Cardiff-based digital agency Spindogs has secured a six-figure contract for NHS England to develop a new website solution for surgeries.
The two-year project, the first of its kind in the Ƶ, is part of a wider strategy to reduce the number of incoming patient calls and on-site drop-ins being experienced at doctors’ surgeries, encouraging members of the public to instead use online booking systems as a first port of call.
More than 60 GP practices have now adopted Spindogs’ new digital platform is optimised for both mobile and desktop.
To date, a 44% increase in online patient registration and a 66% increase in online appointment making has been reported across sites where the new websites have been implemented. Spindogs is aiming for this number to rise over the next year, translating to long-term cost savings through reduced staffing needs, improved efficiency, and better patient management.
The project comes as local GP surgeries face an uphill battle to manage communications and ensure the effective treatment of patients within the context of a growing and aging population. To help ease the burden, NHS England is aiming for 25% of all appointments to be booked online.
Liam Giles, managing director of Spindogs said: “A lack of confidence in the digital offerings of GP practices is causing patients to bypass GP websites entirely - favouring more traditional communication methods like telephone calls and in person visits - resulting in more work for staff and an inefficient system.
“With so many GP surgeries at bursting point, creating or refining a website simply isn’t a priority in terms of time or financial resources for many of them. However, without an effective website in place, patients understandably turn to calling or visiting instead, which blocks phone lines and increases workload unnecessarily as many of their requests could be dealt with easily online.”
Spindog hopes that the project will be rolled out across other parts of England, as well as Wales.
Mr Giles said “This project has been more successful than we could have ever imagined, with many of the surgeries we’ve worked with reporting a significant drop in caller numbers, helping to streamline and improve patients’ experiences, reducing pressures on surgeries, and freeing up time for GPs and other staff.
“It’s a proven solution that works to empower patients to shift to online self-service. Our hope is that the project will be expanded further across the Ƶ to provide a national framework for all GPs that is geared towards meeting the evolving needs of patients.”
