New digital service ‘to allow every UK GP surgery to offer remote consults’

A group of GPs and NHS healthcare workers has developed a free teleconsultation service that it hopes will allow every GP surgery in the UK to offer remote consultations. 

Nye Health is a desktop and mobile-based platform that allows GPs to offer consultations to patients via video or phone call.

The service, which is now live and is free for the NHS to use, has been designed to help reduce the number of patients attending GP surgeries in person by enabling doctors to work remotely where required.

It can also help free up capacity during peak periods, triaging patients so that more urgent cases are prioritised for face-to-face appointments.

Dr Alexander Finlayson, founder and CEO of Nye Health, said: “Given the current crisis and in response to calls from the Secretary of State for Health to make sure clinical remote working is possible, we’ve rapidly and urgently built technology to help UK GPs cope and ensure they can still care for their patients.

“This tech has been built for and with the NHS. It is free, it’s completely secure, and it will help GPs process fast, effective appointments via call or video call. We can save each clinician crucial time everyday whilst keeping everyone as safe as possible – this will prove absolutely critical in the weeks to come, especially if GPs are forced to work from home.”

Nye Health’s phone and video call system is fully encrypted and compliant with NHS Digital standards. It also integrates with existing records, systems and databases, meaning all patients, care, data and insights are kept within the NHS.

The team behind Nye Health said it was already seeing “major demand” for the service, with thousands of consultations taking place each week and new surgeries joining the platform each day.

Meanwhile, the ground floor of Oxford University’s Oxford Foundry has been turned into a response centre to help cope with demand.

One advanced nurse practitioner in Oxford added: “Our clinicians are more relaxed knowing that we are taking positive action towards keeping our clinicians safe and doing what we can to reduce the spread of illness during this testing time.”

Clinicians or practice managers who wish to access the technology should visit https://www.meet.nye.health/