Heaton Medical Centre works to end 8am rush for appointments

Heaton Medical Centre  recently announced it was  changing how patients can access the practice in the future with  patients being directed initially to the digital platform eConsult.

And the centre stressed that is will not impact face-to-face appointments.

Dr Dharmesh Mistry says that one of the reasons they are shifting towards the digital system is to ensure that patients are able to see the most appropriate person, which will free up time for doctors to be able to deal with more complex cases.

What does the new system mean?

Patients will be able to book appointments,  put in prescription requests, and queries such as fit note requests, or chasing referrals through the system.

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Dr Mistry said: “The main drive for this  is over the last couple of years is the 8am rush, where people have been waiting for an hour to be told there are no appointments.

“Anybody can do it on somebody’s behalf such as a family member or someone they trust.

“The biggest impact will be that people get the appropriate care they need, meaning we have more time to deal with complex patients that need more time.

“This will work for a big percentage of the population, but those it doesn’t work for can go with the more traditional model.”

Doctors working hard at Heaton Medical Centre (Image: Heaton Medical Centre)

Help for those struggling to use the system

Dr Mistry says that the digital platform is not something patients should be afraid of using it.

Patients will still be able to phone the surgery if they are struggling to access the digital system, and they will either be helped with how to use the system, or the receptionist will ask the patient a series of questions to get them to the right place.

Dr Mistry said: “Staff will go through it with anyone struggling, or if they are elderly and not able to use the digital platform, on eConsult Lite which is a shorter form filled in on the patient’s behalf.

“But this is not always the case and people can use it, they just might need help using it.

“We want to encourage people to go through one platform rather than one for appointments, and one for medication etc, so we have everything in one place.

“But a lot of appointments for chronic disease management are done by us asking them to come in for reviews.

“We are hoping it can work quite well.”

There have also been discussions with the Patient Participation Group – a group of volunteer patients who help with the running of their GP practice through regular meetings.

Heaton Medical Centre (Image: Heaton Medical Centre)

Part of a national approach

The move to the system is part of a national approach by NHS England, to enable GPs to use a more digital system to create better access for patients across the country.

Dr Mistry added: “We were asked to look at this, and in the past couple of years we had additional help to try and move towards it.

“And we took that opportunity to say that’s what we want to do.”

Dr Mistry says that it is a new way of working for everyone, and it does not mean that it is bad or perfect but says that Covid showed how adaptable and willing to learn people were.

He said: “There has been a lot of training with staff, and we have got to learn to work differently as doctors.”

At the moment there will not be a set time people can book their appointments, but Dr Mistry says this may change depending on the demand, and they will learn what works as time goes on.

He said: “We will work together with the patients, and everywhere is different so what works in one surgery doesn’t necessarily work somewhere else.

“We want to try and avoid putting caps on, and narrow time windows, but we mustn’t get overwhelmed, and we have to stay safe.”

Patients will be able to use eConsult for the majority of queries at the practice from March 18 which can be accessed via the practice’s website or the NHS app.

As many as 3,000 GP practices in the UK are using eConsult, with approximately three million eConsults already submitted.

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