A YORK GP practice which requires patients to book appointments online is addressing patient concerns, it has said.

Last September Unity Health, which has some 24,000 patients at surgeries in Hull Road, Wenlock Terrace and the University of York, announced that all appointments would be made via an online consultation with a nurse who would get back to the patient by the end of the next working day.

However, concerns were expressed to Healthwatch York, that the new system would exclude some patients who wouldn’t be able to make appointments without support.

The health watchdog decided to produce a report on the new appointment system which showed the majority of respondents preferred the old system when they had the option of phoning or waiting for an on-the-day appointment.

Key concerns with the system raised by survey respondents included whether the system is the right one for all types of appointments, concern over confidentiality, problems with the form itself, the need for a quicker route for routine prescriptions and access to the form outside surgery hours.

But a Healthwatch spokesman said Unity Health had already taken steps to address some of the concerns raised and Healthwatch York will be working with Unity to repeat this survey in June.

Louise Johnston, the managing partner of Unity Health, said the input into their ‘trailblazing new admissions system’ was welcome and many extra improvements had since been made. Ms Johnston said: “We are being highlighted as an example of best practice across the UK as more practices introduce e-consultation. Now that the system has bedded in, and patients are familiar with it, the practice is working more efficiently and patient satisfaction is on the up.”