"'8am scramble'"
""potential online triage tsunami""
"We promised to tackle the 8am scramble and make it easier for patients to access their GP practice and that's exactly what we're delivering. We are bringing our analogue health service into the digital era, giving patients greater choice and convenience. We've learned from GPs who are already offering this service and reaping the rewards."
From today every GP practice in England must provide online appointment booking from 08:00 to 18:30 Monday to Friday. Patients can request non-urgent appointments, ask questions, describe symptoms and request a callback through the service. The doctors' union warned that potentially serious problems could be missed and described a "potential online triage tsunami", urging safeguards such as allowing practices to temporarily switch off online booking when staff are overwhelmed. Many practices already offer online booking, though some disable it during busy periods. Around six million appointments a month are currently booked online, about one in five. Ministers have proceeded with the rollout, citing financial support.
Read at www.bbc.com
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