What is askmyGP?
askmyGP is our online way to get help, advice and treatment from the doctor of your choice.
What is ‘Urgent Only’?
It’s when you have a medical issue that needs to be looked at today. This could be something new that’s come on suddenly (an acute condition) or a long-term problem (chronic illness) that has unexpectedly got worse. The key questions to ask yourself are: Am I feeling much worse today than I was yesterday? Has … Continued
How does it work?
You send a secure message via our website, letting us know your issue and how you would like us to get back to you. We will reply quickly and arrange to see you in person if needed.
Why do we use ‘Urgent Only’?
AskMyGP helps us deliver a fast and efficient service to patients. On average, we respond to most queries within an hour and resolve 90% of requests the same day. We have 4 years of data that shows us the number of requests we typically receive and the staff we need to deal with them. We … Continued
Who can use it?
Any patient registered with us can use askmyGP, or a carer or parent on their behalf.
When do we use ‘Urgent Only’?
We open AskMyGP for routine requests every morning. When fully staffed, we switch to ‘Urgent Only’ around 1 pm so the team can focus on urgent issues, including unwell children and adults. We sometimes use ‘Urgent Only‘ earlier or have it on all day. That is when our capacity to deal with requests is reduced … Continued
Do I need to download an app or anything?
No, askmyGP is a web-based system, not an app. However, you can add it to your mobile phone home screen with a shortcut, so it will work as an app. You can even get notifications when you receive messages.
Why can’t I submit a query and have you deal with it when you can?
Each site has an ‘on-call’ doctor who assigns your requests to a GP, prioritising urgent ones first. The list could become unmanageable without a way to manage requests when we’re at capacity, affecting patient safety and staff wellbeing.
Do I need to sign up to use it, and how long does it take?
Yes, but it’s easy, just enter your name, date of birth, postcode and contact details. You can set up an account and be ready to send a request in minutes.
What do other practices using AskMyGP do?
Some practices ‘switch off’ their system at a particular time or after a set number of requests. We don’t want to do this. The system allows patients to contact us without waiting in a telephone queue.