Important Information for Patients of St James Surgery

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GP Contract

Our GP contract states that we must offer an online system for patients to make an appointment request. In 2020, eConsult was introduced as an additional way to contact the surgery. Unfortunately this has led to an unfair system meaning that those who are calling to the surgery or coming to the reception at 8am often find that by the time they speak to us, all the appointments for the day are already booked.

It is not possible to ‘squeeze patients in’ once clinics are full. GPs still have to read clinic letters, check results, organise follow up and issue repeat prescriptions after seeing patients, and we have to maintain safe working.

Some patients are seen by other health care professionals but still have to come back to us for further tests or to see their own GP as their issues are more complicated. This adds to the workload moving around the practice.

What are the pressures on General Practice?

Although we have increased the number of appointments we offer, demand for appointments is always increasing. This is in part due to the long waiting times for hospital appointments – some as long as a year for a routine appointment. This means that we are managing more problems for our patients who in the past would have been seen by a hospital consultant.

The increased workload at the hospital also leads to other health care professionals who have seen our patients, asking us to complete investigations, prescriptions and follow up, that they would have previously completed themselves. As the pressures on the NHS increase, we need to try to work smarter to be able to continue to improve the care we give to our patients.

What will change on the 1 October?

From Monday 1 October, we will triage all GP appointment requests.

If your GP asks to see you again at a set time after your appointment, we will ask you to complete an online form via Anima to let us know your availability for booking.

For new appointments we will ask you to complete an online form via Anima so that we have enough information to be able to give you the correct appointment with the correct person at the correct time. This might mean waiting a few days to see your own GP who knows you, rather than having an appointment the same day with a different clinician.

For those patients already using eConsult, you will not notice much difference except hopefully a quicker response time.

This should mean that there is no need to queue at 8am, and that the majority of patients do not need to sit waiting on the telephone for a response.

Why triage?

By changing to a triage system, we aim to improve the service for our patients. This means that ALL appointment requests will be reviewed by a Clinician. With the information you provide, we can give urgent problems an urgent appointment, leaving routine problems to wait a little longer. We can also ensure that you see the right person at the right time, and tests may be organised before seeing your own GP so that they have the information needed to deal with your problem at one appointment.

We hope this will make our system more efficient moving forwards, and will allow us to give better care to our patients.

What about if I cannot use the online form via Anima or do not have internet access?

For patients who are unable to fill in the form online there are several options:

• The form can be completed on your behalf by a carer, family member or friend.
• If you have a smart phone or computer but are not sure how to access the form, we can offer support in reception to give you confidence to do this for yourself.
• If you do not have online access or cannot complete the form for yourself, our reception team can complete the same form over the phone for you.
• We will have extra support available in reception if patients need help getting access on their mobile device.
• Any patient having difficulty managing to put in a request can get support from our reception team.

eConsult vs Anima

Local funding has been approved for a new system called Anima. This is very similar to eConsult, but makes it easier in the surgery to work with the information. For those already using eConsult, the way of providing information to us will remain the same.

When we change over systems, the Anima link will appear on the practice website where you can currently find the eConsult system.

What will not change?

You will still be able to book nursing team and pharmacist appointments, and make admin requests with reception over the phone.

Prescriptions can still be requested in writing, but we would encourage you to use the NHS app or via Anima.

All contacts currently made through eConsult for admin support will still be possible via Anima.

How can I ask questions or give feedback?

We welcome your feedback as we try to improve systems for you. We will have a comments box in reception, or you may leave feedback via our practice website.

We understand that change can be difficult, and there will be many different views about our new system.

We have visited practices already using triage systems and digital platforms. Whilst we have done lots of planning we know we still have much to learn, and will continue to review the process moving forward.

We thank you for your patience while we work hard to develop a system that should be better for patients and our staff, so that we can continue to deliver the best patient care.

Kind regards,

St James Surgery Management Team

5 Step guide on how to use Anima

Step 1. You are in need of an appointment with a Doctor.

Step 2. Head to our Website to begin booking your appointment via Anima using the following link – St James' Surgery. Alternatively if you are unable to access online facilities. Please call the surgery and a Receptionist will be available to complete the form with you.

Step 3. You will need to answer some questions regarding your symptoms. The more information you provide the better.

Step 4. Once submitted, this will be sent to the surgery and will start to be triaged by a clinician.

Step 5. You will be offered an appointment with the most appropriate clinician.

Published: Sep 5, 2025