Government Changes to Online Consultations From 1st October

There will be lots of media coverage this week surrounding the new government directive on how GP Practices manage their online consultation requests, specifically around the requirement from 1st October to have this switched on from 8am to 6.30pm every week day.

At AMC, we have had this service in place for a number of years and you can already send us an ‘eConsult’ via the NHS App or through the Practice website Mon to Fri, 8am to 6.30pm. There will be no change to this system.

eConsult can be used for both clinical and administrative queries such as prescription requests, sick notes and requests to arrange routine appointments with your GP.

They are read each day by the GP team who make a decision about the best course of action based on the information provided, this will then be communicated to you as soon as possible, and wherever possible, the same day.

You may be contacted the same day for urgent problems, booked an appointment with your usual GP for routine issues or directed to another member of the wider healthcare team such as a Physio, Pharmacist or Health and Wellbeing practitioner.

Administrative requests will be processed within 3 working days.

Please always remember to first check out our ‘Who Do I See’ page to find out how to get the best help for your problem – you may be able to find the answer to your query here without needing to ask.

We appreciate that not everyone feels confident using the internet or has the means to do so, if you’d rather get in touch with us via the phone or at the Reception desk then both these options will always remain available too and all requests will be treated in the same way, no matter how you get in touch.

Thank you,

Team AMC