Bolton’s NHS trust has taken a huge step towards making healthcare ‘accessible for all’ with a new online appointment system.
This comes with the launch of a new 24 hour, seven days a week online portal for adult patients to book in for blood tests.
The new system is for when patients have been advised by their GP, or by a clinic, that they need to book a blood test that can’t be done there, according to Bolton NHS Foundation Trust’s divisional director of operations for diagnostics and support services Ryan Calderbank.
He said: “We want to make sure healthcare is easy and accessible for all, and making access to blood tests easier for people who may otherwise have struggled will help us to achieve this, as well as putting patients in control by using digital technology.
“Not all clinics or GP surgeries may able to provide some of the more complex blood tests so this new system will help to ensure that these blood tests and referrals are made in good time.
“Our new online booking portal should also help to reduce the amount of time people wait to access a blood test and get the results they need.”
The booking portal will launch in March with appointments set to be available from Monday April 3.
Once it is up and running appointments will be available to be booked between 8.45am and 4.20pm, Monday to Friday with patients only needing to provide basic details.
The trust’s diagnostic and support service operational business manager Phil Henry says this will help people get access to blood tests much more efficiently.
He said: “We’re using technology to help improve our patient experience and ensure people can quickly and directly access blood tests when they’ve been referred to us.
“However, we are still making sure that those who need to ask questions about the process can speak to someone and get the answers they need.”
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Despite the new online service patients needing more complex tests or who have extra questions will still have the option to speak to healthcare staff.
Patients will be able to speak to staff between 10am-12pm, Monday-Friday on 01204 390923, but will not have access to additional slots.
Trust officials also say that paediatric bookings are not changing, with the process remaining to call 01204 463190 when referred by clinic or GP.
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