The NHS has introduced online consultation systems to cope with rising demand and to make access fairer.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original article at https://patient.info/news-and-features/ideas-concerns-and-expectations
This is a companion discussion topic for the original article at https://patient.info/news-and-features/ideas-concerns-and-expectations
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@CommunityAdmin ,thankyou for update this valuable information.
How would I access this form should I wish to make an appointment?
It would be useful to include a copy of the form in the article.
Hello @Ron_Brannon,
Each practice will use their own online form and the questions and format will vary - It should be clearly signposted from your practices website homepage.
Hello @Dawn_Atherton,
If you visit your practice website it should be clearly signposted from the homepage.
My practice website still tells me that to get a callback on the day we do need to phone in and with e-consults you receive advice and treatment by the end of the next working day!
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I’m in Northern Ireland. Will this be introduced here?
Same with mine……you wait 2 days to hear back as to whether you will be “granted” an appointment…which could then be 2/3 weeks away. I’m ok with tech and do most things online but in my view the biggest barrier to healthcare is forging ahead with online being the default position to access GP services. I even had to have a consultant dermatology appointment virtually………the result was I was misdiagnosed, I ended up going privately in the end, it’s a shocking state of affairs.
Last time I used e-Consult, I was refused treatment for pain. The GP ignored the information I provided (ICE) and would not speak to me. It took me four phone calls and 96 hours awake before pain relief was provided and even then I was totally reliant on a friend to collect the prescription, as I was unable to travel.
A big ‘hurrah’ for introducing a digital service, but your real challenge is dealing with jobsworth, unfeeling iconoclastic GPs who work in the NHS.
Priorities, please!