We have changed the way in which we book appointments and manage patient requests.

We are asking patients to use our new online system, Anima, which will be accessed by visiting the home page of our website and clicking on the yellow banner or by using this direct link. 

The system does require patients to create an account and you may find it helpful to ensure that you have an NHS Login. You will already have one of these if you use the NHS app, or the NHS Covid app previously. If you do not have an NHS login you can get one here: https://www.nhsapp.service.nhs.uk/login
If you do not have an NHS login you can select the 'Standard Login' option when accessing the site. 

By going online you can avoid queuing on the telephone and can submit your request confidentially.

It is important to note that patients who are unable to use our online system can of course continue to use the phone if they wish. In order to prioritise appointments, staff will ask you a series of structured questions and complete the online form on your behalf. Answers to these questions will be passed to our Clinical Assessment Team who will determine the most appropriate appointment or course of action for you.

For patients attending the surgery in person, our team will make every effort to assist, but due to reasons of confidentiality there may be a delay in processing your request (our front of house team will need to ask a number of questions in order to complete the online form on your behalf). We would therefore encourage all patients who are able to submit their request online to do so. This will free up our team to help those patients with no internet acess.

We hope to introduce devices in Reception to allow patients without their own device to submit requests themselves later this year.

These changes are in line with national NHS requirements and will allow us to prioritise patients with more urgent clinical needs whilst improving the use of resources available to us. Anima ensures a consistent approach to patient requests and patients will no longer need to call at 8.00am each day hoping to secure an appointment. 

We know that system changes can be unsettling and we are therefore grateful for your co-operation and understanding at this time.

Thank You
 

Published: Sep 5, 2023