About this service
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It is a set of online tools for you to check which service is right for your symptoms,
get immediate self-help advice, find out what other services can help you
or send an online consultation to your GP practice. It may help manage certain conditions, without the need to attend
the surgery in person.
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This is when you send your practice a completed web form about a condition from the website.
The practice then calls you or emails you by the end of the next working day to offer you advice, tell you whether you need an appointment or offer you a prescription.
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If you have a medically urgent problem we recommend you contact the surgery straight away, ring
NHS 111, or dial 999 in the case of an extreme emergency.
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No. This service is completely free for NHS patients.
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This service should improve your access to advice and treatment from your own surgery. It could also avoid the need
for you to come in for some conditions.
Learn about my condition
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We provide information on a variety of different conditions that can be searched for by condition,
symptom or area of the body.
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You can search by symptom, area of the body or condition if you know what it is.
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Please ring NHS 111 or take an online consultation.
Alternatively, contact the surgery for phone advice.
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Unfortunately we are unable to offer this service for all conditions. Please telephone the surgery or NHS 111
for further medical advice.
The online consultation service
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Anyone can use the health information provided on this site. However, the online consultation service is only for patients registered at this practice aged 16 and over; and for parents or legal guardians of children over 6 months.
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This is because the practice needs to have your medical records in order to make a safe decision about your treatment.
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If you are the parent or legal guardian of a child over 6 months old you may use this service on their behalf, but only for certain conditions.
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Yes, but only if you are the registered carer for that patient and the practice has their written consent on their medical records.
Is it safe?
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GPs at your practice personally review all requests and have access to your medical records enabling
them to make a safe decision regarding the right course of treatment for you. If they have any doubt, they
will ring you or ask you to see them in person.
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We have selected the conditions where certain presentations are safe to treat without necessarily bringing you into
the surgery. We use health information and questionnaires that have been quality assured by a panel of
experienced doctors and pharmacists. The consultation questions are very thorough, alert you and your
doctor to any dangerous symptoms, and also consider which medications are unsuitable for you, for example:
if you are pregnant or breast feeding.
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All the GPs at your practice are registered to practice in the UK and registered with the General Medical Council.
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The privacy requirements relating to confidentiality and security of your information are the same
as for a face-to-face consultation. This website is secure and does not share any data about you without your consent.
How does it work?
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During office hours, the practice will aim to review your request and respond to you by phone, text or email
the same day. However, this may not always be possible so the practice have set a target of contacting you
by 6:30PM on Friday, 22nd of November at the latest.
If you complete a consultation for administrative help, a response may take up to 3 working days.
Any consultations submitted on the weekend will be reviewed on Monday. If you are still waiting to hear from
your practice after this time, please telephone the practice or follow the link in your confirmation email.
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Your practice will contact you by phone, text or email. Please note that a call from your practice may sometimes appear on your phone as "Blocked", "No caller ID" or "Private number". And don't forget to check your junk email folder.
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We plan to include access to the nursing team eventually. For the moment, please telephone the surgery
if you want to make an appointment to see the nurse.
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If you are still not feeling any better after treatment, please contact the surgery for further advice.
Does this change my existing GP service?
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Yes. You can still make an appointment in the usual way and come in to see your GP if you wish.
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Yes. You can telephone the surgery for advice during practice opening hours.
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No, but most practices have this as a separate feature on the website.
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No. Please contact the surgery to request a home visit.
About your medication
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Yes, if the GP has approved your treatment based on your online consultation. If the GP is
in any doubt, the practice will ring you to discuss.
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Yes, if that pharmacy has an arrangement with your practice to collect prescriptions. The practice may also be able to send
your prescription electronically to a pharmacy of your choosing (discuss this with them when they contact you).
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This service is for new problems and for recurrences of existing problems, for which a prescription may be offered. It is not for routine repeat prescriptions which should be requested in the normal way.
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Please contact the practice by phone or follow the instructions on the answering machine if the practice is closed.
Feedback
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Please contact the eConsult product team.
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Please contact the practice manager by telephone on 01234 720225 or in writing.
Security
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Our entire website runs within a secured connection (256-bit SSL), so any information you enter
into the system is transmitted in encrypted form. Your details are then transferred to your practice
via a TLS-encrypted connection. If you would prefer not to complete the online questionnaire
please give the practice a call and they will be happy to provide you with alternative options to resolve
your health concern.
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We do not store any identifiable medical information about you. If you have opted to take our survey,
we temporarily store your email address and name, so we can send the survey to you after 7 days.
We store this data encrypted in our database, and delete it once the survey has been sent.
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We only use cookies to allow for the basic functioning of our system, and do not use them to store
user details. Full details are on our privacy policy.
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Our servers are protected behind a firewall. We ensure we always apply all relevant security patches.
We have regular audits by a security consultant to ensure we are adhering to best practice
(both in regards to our servers, and to our application).
Mobile devices and special equipment
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Yes. The service can be used via your smartphone or tablet.
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The health information and online questionnaires can be accessed from any device with an internet
connection, providing you use an up-to-date browser.
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A blood pressure machine may be available at your practice or local pharmacy. Contact them directly to find out what is available.