GPC/NHSEI statement
Following numerous questions and reports of inappropriate threats of breach notices in some parts of the country, we GPCE and NHSEI have jointly issued the below statement on Online Consultations.
In response to covid-19, practices should be using a ‘total triage’ model of working where all patient contacts go through an initial assessment to decide the best course of action (as per NHSEI letters on 19th March and 27th March). Following triage, practices should be managing patients remotely wherever clinically appropriate to do so. This is not a contractual position but is vital to reduce infection risk and we are confident that all practices are now working in this way.
We recommend total triage is enabled. One way of doing this is by using an online consultation system, freeing up the phone for non-digital users, and this can deliver significant benefits, such as:
· Improved access and convenience for all patients,
· Increased efficiency and flexibility for the practice, including that it supports staff to work remotely and to work across other practices or networks where needed,
· More effective demand management, by providing a history / summary of the issue in advance to allow work to be prioritised or passed to the right member of the team or service
Many practices have already fully embraced this way of working and are realising the benefits of using technology to support the triage process. We’ve been hugely impressed by the amount of change that practices have put in place in a very short period of time and very much appreciate everyone’s efforts in this respect. We recognise that total triage using online consultation is a big change for many practices and so hands on support is available for implementation and to work through challenges and optimise new procedures. This can be accessed via NHS England/Improvement regional digital teams or via the NHSX implementation team (empower-the-person-team@nhsx.nhs.uk). Funding is available for the procurement of nationally assured solutions that support this way of working through the Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) via the NHS England procurement hub – with assurance, supplier management, and support for procurement and contracting managed centrally (commercial.procurementhub@nhs.net). A short blueprint on moving to total digital triage is available here.
Online consultation was included as a non-contractual aspirational commitment in the 19/20 contract (section 34i – all practices will be offering online consultations by April 2020 at the latest).