New digital appointments system at Peterborough City Hospital

The new service, provided by DrDoctor, will enable patients to view important information about their appointments online via a secure portal that they can access on their smartphone, tablet or desktop PC.

The service, which is also being rolled out at Hinchingbrooke, and Stamford and Rutland Hospitals, will see patients receive a text message to notify them of their upcoming appointment with a link to a secure patient portal. The text will be delivered from a +44 mobile number, clearly stating it is from North West Anglia NHS Trust.

Once logged in patients will be able to view important clinic information which may include leaflets and videos, view location information including google maps and floor plans and add their appointment to their personal calendar.

Phil Walmsley, Chief Operating Officer at North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Peterborough City, Hinchingbrooke, and Stamford and Rutland Hospitals, said: “We are very excited to be working with DrDoctor on this innovative project. The new service aims to improve the patient experience by giving patients instant access to information about their appointment, as well as reduce the number of patients not attending their appointment through text message reminders.

“We will also be rolling out digital appointment letters in the summer, giving patients the option to go paperless by viewing and downloading their appointment letter directly from the patient portal. This will allow us to deliver patient letters faster and improve our environmental impact as a result of reducing the amount of paper and postage we are using.”

The new service is completely optional and patients have the choice to sign up to email reminders rather than text alerts or opt out of reminders altogether.

Visit the Trust website to find out more about the new system: https://www.nwangliaft.nhs.uk/patients-and-visitors/patient-information/outpatients/drdoctor-outpatient-appointment-management-system/