Thousands of patients across Newham get access to remote GP consultations

The text message service is one of a number of measures being introduced to reduce the spread of COVID-19

GP CONSULTATIONS: A text message services is enabling thousands of patients in Newham to communicate with their GPs safely

MORE THAN 15,000 thousand patients at two GP surgeries in the London borough of Newham can now benefit from a text-based GP messaging service as part of efforts to reduce the transmission of the coronavirus.

The coronavirus outbreak presents a huge challenge to the NHS, and GP surgeries are no exception.

Many practices are already straining to deliver services due to illness, two-week self-isolation from suspected coronavirus cases, and required social distancing for healthcare professionals identified as high risk.

In line with government advice, GPs are being encouraged to recommend remote messaging services to their patients.

The Dr Knight and Dr Ashar Surgery in Stratford and the Project Surgery in Plaistow are both offering remote GP consultations in collaboration with Docly.

Docly, which is free to all NHS patients registered with a GP surgery partnered with the text-based GP service, works with GP surgeries to help them deliver services such as arranging tests, referrals and prescriptions.

Patients can have a written message conversation with a GP without the need for an appointment.

Dr Vaishali Ashar, GP principal at the Dr Knight and Dr Ashar Surgery, said that the service enabled patients to secure same-day appointments with a doctor from the safety of their own home.

“Crucially, this means that patients do not come into the surgery and ensures that they are able to maintain appropriate social distancing for their own safety, but they can still access the medical care they need safely and quickly,” Ashar said.

Digital healthcare facilitated by services such as Docly, which the surgeries in Newham are using, can ease the burden on primary care, and can do so extremely quickly.

Docly is free to all NHS patients registered with a GP surgery partnered with the text-based GP service.

The service works in unison with GP surgeries and can deliver services the way practices would normally do – arranging tests, referrals and prescriptions.

The roll out is set to benefit over 15,000 of Newham’s 363,552 residents, 73 per cent of whom are of black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, and are more likely to be suffer fatal complications from COVID-19 than white people, according to recent research.

As of Wednesday there were 535 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Newham.

Dr Farzana Hussain, lead GP at the Project Surgery, said that the practice has only been able to stay open to patients during the pandemic because of they can carry out remote appointments.

“Digital healthcare, if done well, has a way of creating positive change – GPs can see their patients remotely and much faster, as well as being able to see more people during the working day,” Hussain said.

Dr Caroline Pilot, GP and Docly’s chief medical officer, said: “In the last three weeks we have seen a 17 per cent increase in the number of patients enquiring about coughs and colds, and when the UK went into lockdown we saw a 103 per cent increase in registrations from the previous week. A large proportion of those are coming to us because of raised fears around coronavirus.”

Comments Form

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*
*

Support The Voice

The Voice Newspaper is committed to celebrating black excellence, campaigning for positive change and informing the black community on important issues. Your financial contributions are essential to protect the future of the publication as we strive to help raise the profile of the black communities across the UK. Any size donation is welcome and we thank you for your continued support.

Support Sign-up