A pilot is underway to enable GP practices to update and maintain their own entries on www.nhs.uk – the official website for accessing information about NHS services.
Patients often use information from the www.nhs.uk website to decide which surgery to enrol with, so it is essential that the practice information held on the site is accurate and up to date.
Around 50 GP practices have volunteered to edit their own details either online or by returning corrections on paper to NHS Connecting for Health, which is responsible for www.nhs.uk.
According to CfH both electronic and manual options will provide an opportunity for GPs to take ownership of their data, improving the quality of information about them on the website. They will also be able to raise awareness of www.nhs.uk in GP surgeries.
Historically, each primary care trust (PCT) was been responsible for managing GP entries on www.nhs.uk. However, information has not always been maintained in a timely and accurate way and following the October wave of PCT mergers it was decided to let practices maintain the information displayed about their services.
CfH’s GP clinical leads Dr Gillian Braunold and Professor Mike Pringle, as well as senior executives from the agency, have been consulted in the design of this project.
The current pilot will enable further engagement with the 50 GP practices that have volunteered to take part, before the process is reviewed, refined and rolled out to other GP practices across the country.
The pilot began on 24 October and, if successful, the approach will be extended across England.
Link