Peterborough GP Practice Holds Open Day to Encourage Online System Adoption

A general practitioner’s surgery in the city organized an open day event with the aim of increasing patient adoption of its online consultation and appointment booking system, in anticipation of the upcoming busy winter season. Bretton Medical Practice, located in Peterborough, introduced Anima half a year prior. This online platform facilitates appointment scheduling, prescription requests, and the retrieval of test results. The practice conducted a drop-in session on Tuesday, featuring participation from organizations including Age UK, NHS vaccination providers, and mental health support teams. These groups offered additional details about the service and informed patients regarding the healthcare options accessible to them. According to Manager Jackie Wright, Anima has been operating effectively and has demonstrated itself to be “efficient” for booking appointments, thereby contributing to the smoother operation of the practice. Bretton Park Healthcare oversees the practice, serving a patient base of just over 20,000 individuals across its two locations: Bretton Medical Practice and Park Medical Centre, situated off Broadway. Ms Wright stated that the practice serves individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds, providing guidance in a minimum of 17 languages. She commented, “We are an inner-city practice and very multicultural.” She added, “The online service requests can be inputted in their own languages and converts it back to English when it’s sent to us, to make sure it has all the information from the patient that we need.” Furthermore, the practice maintains an “Anima corner” on-site for patients encountering difficulties with technology, where a staff member assists with registering requests. Valery Matton has been a patient at the Peterborough surgery since the 1970s. She expressed that she was “not a fan of the internet” and consequently did not utilize Anima’s booking system. She stated, “I usually get someone to do it for me, or phone the surgery to book an appointment.” Nevertheless, she mentioned living alone and acquiring details about social groups she could join during the open day. Jason McNally, another patient at the surgery, remarked that events such as the open day “should be held more often,” characterizing it as a “great experience.” Hazel Nelson, the lead nurse practitioner, established a station focused on cervical smears to promote greater participation. She commented, “Today has been well attended. So far, I have seen two people who walked in for the event and checked their blood pressure – both were high, and now they have been seen with a GP and been treated. “I have also vaccinated some elderly people for their RSV jabs. “It’s all about preventing illness than treating illness.” Shams Choudhury, who is a cancer patient, reported that her interactions at the surgery have consistently been “positive.” An analogous drop-in session is scheduled for Thursday at Park Medical Centre. For updates on Peterborough news, follow BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content of external websites. Information regarding their approach to external linking is available.