Administrators form an integral part of all systems and processes within the NHS, the importance of which is reflected on National Administrative Professionals Day. At Consultant Connect, we recognise the vital role that admin plays in healthcare, which is why Enhanced Advice & Guidance (A&G) is designed to save both clinical and admin teams time by making processes easier and quicker.
Consultant Connect is useful for administrators in Primary Care to:
1. Raise an e-RS referral for bookable services* in half the steps:
Advice and Refer by Consultant Connect links our A&G platform with the e-RS referrals system. Advice and Refer means that after healthcare professionals seek Messaging A&G, if a referral is advised, admin teams can raise an e-RS referral for bookable services in the Consultant Connect message in their browser. It’s the easiest, most seamless way to review a patient’s case and, if necessary, refer that patient to a local clinic.
2. Automatically receive a summary of clinical A&G to the patient’s record**:
The PDF document automatically appears in the practice’s usual documentation management system, in the same way correspondence from the local trust/hospital is received. Admins can either ‘accept’ or ‘reject’ the PDF document. Accepting the document pushes it into the patient’s record. The PDF can be rejected if the document cannot be reconciled with a patient from the practice.
Patient record integration ensures a complete record of the advice sought is linked to the correct surgery where the patient is registered.
3. Answer GP bypass calls
Taking calls from healthcare professionals outside the surgery ensures that when they need to make contact, they can get through appropriately and in a timely manner. Answering GP practice bypass calls via Consultant Connect ensures that the correct telephone numbers are all stored in one place for ease of access, with all calls recorded for medico-legal reasons.
‘Bypass Numbers help with everyone’s workloads. Everyone at the practice is happy to facilitate the outcome of bypass calls, whether it’s the district nursing team asking about medication, in which case they would be transferred to the medicines management team, or paramedics discussing the outcomes of treatment plans.’
– Scott Morgan, Office Manager of a GP practice in Swansea, who answers bypass calls.
4. View summary and performance statistics across all specialties for your practice in one place, including volumes of calls, photos, and messages*:
Statistics include the number of calls placed by clinicians at the practice, connection speed, call duration and outcomes reported on connected calls. Admins can simply log in to Consultant Connect in their browser using their app credentials or sign up using their NHS email address.
5. Access and download call recordings:
All calls are recorded for medico-legal purposes and can be downloaded to the user’s device as an MP3 file via Consultant Connect in their browser. There is no expiry date for call recordings, so staff can go back and listen whenever necessary.
6. View and download photos and close message interactions on behalf of clinicians*:
Administrators can see all the practice’s open and closed photo and messaging sessions and download them as secure PDF files to their devices via Consultant Connect in their browser. Admins can filter photos and messages by the date and time of the cases and re-open them if needed.
7. Start a new message and/or upload photos to send to relevant specialty teams for advice on behalf of clinicians**:
Simply enter the patient’s NHS number, fill in the proforma information and securely attach files/photos as needed. New messages can be created and sent via the free Consultant Connect App or Consultant Connect in your browser.
Admin staff are also invaluable for specialty teams in Secondary Care. Access to Consultant Connect allows administrators in a hospital/trust to:
1. View summary and performance statistics across all specialties in your hospital/trust in one place, including calls, photos, and messages*:
View figures including number of calls placed and answered, connection speed, duration, and outcomes reported on connected calls. Data can help understand a specialty’s pressure points and see where A&G requests come from.
2. Access and download call recordings:
All calls are recorded for medico-legal purposes and can be downloaded to the user’s device as an MP3 file via Consultant Connect in their browser. There is no expiry date for call recordings, so staff can go back and listen whenever necessary.
3. Manage rotas, view, and edit the list of specialists in your hospital/trust answering A&G calls and/or messages, and add clinicians’ annual leave to the rota to ensure they only receive A&G requests when they are available:
Search the entire list of specialists at your trust/hospital or filter by specialty using the dropdown list. New specialists, such as consultants, registrars, or nurse specialists, can be added to the rota to minimise the risk of missed or unanswered queries.
* Specialties and services available differ by practice/locality.
** Patient record integration is only available to GP practices in England.
Andy Finlay, Improvement Programme Manager, Patient First Improvement Team at North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust, carried out some analysis on typical admin time spent to process e-RS A&G queries vs Consultant Connect A&G:
‘It takes an administrator 8-10 minutes on average to process one e-RS A&G. This includes the request with one attachment (previous or current results, etc.), and the vast majority of referrals have at least one to two attachments. The same administrator takes zero minutes to process anything about Consultant Connect, as they’re not involved in the operational element. They reap the benefits of the tool instead.’
Please note that only authorised users at a practice/trust/hospital can access PID reports. To find out more or to request access, please contact your NHS area’s Account Manager or email the Consultant Connect Team at hello@consultantconnect.org.uk.
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