GP practices across parts of Hampshire, including Whitehill and Bordon’s Pinehill Surgery, are trialling a new online service described as “a cultural shift” in healthcare.

The service, called eConsult, gives adults medical advice via their GP practice’s website and “is already helping patients get support more quickly”.

So far the scheme has been introduced at 13 GP surgeries in the NHS South Eastern Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group area and is “freeing up precious time for doctors to see the patients who need their help most”.

Patients registered with participating practices are encouraged to try using eConsult (also known as WEB GP) next time they need support from their doctor.

eConsult has been launched by Better Local Care in Hampshire - the initiative aims to simplify how people access health and social care by “removing the red tape” and “piloting new schemes”.

It has been trialled at various practices in Hampshire since the summer and has already been used by “thousands” of patients. It is hoped it will relieve pressure on busy acute hospital emergency departments this winter.

The 24/7 service helps patients decide if they really need to see a GP or whether other options are available to them. Googling your own symptoms often leads to scary results, so a dedicated, balanced take on potential ailments is seen as a good place for patients to start.

Senior project manager Norma Christison said: “We accept that eConsult will be a bit of a cultural shift for some people, but the convenience of the service will appeal to many as they can avoid some appointments.

“Only one in 10 patients who use it are expected to still need to see a GP. That’s a huge saving in terms of GP appointment time and will really improve the service for people living in Hampshire. Most GP practices pledge to call back by no later than the end of the next working day. If we get back to the patient quickly, they are more likely to use eConsult again and help to prevent an escalation of health issues which otherwise could result in attendance at A&E. We hope eConsult will also help to reduce the pressure on the urgent care system.” 

The NHS said findings so far show that over 1,500 people a week have used eConsult in Hampshire. Since the pilot started in July more than 3,500 GP appointments have been saved.

The results of this trial will help the local NHS decide how best to use online services to improve access to care in the future.

The process is simple. Patients go to their practice website and click the eConsult (or WEB GP) option. This takes them to a different website which asks them what they want.

They can access self-help information, signposting to services; a symptom checker which can help them establish whether they need a GP appointment and an online service to get direct GP advice for non-urgent conditions.

The practice contacts each patient to let them know the outcome of the eConsult, which could include being offered an appointment, talking to a healthcare professional over the phone or collecting a prescription.

Dr Tom Bertram, GP and clinical lead for the countywide project, added: “eConsult is already benefitting patients, GP practices and the NHS in general, speeding up access to health advice and ensuring that people who need to see a GP are able to get an appointment more quickly.

“With the increased pressure on GPs and primary care services, we need to change the way we do things so that we continue to provide for the needs of today’s population by ensuring that patients can access the most appropriate response for their needs in a timely way. This means making a more effective use of the resources at our disposal, including GP time.

“eConsult provides better access for patients at a time convenient to them, in the comfort of their own home; better health outcomes as patients are presenting earlier; and improved practice efficiency by encouraging patients to self triage where possible.

“It’s a win-win scenario. In my own practice, despite being early days, it is saving 13 appointments a week, which equates to one GP session a week or frees up appointments so other patients can be seen more quickly.” 

Better Local Care in Hampshire has invested around £750,000 of national funding to introduce eConsult in the county. It is hoped this figure will be “dwarfed” by savings and increased efficiencies to the NHS as more GP practices adopt the scheme.

The following practices now use the eConsult service in south-east Hampshire: Grange Surgery, Petersfield; Pinehill Surgery, Whitehill and Bordon; Swan Surgery, Petersfield; Bosmere Medical Practice, Havant; Elms Practice, Hayling Island; Emsworth Surgery, Emsworth; Park Lane Medical Centre, Havant; Staunton Surgery, Havant; The Homewell Curlew Practice, Havant; Queenswood Surgery, Waterlooville; The Vine Surgery, Waterlooville; Liphook and Liss Surgery, Liphook; Clanfield Surgery.