Online appointments.

BlueBelle

Ohh dear that’s awful grandmatte I don’t understand why all the surgeries in UK aren’t using the same method it really is efficient works so well it’s been like it 2/3 years now Luckily I don’t use the gp too much but I ve been very grateful for the speed when I have had to

NHS England and NHS Scotland are entirely separate. NHS Scotland is far behind NHS England in computerisation of it's health service and will not catch up for years, if ever. In Scotland the systems between hospitals and GPs isn't efficiently linked let alone any patient access. My GP says it's like the dark ages.

My Surgery has had online appointment booking for some years, it's always worked efficiently. It allows you to choose a date, time and which GP. It's usually for the next couple of weeks for face to face or telephone appts, but if an urgent appt is needed we either pop in and speak to reception or speak on the phone. I've never been stuck in a queue for a long time.

At our surgery you can book an appointment with the nurse for vaccinations, routine checks etc. Anything else we need to fill in an econsult form which is triaged and they will either make you an appointment or send a prescription to the local pharmacy at the end of our street. Quite often they get back with a same day appointment. They are very caring and efficient and I realise we are very lucky compared to some.

I haven’t been able to book appts on line with a GP since Covid. The only ones we can book on the NHS app or on line are for blood tests.
As others have said the on line form works well (in our case it’s ‘BLINX’) but I do miss the chance to be able to look on the NHS app to see what GP appt are available and with which doctor.

Can’t book online at my doctors. Still have to ring at eight

My surgery has had the Engage Consult system for some time. It works a treat. A confirmatory text/email is received within minutes and then generally within 3 hours a call back. This can be from a GP, nurse or other health worker. If a patient isn’t online they can still telephone.

I find it difficult to understand how other health centres can’t manage this system.

My surgery has used online booking for quite a few years.

I was asked by my surgery to book an appointment with their pharmacist to review my medication. I rang to book and was given an online appointment for 3 weeks time, today was the day appointment was for 12.45 it's now 3.38 I guess I'll have to ring and rebook.

Yes I can- if I wait 10 weeks which is the next available online Gp appointment, although I can see a Nurse Practitioner within a week. Same day appts are still available if you are deemed eligible by the receptionist 🙄

Our surgery does have an online booking system but there are never any times available. However we can contact them through another system with details of what is wrong and they get back within 24 hours with a solution or some sort of appointment, be it phone, nurse or doctor.

Our surgery used to do this, you could book face to face or telephone appts, you could chose which doc you wanted out of those listed on each date but not so anymore. System changed about 3 mths ago and now there are very occasional on line appts available but only with one GP and these are invariably the trainees working at the surgery for short periods as part of their training. Have just checked and the earliest appt available is 5 weeks ahead and it's a phone appt with a trainee. Wait a few more days and you can have a face to face with the same trainee! I hope that if it's an emergency you can phone the surgery and get an earlier appt but I wouldn't gamble on that!

NannyJan53

At our Surgery you have to fill in a form online on their website. You either have a phone call later that day to determine whether you need a face to face. Or as happened to me last week, I was given a face to face appointment for the following week via a text message.

The form is called Anima, which I believe quite a few Surgeries use now.

Yes this is what my GP has but it is not an online booking system is it.

We too have econsult. Replies are usually by telephone or email. I used it a couple of weeks ago. I had an email within an hour, telling me that it sounded like I had sciatica, and that I should call the surgery to ask for an appointment to see a physiotherapist. I saw the physiotherapist yesterday. I was surprised that I didn’t have to wait very long. A friend and I were just reminiscing earlier today about the days when you only had to call to make an appointment, and nobody asked what was wrong. We also talked about how, before that, we just turned up - no appointment required!

We have online booking in theory but the reality is there are very rarely any appointments available.

I think people are confusing 2 different things here.

Online triage systems instigated by the surgery (such as Anima) should have been rolled out by October 1st and most practices have been allocated funding to do so. The form is completed online and submitted for triage - you would normally have some kind of response fairly rapidly offering you some kind of appointment or solution.

Making an appointment through the NHS app or any other type of appointment app is a completely different thing. Many surgeries don't release appointments to the the NHS app and even if they do, you are likely to get a routine appointment 2 - 5 weeks depending on the circumstances.

The new triage apps are far more efficient and you would expect to get some kind of appointment of advice within the week at the most, but in reality it's usually within hours or a day or so.

Our surgery will only accept appointments on line. However all or triaged which means you are offered a same day appointment if they think it is urgent. However if not, it often results in a telephone call several weeks later 😡. There is no facility to book a routine appointment.

I am also in BC Canada, and no, my doctor's office does not offer on line booking, nor does my DH's doctor.

I can see the efficiency for most of us, but there are so many of us that are not very web-savvy. I imagine there is a cost to the doctor for the use of the on-line portal, and many doctors operate single offices, as mine does. Only him and his receptionist there.

Can they justify the cost, especially now when GP's are complaining that they are not making the profits they should while operating offices. More and more doctors are choosing not to go into family medicine.

NannyJan53

At our Surgery you have to fill in a form online on their website. You either have a phone call later that day to determine whether you need a face to face. Or as happened to me last week, I was given a face to face appointment for the following week via a text message.

The form is called Anima, which I believe quite a few Surgeries use now.

Yes ours does

We have always had one, but unless you are quick they are all gone, and even when there, they just a few and are weeks away

Nothing like that at ours. Surprised really as it is generally up with modern stuff, but not this. Fortunately the receptionists are well-trained and understanding so they do try to respond sensibly. That said, I've not needed an urgent appointment for a long while.

I find it amusing that the online appointment booking form is named the Anima.

Are the NHS now reverting to Jungian Archetypal terms to big up their software.

Anima for men. Animus for women?

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