We are pleased to announce an update to the way our patients will request appointments. We have introduced a new triage system called ‘Anima’. You will be able to register to use Anima, from 18th April 2024. A link will be available on our website, Facebook and displayed in the reception area. Please note you will be unable to submit any requests until the go live date of 25th April 2024.
Anima seamlessly and confidentially integrates with your medical record bringing improvements to how you request appointments and how our clinical staff assess your condition.
Anima allows our team to continue to improve access times by helping us to direct you to the most appropriate care for your medical needs. This ensures we make use of our limited resources in the most safe and efficient way. All clinical requests will be prioritised according to clinical urgency and need.
Your request will be handled in the same manner whether you complete the Anima request online yourself, or contact us via telephone, where our patient co-ordinators will ask the same questions to ensure equity of access for all patients.
We would encourage all patients who can do so to use Anima, as this will prevent you needing to queue on the telephone and keep lines free for those who do not have internet access.
Completing an Anima request yourself also provides you with more discretion should you prefer not to discuss your medical problem with one of our patient co-ordinators.
Why are we moving to Anima?
To allow our clinical and patient co-ordinators to find the most appropriate service or clinician to meet your need. Anima enables the clinician to triage each request enabling us to utilise the complete spectrum of resources within our practice and the surrounding community.
Anima enables the practice to save all information about your requests in a structured way into your medical records. This will aid the clinical team when looking at your records for this episode of care or for future care.
What are the benefits to me as a patient?
As a patient you will benefit from:
- Being able to log on to see the status and outcomes of your current and past requests.
- Submit a request at any time during platform opening hours.
- You will be asked questions based on your issues.
- Directed to the right team member to help.
- Your medical records will be more complete for the future
- The practice responses will be clearer
- You will receive a text message and/or email to let you know when the practice has responded (no more missing emails in the junk box).
- You can provide all the information that the practice needs without waiting on the phone
- If you care for others, you can efficiently complete an online request on their behalf.
We would like to ask for your patience whilst we change to Anima as we are aware that introducing any new system may have some teething troubles, however we anticipate limited disruption.
Please see this short YouTube video Anima for Patients: How to submit a request to your GP practice – YouTube on how to submit an anima request.
More information is available on the Anima website patients.animahealth.com/.
NHS App
You will be able to access Anima using the NHS app as well as by setting up an Anima username and password, we recommend using the NHS app. Download the NHS App to a mobile device – you can do this by clicking here. A valid form of ID is required to register for the NHS App so please have this to hand. You can also use the NHS app on a PC.
What if I can’t access the internet or am unable to complete an online consultation?
It is important to us that all patients can access our services and access them fairly.
If you do not have internet access or are unable to complete an online consultation, then we are happy to help you with this. Please call the practice and a member of our team will complete a triage questionnaire on your behalf.
What type of questions will I be asked over the telephone?
When completing a triage questionnaire on your behalf, a member of our team is presented with several questions that are evidence based and algorithmic. Some of these questions may be sensitive in nature and it is not the staff member being intrusive! It is important that you answer all the questions as accurately as possible for you to get access to the right person and the right advice and to help the practice help you in the best way possible.
How will you make contact with me?
Depending on the nature of your request and our response, we may contact you in various ways. For example, we may be able to process your request without having to speak to you and therefore will send you an SMS and/or email. If we need to speak to you directly, then we will contact you via telephone – please note, calls from our practice may appear as ‘No Caller ID’ or ‘Blocked’ – please ensure you answer if you are expecting a call from our team. The clinician may invite you to take part in a video consultation and if so, will provide further instructions during your call.
I don’t want to engage with the Anima model and just want to see a GP
We strongly believe that accessing services, advice and guidance this way is much more efficient in comparison to our previous model. It only takes up to 10 minutes to complete an Anima e-consultation and 2-3 minutes for a GP to process. Research shows that in England 70% of patient requests can be closed without the need for a face-to-face appointment which means that you may not even have to come to the surgery. Also, you can access NHS based help via Anima anytime, even outside of surgery hours during the week.
What about my data?
Anima has been approved by NHS Digital to be used by your GP Practice and the other systems involved in your care. The NHS has lengthy assurance process to make sure we meet the highest standards of safety and security. Your data is safe and is shared only with your GP Practice for the purposes of your direct care. Your data is stored and sent securely using industry best practices, and only collects the data that is necessary to allow your GP Practice to provide you with care. For more information please visit our Fair Processing Notice