Practice Newsletter: January Edition

Meet Andi our new virtual Care Navigator

We are delighted that we now have Andi, our new virtual Care Navigator. Andi is helping patients who prefer to submit their Anima requests over the phone rather than completing an online form themselves. This means that if you call the practice and need help submitting an Anima online request, Andi will ask you questions, just like the online form and will take down your answers. This will then be automatically submitted to our Triage team, and they will respond just as they would do if you submitted online.

How does it work and what this means for you?

• If you would prefer to submit your request by telephone, you will now be able to select this option and it will put you through to Andi, who will help complete the Anima request on your behalf.
• You can still submit your own request online through Anima as usual. This remains our preference as we gain more information which is important to help triage your request.
• Your request will then be sent straight to the Triage team, ensuring it is handled quickly and efficiently.

Benefits for our patients

• Reduced phone queues – less time waiting to speak to someone as Andi can handle multiple calls at the same time.
• Easier to submit a request by phone – no need to go online if that is not convenient or you struggle with the internet/ forms.

Benefits for the practice

• Frees up staff time to focus on patient care.
• Improves efficiency in managing patient requests.
• Reduces waiting times and eases pressure on phone lines.

Summary

Whilst Andi is AI, he sounds quite natural - so much so you may think you are speaking to a real person. As a practice we are committed to making it easier for all patients to access our services whether online or over the phone. Thank you for your patience and support as we pilot this new system.

Appointment Statistics

• In the month of December a total of 131 patients failed to attend their appointments, which could have been offered to other patients.
• This has cost the NHS £5,240 so far this year in missed appointments.
• You can cancel appointments on the NHS app, using SystmOnline or by telephoning the surgery.

Published: Jan 21, 2026