Practice News
New Appointment System - Accurx Patient Triage
From Monday 7 August eConsult and telephone bookings will be replaced with a new quick and simple online triage form called Accurx to triage ALL GP appointments and to assist you with medical and administrative queries. This can be accessed through our website between 8am – 4pm. All requests for appointments will be reviewed by the duty doctor and an appointment will be offered, if necessary, within the RIGHT timeframe, the RIGHT clinician and via the RIGHT method (face to face, telephone). You should no longer telephone the surgery to book a GP appointment.
All appointments with the Nurse or HCA can still be booked in the normal way. Please see https://support.accurx.com/en/articles/5390855-patient-triage-patient-guide for detailed information on how patient triage works.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
What is patient triage?
Patient triage uses a quick and simple online form which patients fill in when they wish to contact the surgery. For medical issues it contains a few questions, which should only take a few minutes to fill in. Whether you visit in person or contact us by phone our patient services team will no longer be directly booking your appointment.
What if I do not have access to the internet or struggle to complete forms?
Our practice phone lines will remain open for anybody with accessibility needs who might find it difficult to complete this form and a member of the patient services team will complete it with you.
Will I get an appointment quicker if I speak to reception instead?
The patient services team will no longer be making GP appointments with patients directly. Whether you complete it yourself via the website or call the practice and it is completed for you, both are assessed equally.
What happens after I submit a query for a medical issue to the practice?
Medical queries will be submitted to the GP led triage team. A member of the team will respond to you within 2 working days. Conditions that need to be assessed on the same day will be prioritised. The triage team may send a request for further information if required.
What happens if I need an urgent appointment?
Conditions that require a same day assessment will be booked in on the same day or directed to an appropriate service after your form has been triaged by the duty doctor.
What if I have more than one medical issue that I need help with?
Please only submit one medical issue per triage form, so that you can add sufficient detail for each problem, to allow our GPs to deal appropriately with your request.
How do I submit an admin query?
There is an option to submit an admin query on the form for general administrative issues such as requesting a fit note etc. This form should be used rather than emailing the practice. If you send an email, it will be sent back asking you to use Accurx triage.
Will the patient still have a choice of which clinician they see?
We will try to meet this request, availability permitting, but cannot guarantee this.
What is self-book?
Our team may send you a text message inviting you to book your own appointment online.
What happens after 4pm when I cannot access Accurx?
If you have an urgent problem, you will need to phone our patient services team who will signpost you to the appropriate service. Patients with non-urgent problems will be asked to complete an online form the following day.
Why are we making this change?
We believe that patient triage is the most effective way that we can sustain a safe and accessible service for our patients based on clinical need.
We have listened to patients who have raised concerns directly with us and have spoken to our Patient Participation Group about the challenges we are experiencing with regards to increasing patient need, available staffing resources and the difficulties with the queues on the phone system.
This change should make it easier to submit requests to the practice and ensure that requests are seen by the most appropriate member of staff and dealt with in an appropriate timeframe.
The benefits of using patient triage are:
- Easy to access
- No waiting on hold on the phone
- Your request will be seen by a GP directly
- The surgery might be able to help more quickly and easily e.g. with text message advice, prescription or referring you directly to the appropriate service
- Those who need appointments most will be prioritised, rather than those who got through on the phone first
Published on 16th Apr 2024
Data Opt Out
We have been asked to share the following important information with you.
This practice is supporting vital health and care planning and research by sharing your data with NHS Digital. For more information about this see the GP Practice Privacy Notice for General Practice Data for Planning and Research." =
This collection will start on 1 July 2021
If you do not want your data to be shared with NHS Digital please register your Type 1 Opt-out with your GP practice by 23 June 2021.
What data is shared:
Data may be shared from the GP medical records about:
- any living patient registered at a GP practice in England when the collection started - this includes children and adults
- any patient who died after 1 July 2021, and was previously registered at a GP practice in England when the data collection started
NHS Digital will not collect patients’ names or addresses. Any other data that could directly identify patients (such as NHS Number, date of birth, full postcode) is replaced with unique codes which are produced by de-identification software before the data is shared with NHS Digital.
This process is called pseudonymisation and means that patients will not be identified directly in the data. NHS Digital will be able to use the software to convert the unique codes back to data that could directly identify patients in certain circumstances, and where there is a valid legal reason.
If you would prefer that your identifiable patient data is only shared for your own health care purposes, you can opt-out by registering a Type 1 Opt-out or a National Data Opt-out, or both.
These opt-outs are different and they are explained in more detail below. Your individual care will not be affected if you opt-out using either option (or both).
A Type 1 opt out has to be registered by your Practice; please let us know if you want to register a type 1 opt out.
A National Opt out can be done without contacting your practice, at https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/
Type 1 Opt-out (opting out of NHS Digital collecting your data)
NHSD will not collect data from GP practices about patients who have registered a Type 1 Opt-out with their practice. More information about Type 1 Opt-outs is in the GP Data for Planning and Research Transparency Notice, including a form that you can complete and send to your GP practice.
This collection will start on 1 July 2021 so if you do not want your data to be shared with NHS Digital, please register your Type 1 Opt-out with your GP practice by 23 June 2021.
If you register a Type 1 Opt-out after this collection has started, no more of your data will be shared with NHSD. They will however still hold the patient data which was shared before you registered the Type 1 Opt-out.
If you do not want NHS Digital to share your identifiable patient data with anyone else for purposes beyond your own care, then you can also register a National Data Opt-out.
National Data Opt-out (opting out of NHS Digital sharing your data with other organizations)
NHSD will collect data from GP medical records about patients who have registered a National Data Opt-out. The National Data Opt-out applies to identifiable patient data about your health, which is called confidential patient information.
NHS Digital won’t share any confidential patient information about you - this includes GP data, or other information, such as hospital data - with other organisations, unless there is an exemption to this.
To find out more information and how to register a National Data Opt-Out, please read NHSD GP Data for Planning and Research Transparency Notice.
ALL MEMBERS OF THE HOUSEHOLD
The data held in your GP medical records is shared with other healthcare professionals for the purposes of your individual care. It can also be shared with other organisations to support health and care planning and research.
If you do not want your personally identifiable patient data to be shared outside of your GP practice for purposes except your own care, you can register an opt-out with your GP practice. This is known as a Type 1 Opt-out.
a National Data Opt-out which is not done at GP practice level; for this, you must contact NHS Digital - more information about the National Data Opt-out is here: https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/
You can use this form to:
- register a Type 1 Opt-out, for yourself or for a dependent (if you are the parent or legal guardian of the patient) (to Opt-out)
- withdraw an existing Type 1 Opt-out, for yourself or a dependent (if you are the parent or legal guardian of the patient) if you have changed your preference (Opt-in)
This decision will not affect individual care and you can change your choice at any time, using this form. This form, once completed, should be sent to your GP practice by email or post.
Yours faithfully
Long Furlong Medical Centre
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If you are filling in this form on behalf of a dependent e.g. a child, the GP practice will first check that you have the authority to do so. Please complete the details below:
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Your decision
Opt-out
I do not allow my identifiable patient data to be shared outside of the GP practice for purposes except my own care.
Withdraw Opt-out (Opt back in))
I do allow my identifiable patient data to be shared outside of the GP practice for purposes beyond my own care.
Your declaration
I confirm that:
- the information I have given in this form is correct
- I am the parent or legal guardian of the dependent person I am making a choice for set out above (if applicable)
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When complete, please post or send by email to receptionists.longfurlong@nhs.net
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Opt – Out - Dissent code: 9Nu0 (827241000000103 |Dissent from secondary use of general practitioner patient identifiable data (finding)|) |
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Opt – In - Dissent withdrawal code: 9Nu1 (827261000000102 |Dissent withdrawn for secondary use of general practitioner patient identifiable data (finding)|)] |
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Published on 3rd Jun 2021
March 2024 Newsletter
Published on 28/03/2024