Healthwatch Bristol works with church to explore eConsult healthcare barriers
Ten members of the local community have gathered at Sea Mills Methodist Church for a focus group exploring issues that can be caused by eConsult, an online consultation and triage platform used by GP surgeries.
The focus group was run by Healthwatch Bristol, an organisation that gathers user feedback on various health services, produces reports, and works with healthcare providers to improve experiences. Healthwatch Bristol worked with the Warm Welcome space that regularly runs at Sea Mills Methodist Church in order to make the event a success.
Two staff from Sea Mills Surgery also came to the session.
The session explored how eConsult can cause unintended barriers to booking primary healthcare appointments or getting medication.
Healthwatch Bristol says eConsult is used in approximately 20% of Bristol GP surgeries, as online booking of appointments and triaging becomes increasingly common.
Several regular visitors at the Sea Mills Warm Welcome space have previously shared their concerns with eConsult, and it was felt that hosting a focus group would be a great opportunity to provide space for these experiences to be heard and acted upon.
Participants became emotional as they reported their individual challenges using the system. They noted frustrations with it crashing (meaning they had to re-complete the form), not having the correct check-box options for an individual’s needs, or providing unnecessary or incorrect advice at the end of the process. Digital illiteracy was also mentioned, as well as difficulties filling in an online form when an individual is feeling particularly unwell at the time compared to speaking to someone on the phone.
However, participants also expressed a recognition that “online systems are here to stay” and therefore identified a few key changes that could make the system more effective moving forwards. The three main suggestions were to do with access, use and response.
Firstly, participants were confused about why an online system could only be used during GP surgery working hours, and requested that this b extended to make it easier for working individuals to use.
Secondly, a change to the order of questions in the eConsult form was suggested, allowing the user to begin by describing their health challenge in writing. The platform could then suggest potential categories, rather than beginning with an ill-fitting categorisation exercise before the user can share the reality of their situation.
Finally, it was strongly suggested that all staff responsible for triaging the eConsult responses should have full medical training. In many surgeries, GP doctors undertake the triaging; however, this is not always the case, and submissions can be processed by other members of staff. Focus group participants were motivated by personal experiences of receiving incorrect or misguided advice, which left them feeling overlooked and unheard.
Healthwatch Bristol will shortly be releasing a report on eConsult.