Simply put, an online consultation is a digital form that can be filled in by the patient to request advice about a health issue. It offers a quick, convenient and secure way to contact your GP surgery and get advice from a doctor, nurse or healthcare professional, without having to wait on the phone or take time out to come into the surgery.
Instead of calling your practice to ask for an appointment, you can instead choose to complete a consultation form which you complete on your computer, tablet or smartphone. Your practice website will have a banner near the top saying ‘Contact Us Online’ and the link will take you straight to the online consultation form.
You can also use the NHS App to access the form which, once completed, will be submitted directly to your GP practice. For guidance on the NHS App please click here.
The online consultation form will ask questions about the reason for your request – some will ask you to fill in free text boxes and some will ask for more specific information. You will have the opportunity attach photos if appropriate. It should take no longer than 5 minutes in total.
Once submitted, a healthcare professional will review your request and you will receive a response either by telephone or text message, usually within 2 working days, providing information on next steps.