appointments. You can be reassured that your request is being reviewed by a medical professional and will be dealt with appropriately.
How will my request be dealt with?
We will aim to review eConsult requests for medical advice by the end of the next working day or sooner; this response may be:
· A telephone or face to face appointment, either same-day or future booked as needed. A member of the Admin team will contact you to arrange an appropriate day and time based on the GP decision.
· If your problem does not require a consultation, we may send a reply by email or text message, which will provide further information and advice/or treatment recommendations.
· We may advise you to contact another healthcare professional or service outside of the surgery, as they may be best placed to offer the advice or support needed. This could include a local pharmacy for minor illness. We may offer advice on how you can look after yourself.
What do we hope to achieve by changing the appointment system?
· Provide a fair and equal service to all patients.
· Prioritise care based on clinical need.
· Improve access for all patients and reduce wait times on the telephone.
· Provide care to patients who have a medical problem, which needs to be reviewed the same day.
· Manage demand and improve efficiency.
· Reduce the number of patients who fail to attend appointments.
What if you are unable to use the eConsult service?
For those of you who are unable to use eConsult and don’t have anyone who can complete this on your behalf, our Admin team will be available to complete an eConsult health questionnaire with you over the telephone. Please telephone the surgery on the usual telephone number (01383 721266) between 8.30 – 4pm, and a member of our Admin team will take your details and call you back to complete the form on your behalf.
Non-GP Appointments
Please continue to phone the surgery to arrange appointments for the following clinics:
Practice Nurse, Respiratory Nurse, Diabetic Nurse, Phlebotomist, Midwife
Results
Telephone the practice after 11am Monday – Friday
Prescription Request
Continue to order prescriptions in the usual way. Please see our website for details on ways to order – www.bellyeomansurgery.co.uk
What is eConsult and how does it work