GP online services updates

Recruitment of Patient and Public Voice (PPV) partners for Digital Health Programmes

Contact for further information england.digitalhealth@nhs.net

Overview

NHS England is committed to ensuring that patient and public voices are at the centre of shaping our healthcare services. Every level of our commissioning system needs to be informed by listening to those who use and care about our services.

We are looking for expert PPV partners for a variety of groups who have a good knowledge and understanding of the health and care system nationally, regionally and/or locally to join our various advisory groups, and help shape NHS digital health services for people, patients and carers.

The main role of PPV partners are to ensure that patient voice is heard within the various groups by constructively challenging, offering insight and views from a patient/citizen perspective.

We are specifically looking for PPV partners who can demonstrate an understanding of and who have a strong interest in digital health services and the opportunity they provide in empowering people and patients to manage their health and care.

Membership of the groups is for 12 months initially, at which point membership will be reviewed.

NHS England wants to ensure that its PPV partners are representative of the population and that a wide range of people are appointed to these roles. For this reason, members of the public can hold a maximum of two paid roles on NHS England standing groups or committees that are a formal part of the structure and attract a participation payment.

Please see the application form and information pack for further details and to apply. Easy read versions of the application form and information pack are available. If you would like to receive an application pack in other formats, such as hard copy, please contact england.digitalhealth@nhs.net.

Give yourself more time in 2018 – sign up for GP online services

A huge, Happy New Year from everyone at the Patient Online team!

Why not make a New Year’s Resolution, and save yourself more time in 2018 by signing up for GP services online. It’s quick, easy and secure and will help you access more services.

Over 97 per sent of GP practices now offer you the chance to confidently manage your own health by booking GP appointments, ordering repeat prescriptions and even accessing your GP record online using a computer, smartphone or tablet.

Eleven million patients are already signed-up for GP online services, and, each month, they are ordering over a million prescriptions and booking 1.2 million appointments in this way.

The benefits to GP practices and the NHS are significant. The ‘Did Not Attend’ rate for appointments booked online is 30 per cent lower than those secured through the practice, and online ordering of prescriptions is safer. It’s saving time for practices too, freeing up staff and giving them more time for you.

In 2018 we are having a further push to increase the number of patients signed up to GP online services, and are asking our colleagues to sign up for them too. By making this your New Years’ Resolution, you will be helping us to do this.

To sign up you will need to visit your GP practice with two forms of ID. You can get more details about GP online services and how to sign up at www.nhs.uk/gponlineservices

Patient Online programme nominated for HSJ Award

The Patient Online programme was nominated for an HSJ Award in the category ‘Using technology to improve efficiency’. The awards were issued on November 23 at the O2 Arena in London. The jury praised the high quality of entries this year and said they had a tough job scoring. Members of the programme attended the event and took this finalist certificate home.

How GP online services have enabled Hugh, who is registered blind

October 13 is World Sight Day. Over 2 million people live with sight loss in the UK, of these 360,000 are registered blind or partially sighted. Hugh is one of them.  He signed up for GP online services and can now book appointments, order repeat prescriptions and access his GP record via a talking laptop or smartphone. “I no longer have to ask people to read things to me, but can find it out myself. I would recommend it to anybody like me, because it enables you to access information that you can’t access through other means.” Watch his story.

Two new Patient Online toolkits for GP practices and for CCGs and NHS trusts

The Patient Online programme has just released two new toolkits to support GP practices, CCGs and NHS Trusts with the effective promotion of online services to patients: ordering of repeat prescriptions, booking of appointments and viewing of GP records.  The toolkits consist of templates for web copy, press releases, social media and newsletters as well as instructions on how to order the new range of promotional materials. These materials have been tested with patients across the country and now say “GP online services” instead of “Patient Online”, as a survey revealed patients related to this better.

Over 95% of GP practices now offer online detailed record access.

Figures released by HSCIC on June 23 show that over 95% of GP practices with the software functionality enabled, are now set up to offer online access to detailed GP records. This includes test results and diagnoses as well as referrals, immunisations, procedures and medications history. Figures are up from just 3% of practices in January this year. This latest step is part of a raft of Patient Online services, which are designed to make their lives easier and more convenient including online appointment booking and ordering of repeat prescriptions. Find out more in the press release.

Guide to help Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) and their GP practice work effectively

The National Association for Patient Participation (N.A.P.P.), in conjunction with the NHS England programme Patient Online, is launching its latest guide to help Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) and their GP practice work effectively together.

Making online GP services work well for patients complements N.A.P.P.’s Building better participation guide. It will help PPGs discuss online GP services with their practice and consider ways in which to support the uptake of online services.
The guide was launched at N.A.P.P’s annual conference on 11 June in Stretton, Cheshire and is now also available on N.A.P.P’s website.