Online Access and Innovation

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Assessment Tool for Modern General Practice

Digital clinical risk management has to be a rigorous, methodical, and clearly documented process to ensure that any clinical risks have been assessed and if required, mitigated appropriately.

This rigour is required both from the perspective of compliance with the standards and ultimately to ensure that the product is safe for patients (See: NHS England » Digital clinical safety assurance)

Introduction

Different ways of working across practices and PCNs in Wessex LMCs’ Area

Online consultation tools switched on for the duration of core hours

GP Contract 2025

From 1 October 2025 practices will be required to keep their online consultation tool open for the duration of core hours (8am – 6:30pm) for non-urgent appointment requests, medication queries and admin requests. This will be subject to necessary safeguards in place to avoid urgent clinical requests erroneously submitted online. Guidance will be displayed on practice websites and reflected in the wording of the patient charter.

The requirements are putting pressure on practices to find solutions to enable compliance with the GP Contract as above, alongside inexhaustible demand from all sides. Please see below some examples of how practices & PCNs have embraced change to enable safe working. As with all new software we would recommend that you seek approval of the product from your ICB digital team.

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Examples and Case Studies

Adelaide Medical Centre

Adelaide Medical Centre have started to use online triage for all their routine appointments and also have capped the number of appointments each GP sees. Find out more from their case study.

Bradford on Avon & Melksham Medical Health Partnership

A new way of working with 15 minute appointments & some ‘quick wins’ with flexible sessions for administration have transformed the feel of the working day for GPs. Read about details of their appointment system here.

Coastal Medical Partnership

Coastal Medical Partnership have introduced total triage using Rapid Health. They are at the start of their journey – watch this short film to find out why & how they introduced it and what the outcomes have been so far.

00:18 What problems needed solving?
01:30 How did you decide on a product?
02:19 What does Rapid Health do?
03:56 How does it work?
06:17 What about information governance?
07:53 How did the partnership engage staff?
08:59 How did you fund the project?
10:31 Is there anything you wish you had learn earlier?
11:11 Has the implementation helped with safer working?
12:02 What comes next?

Coastal Medical Partnership

The GPs at Coastal Medical Partnership have also embraced using an ambient medical scribe. Heidi AI records consultations. This short film analyses the pros and cons of using it.

00:20 – An introduction to Heidi
00:54 – How does Heidi link into the clinical system?
01:56 – How does Heidi work with read coding?
03:29 – Have patients had any concerns?
04:18 – What about information governance?
05:56 – Are there any disadvantages?
06:35 – How has Heidi impacted staff?
07:13 – What are the cost implications?

Chawton Park Surgery

Chawton Park Surgery wanted to tackle the unsustainable administrative burden for their practice and introduced their own bot – Charli via Surgery Assist. Charli is an automated assistant that has transformed the way the practice works.

00:15 – What problem needed solving?
00:30 – Which product did you choose?
00:59 – How does Charli link into the online consultation system?
01:29 – Do patients have to use Charli?
01:52 – How has Charli benefitted patients?
02:28 – What data does Charli hold?
02:46 – What impact has surgery assist had?
03:05 – Have staff noticed a difference?
04:04 – Is Charli an expensive product?
04:30 – Are there any disadvantages?
04:52 – What’s next?

Fordingbridge Surgery

Fordingbridge Surgery have developed a fascinating Patient Information film illustrating the use an Ai tool (Anima) for appointment requests and administrative queries. Watch this short film to find out more.

Minerva PCN

Minerva PCN have introduced a wide range of different ways of working across their PCN. They started with total triage (AccuRX), went on to introduce an ambient scribe product (Heidi Ai) and are focusing now on reducing the admin burden of document workflow (using Anima) & the processing of blood results (GP Automate). Dr Sam Robinson & Lucy Hitchcock discuss their story in this podcast: Processing Lab Results Automatically – is it a good idea?

Prince of Wales Surgery

How do you manage the appointment rota? It’s a question so often asked and there are rarely solutions that create headspace and capacity. In this podcast Dr Edd Rendell speaks with Business Manager Jo Farnworth and GP Partner Dr John Robertson from Prince of Wales Surgery, Dorchester. They have found a new way of working which includes creating additional administration time and offering more prebookable appointments.

This has led to a happier practice for staff and patients and them no longer requiring a duty doctor. They talk through how this happened and what changes they have seen over the past 11 months. They share tips for practices who wish to explore a similar model.

The Grove Medical Centre

In an innovation not using a digital solution, The Grove Medical Centre have reformed the way they work. GPs now work in 2 teams in a 3-block surgery system – a non-digital solution that has increased team-work, flexibility and regaining control of the day.

The practice now runs a 3-surgery block system per day rather than the traditional 2 sessions per day. Each block is nominally 4 hours 10 minutes long, starting at 8am, 12 midday and 4pm. There are between 7 and 9, 15-minute appointments per block. GPs choose how many blocks to work as long as the team covers the minimum number of blocks that the practice has agreed it needs to offer to deliver safe care.

Despite successes, challenges remain in balancing workload, patient satisfaction, and financial constraints. However, there has been a distinct improvement with not only ‘ownership’ of patient care but also communication between GPs, the team and whole practice ethic and as a result working closer together across teams improved. Camaraderie has grown in the practice and a more supportive ethos has evolved as a result.

Read the full case study in more detail here

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Digital Clinical Safety & AVT

Watch this presentation from Steve Roche, Programme Lead, Digital Clinical Safety Service SCW CSU, Occupational Therapist & Clinical Safety Officer – SW Region AVT Programme.

Recorded Webinars

As digital health tools become more integrated into primary care, it is essential that they are robustly assessed for safety and efficacy to ensure they do not compromise patient care. These recorded webinars highlight the importance of meeting legal obligations under the Health and Social Care Act 2012, specifically regarding information standards such as the DCB0160 and medical device regulation (MDR).

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Assessment Tool for Modern General Practice

NHS England has published a new assessment tool for modern general practice – a diagnostic tool developed and tested with 540 practices across the country. It supports practices to review their care navigation and clinical triage process, and digital workflow, to identify what is working well and to identify and prioritise areas for improvement.

The tool links to an updated practical ‘how to’ guide covering care navigation and triage and digital workflow. Based on two years of research with 230 GPs and general practice staff, the guide is designed to support practice improvement teams who want to focus on a specific area or review their process from end-to-end.

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