NLAG NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
“ Traditionally in the radiology world , if a consultant at another hospital wanted to see someone ’ s images , it would either be a mixture of putting them in a disc in the back of a taxi – or smoke signals . Now , we have real-time sharing and we don ’ t need to get involved . It ’ s always quite refreshing when we get phone calls from consultants or doctors saying they need certain images , and we can say ‘ they ’ re already there !’”
Jackie France , Associate Director of Patient Services , is leading on many of the patient-centred digital programmes . NLaG is one of five NHS trusts to pilot a new NHS App functionality that will transform the way patients access and manage appointments .
The project , known as Wayfinder , is part of a national strategy led by NHS England to improve patient experience and tackle NHS backlogs – positioning the NHS App as the “ front door ” to NHS services . The pilot , which went live across NLaG at the end of February , enables patients to see and manage their appointments , referrals and , in time , their test results and waiting times . It is already proven that , in providing patients with more control over their appointment bookings and making it easier to book , cancel or reschedule , trusts experience a reduction in missed appointments ( known as “ did not attend ” or DNAs ). The initiative is designed to be vendor-agnostic , with patient communication suppliers from all five trusts working together , alongside NHS England , to provide a consistent service delivered through the NHS App . Healthcare Communications , which has a longstanding relationship with NLaG , has worked closely with the national project team to seamlessly integrate its patient portal into the NHS App for NLaG patients .
138 May 2023