St George’s becomes one of the first NHS Trust to link patient appointment data with the NHS App
St George’s patients can now access their appointment information from both the St George’s MyCare App and the NHS App. With over 30 million people signed-up, the NHS App is fast becoming the digital ‘front door’ to the NHS.
As one of the first participating Trusts in England to increase digital access for our patients, we have been working with NHS England to build on the success of the NHS App by giving patients more control over their hospital appointments and how and when they access information and support.
In practice, from September 2022, St George’s patients’ can access their hospital appointment information either from the My Care App or the NHS App.
The long-term objective is for primary and secondary care providers across England to participate and link their patient data.
This includes Kingston and Croydon Hospitals later this year, with Epsom and St Helier Hospitals (ESTH) to follow in mid-2024. This means NHS App users in south west London will be able to view all their hospital appointments in one place, see a single point of contact for their appointments, access supporting information, and eventually book, change or cancel their hospital appointments.
What can patients currently view via My Care St Georges and via the NHS App?
At this point the NHS App only contains the first outpatient referral appointment, appointment letter and then all follow up appointments at St George’s. Whereas My Care St George’s currently offers patients the following features:
- View upcoming appointments and appointment letters *
- Receive messages directly from your consultant or care lead
- Complete questionnaires prior to attending hospital, such as pre-op questionnaires
- View hospital letters and documentation
- View your test results *
- View your known allergies
- Access links to useful healthcare information
*Some test results and appointment types are excluded due to their sensitive nature, and require a discussion with the clinical teams first.
How does it work and how do patients access their appointment data.
Within the NHS App Appointments section is a new feature – called Referrals, hospital and other appointments. Your St George’s appointment will be listed here.
What the NHS App already offers
The NHS App provides a simple and secure way for those residing in England who have registered with a GP to access a range of NHS services on their smartphone or tablet computer.
It provides users with a range of services, including the ability to:
- Order repeat prescriptions,
- Book GP appointments and online consultations,
- View your GP health record
- Get your NHS COVID pass
- Manage your first hospital or clinical appointment with a specialist when you are referred by your GP, through the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS).
The NHS vision is to use its national digital channels to help people stay well, get well and manage their health. There are a number of new features expected to be added to the NHS App in the next few years, as outlined in a plan for digital health and social care (June 2022).
