Why Anima?
From 3rd October 2023, we are changing our appointment system to improve access to care. With our new approach, every request for an appointment will be assessed by a clinical team member and prioritised strictly according to clinical urgency. In this way, we hope to improve access for those who need our help most urgently and to increase the fairness of access.
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As part of the changes, we are introducing an online platform (Anima) where patients can submit requests Monday to Friday. The process should take only 5 minutes and the questions you answer will ensure that clinicians have all the information they need right away.
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Your request will be handled in exactly the same manner whether you complete the Anima request online yourself, or contact us via telephone, where our receptionists will ask the same questions to ensure equity of access for all patients. We would encourage all patients who can do so to use Anima, as this will prevent you from needing to queue on the telephone and keep lines free who cannot access the online platform, e.g. due to a disability, not having access to the internet, etc.
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Completing an Anima request yourself also provides you with more discretion should you prefer not to discuss your medical problem with one of our receptionists.
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Anima seamlessly and confidentially integrates with your medical record bringing improvements to how you access care and appointments and how our staff assess your condition. Anima allows our clinical triage team to continue to improve access times by helping us to direct you to the most appropriate care for your medical needs. This ensures we make use of our limited resources in the safest and efficient way. All appointments will continue to be offered according to clinical urgency and need.
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We would like to ask for your patience whilst we change to Anima as we are aware that introducing any new system may have some teething problems, however, we are not anticipating any disruption.
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We have listened to patient feedback and hope you find Anima easy to use. We are really excited about this change and the benefits it will bring to all our patients and staff.
What are the benefits to me as a patient?
As a patient you will benefit from:
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Being able to log on to see the status and outcomes of your current and past requests.
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You will be asked questions based on your issues (asked without medical jargon)
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You can use the system in a number of languages
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Your medical records will be more complete for the future
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The practice responses will be clearer
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You will receive a text message and email to let you know when the practice has responded (no more missing emails in the junk box).
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You can provide all the information that the practice needs without waiting on the phone
What are the benefits to the practice?
As a practice, North Shoebury Surgery will benefit from:
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We will see your request in a clear structured format
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We will be able to save all the information about your requests in a structured way into your medical records – This will help staff when looking at your records for this episode of care or in the future.
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As patients can see the status of their request, we should get less duplicates that clog up the system.
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Your requests will be cleared to understand at first glance and so the team will be able to allocate correct people, thus making our turn around more efficient.
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Your requests will come into our system with a Red, Amber, Green rating with clear information about what responses have trigger the rating. This will allow the team to focus on any urgent requests.
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We will be able to provide clearer responses due to the way that Anima builds the response as we perform actions. These responses will be safer as well as it will be secured behind a log in.
How to use ANIMA
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01. Login to Anima.
Use your NHS login or the new login you created.
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If you don’t have an account yet, you can click on “Register as a patient”.
You will need to fill in your details (name, date of birth, gender, address, telephone number and email address) and set up a password. You can also continue with your request without registering e.g. if you are submitting a request on behalf of a patient you are caring for or a child.
CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW TO REGISTER​
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02. Submit a request.
Answer a few simple questions.
The more information you give us, the better we will be able to help you.
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03. Wait for a response.
Please monitor your phone and emails as we may call, text or email you.
If you miss a call from us, please do not call back, we will contact you again.