NHS Grampian to roll out online consultations to GP practices
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Medical practices in the north-east have been provided with a new platform to care for patients, improve access to services and help to keep them safe during the Covid-19 pandemic.
NHS Grampian and the three Integration Joint Boards, which provide health and social care services to over 500,000 people living in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray, has procured the online consultation solution eConsult.
The platform allows patients to submit their symptoms or make a request to their GP online by completing a quick questionnaire.
Practices receive the patient’s history in a concise document, which they can review within three minutes.
They can then use this history to decide on the best course of action for the patient and how to communicate this (through email, text or a phone call) if they don’t require a video or face-to-face consultation.
NHS Grampian has brought in eConsult to improve access to its practices by reducing waiting times and ensuring that those who need near me or face-to-face consultations receive them at the earliest point.
Simon Bokor-Ingram, chief officer of Health and Social Care, explained: “Our practices were facing a range of challenges, such as high volumes of calls, long appointment wait times and now finding ways to support patients during COVID-19.
"We wanted to find a solution for them that would help ease this burden and ensure that they could provide the best possible care.
“eConsult has allowed patients to receive care wherever they are, at any time, and doesn’t require them to phone or visit a practice unless they have to.
"For example, whereas before patients would have to attend the practice for long-term condition reviews, they can now quickly complete a form online updating their doctor on their condition, who can then review this and decide on the best course of action remotely.
"This has eased pressure on staff who can now prioritise their patients and their workload.
“It has also benefited patients.
"Those in rural areas who would have to travel long distances to their practice can now access care from home and patients no longer have to make unnecessary trips to their surgery.
"For those who don’t have internet access or need to speak to or see a clinician, they can now get through to the practice quicker as other patients are being treated remotely and not taking up as much time.”
"Online consultations have played an important role in ensuring patients in NHS Grampian’s area have had access to their GP during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"With people being encouraged to stay home and reduced capacity at surgeries due to social distancing measures, the practices that have so far adopted eConsult have still been able to provide care while also reducing the risk of the virus spreading amongst staff and patients.
Dr Amir Iqbal, GP Partner at Denburn Medical Practice which has adopted eConsult, said: “Being able to care for patients remotely during the pandemic has been so important.
"It has made it possible for us to ensure that we are still there for our patients if they need us while also keeping them safe from the risk of infection. It’s allowed them to receive treatment, their prescriptions and referrals when they have needed them and ensured only those that had to attend the practice did so, protecting staff as well in the process.”
To date, 51 of NHS Grampian’s practices have adopted eConsult and the health board hopes more will consider using online consultations to assist them in providing care, particularly in light of the ongoing pandemic.
