eConsult Health Limited Arvostelua 

In theory the eConsult system is a good idea but like many ideas there are sometimes unintended consequences. Most GP practices use the 'demand' option to limit the demand from patients by turning off the 24/7 availability of the system, although the eConsult organisation themselves advice GPs to have it set 24/7. Some GPs do this by limiting the hours it is available for example to 8am to 10am Monday to Friday or by using a 'daily cap' on the number of eConsults for example one practice that sets it at 6 per day. Unfortunately the system is still widely advertised as being available 24 hrs a day and 7 days a week leading to patient frustration (it's a shame the NHS can't be honest about this issue and publish the statistics). Obviously GP practices do this because they are unable to cope with the demand. There is no solution to that problem so we will just have to put up with it. Whilst the system does ask a number of what some might consider unnecessary questions one big frustration patients have with the system is that if you specify something like 'breathing problems' the system is quite likely after you have spent 20mins filling in the eConsult at the end to tell you it can't submit the econsult and you need to telephone for an urgent appointment. From my own experience I now look to see when the GPs are available as a proportion of the practice will only work part-time so an eConsult for a non-urgent issue is best not raised on a Monday or Friday as the system usually closes quickly. In my practice when I asked the receptionists what was considered an admin eConsult they told me they print off all the eConsults anyway before passing them to GPs so it didn't make any difference (I have no idea why they do that). What I do now is write out the text I want to put in the eConsult in Word and then copy and paste it to the eConsult. I wait until 8.01am in the morning when the system opens to raise the eConsult and if the system then tells me that I have to telephone for an urgent appointment I can quickly go back and remove the answer(s) to symptom questions that caused the system to do this and paste the text in again (I reason that if I was having a heart attack or unable to breathe I wouldn't be sitting there raising an eConsult and when the practice calls back/gives me an appointment I can clarify my symptoms). You could try writing to your MP asking them to put more resources into GP practices but what's the point, it's not going to change in my lifetime. If you are old or not good with technology you are pretty much the forgotten minority unless you can get someone to help you (try AGEUK). If you are worried and are lucky enough to have some money then you can spend £120 and book a private GP face to face appointment the same day and get a pretty thorough consultation.

This system is designed for the benefit of doctors and not patients. And formerly I had a career in medicine! I spent ages going through the system twice for a simple request that a conversation with a human being could have sorted in two minutes.
Many people will find it difficult to access health care on this system, for example, older people, those without the technology and those with disabilities.
If I was anxious or depressed or feeling ill, I would probably give up.

This just doesn't work! I don't really understand this system at all. I tried using it in a time of need for myself, for my family. And all times we ended up going to the hospital directly as this system did the opposite to providing a solution, it is just a time wasting tool.

Absolutely ridiculous, gave up in the end! Was told by receptionist it was straight forward! It wasn’t! Very disappointing. I don’t know what they were thinking introducing such a stupid system 😩

Used eConsult today. After putting in page after page of information, I was then dumped on a page telling me my condition wasn't suitable for an e-consultation and that my information had not been sent to the GP. All that time writing and it all gets thrown straight into the toilet. Useless.

A non urgent request was made for an appointment with the practice my granddaughter attends to discuss an ongoing problem. After two weeks she was offered an appointment at 7.25pm which was a surprise as the surgery is always closed by 5pm. What a waste of time. The appointment was with a Bedoc doctor who was unable to access her medical records and was therefore unable to discuss her ongoing condition. He gave her a form for a blood test, when she has already had blood tests. So another E Consult and this time she will not be going out of hours to see a Bedoc doctor. Let's hope the cost of the E Consult system is not based on the number of requests it handles if we are going to have to make multiple requests to get a viable appointment!

OK, there are a lot of questions BUT, this is a very well thought through system for registering a consultation with your GP. I found it very easy to use and the free text feilds were very relavent and useful to capture specific messages. Well done.

I agree, I would give this service 0 if I could. Filling out a massive form every time is crazy plus our surgery switches it off at 10am but don't take calls until 11am. I got part way through the form and the service was switched off. I just want to talk to a person and book an appointment, now it is virtually impossible. I can understand why more people are going to A&E.

If I didn't already have blood pressure problems I would have after trying an e-consult. It took 15 minutes with endless irrelevant questions about an injury that I did not have, whether l smoked or drank alcohol and diverted me to an NHS login so I had to start again.
Appalling service particularly for the less computer literate.

After 45 minutes and countless irrelevant questions, the system was still nowhere near a resolution. I couldn't take it anymore and gave up. Why not just answer the phone and listen to what the patient has to say? Is this really the kind of technology that's supposed to improve our lives? I don’t think so.

Impersonal solution. I completed the online form to be told I should immediately attend A&E because I was having a heart attack. My econsult form clearly stated abdominal pain. This is open to misdiagnosis, delays and potentially patient deaths. This is the worst IT implementation

Econsult is not available 24 hours . My doctor’s surgery turns it off every day ‘when they reach a certain quota’
I find this most unacceptable.
It’s only ‘on’ when I’m in work and I cannot get to use it.
So frustrating. What’s the point of having it if it gets turned off after a short time every day!

It's just a joke—a waste of taxpayer money. They ask hundreds of questions, and in the end, say no appointment is needed. Imagine how my 85-year-old mom would get an appointment. It's a joke, both for the people and the UK system

Using e-consult was too complex and just asking for an appointment asked lots of detailed information on why I needed to contact the surgery
I just wanted to see the doctor who had asked me to contact him for an appointment .
So new system does not work

Can’t find a place that let you book an appointment to speak to a Doctor they said that I could use E Consult I looked for along time but not on this site and if it was did not work.

E-consult is the worst possible form of patient doctor relationship management. It is simply inappropriate. You end up figuring out how to manage the system (avoiding the buzz words that trigger 'go to 999'). It forces binary choices whereas illness and humanbeings are complex. In my experience it puts patients lives at risk.

I feel so sad and frustrated about this new system. This way of booking is a barrier for people with mental health issues. So impersonal, cold and inaccurate. I couldnt find my issue in the option list and have to spend too much time trying to find the closes thing to what I had. It feels is design so you give up on your own health, so user unfriendly. I dont see how this is a better custumer experience that the face to face care. I dint feel this is accessible in any way, we are humans no robots, we need conection and instead we are asked to deal with screens. So sad that this is the future of our NHS.

A waste of time. And confusing. You go through the process of answering a lot of questions, only to be told 'We can't deal with your request now, you need talk to someone...' Yes, I need to talk to the doctor!

This system is rubbish my doctor told me to use it to contact him to make an appointment with him and he never replied only his practice and I wanted a personal face to face appointment as he had been dealing with my problem .I can no longer deal with my doctor but get seen by apprentice practioners who I have no history with to save money useless system somebody somewhere is making a lot of money for a useless system and the surgeries are probably getting commission on every contact that is made on it .

I could not understand it. There was no option for what I wanted and had to abandon booking an appointment.
This is far too complicated for some one my age.