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Operational Consistency

• The portal aligns with when staff and resources are available for patient care and

Patient Safety

• Patients with urgent needs might delay seeking immediate care, assuming their request will be quickly addressed once the surgery opens.

Logging into Anima and setting up an account for yourself or a dependent is quick and simple. You can click on the following link: patients.animahealth.com/signIn or access it via the Anima Button on our Surgery’s website. Please avoid searching for Anima on Google as this will not take you to the correct link owing to each GP practice having its own Anima Homepage.

You can create an account with the same email and password you use to log onto the NHS app. Alternatively, you can set up an account with any email and password.

Anima will ask you for your full name, date of birth, home address (including postcode), phone number , email and NHS number (optional). You will also need be able to tag your named GP.

Whilst there is no set time that you should set up you account, we recommend you do it as soon as possible so its ready for when you need it.

No, Anima can only be accessed using the following link:

patients.animahealth.com/signIn

Yes, if you don't have access to the internet or don't have an email address, you can still contact the practice using the phone.

Reception will then complete an Anima request on your behalf. This involves us asking you multiple choice questions and your responses then being triaged using the same traffic light system we use for assessing requests made online by patients.

You may want to ask a relative or next of kin to set up your Anima account on your behalf.

We would advise, if possible, to use local amenities such as the library for free internet access or use our in house iPad.

Anima will be available for contacting our surgery Monday to Friday between 7:30am and 4:30pm. You can view your account 24/7.

If you require urgent out of hours support, we recommend visiting Sevenoaks urgent treatment Centre, calling NHS 111, Calling 999 or going to A&E.

No, you will still be able to contact us via telephone. However, we encourage those who have internet access to use the online Anima form so that our phone lines are more accessible for those without internet access.

Your appointment request will be triaged in the same way, regardless of whether you fill in the online form or the practice does it on your behalf.

No. The same Anima request form will be used regardless of whether you fill this out yourself online or whether you contact the practice and we do this on your behalf.

All requests are triaged using the same traffic light system, which helps allocate appointments most appropriately.

We will use every effort to respond to all Anima requests promptly and those that are clinically urgent will be processed and dealt with no more than 24 hours after your form is submitted.

You will also be able to monitor the progress of your request through your Anima account. However, should your symptoms change or worsen please compete a new Anima request or, if appropriate, call 999 for emergency support.

All staff have been trained in using Anima. However, be assured our reception staff will ask you the same questions as if you're selfcompleting an enquiry form and will not themselves be deciding how clinically urgent your request is.

The questions you get asked are tailored for a variety of different conditions/symptoms and your answers will be analysed by the Anima system.

Any enquiry forms that trigger a ‘RED’ OR ‘AMBER’ alert will go straight to one of our clinicians for an initial assessment. ‘GREEN’ responses will be dealt with by our reception staff.

If your condition is not listed, please use the 'condition not listed' option.

Anima is approved by the NHS and works with the practice in order to enable us to provide you with care. They sign specific data  protection agreements to allow us to do this, and only collect the data needed in order to make this happen.

Please be assured that your data is safe and will never be sold or passed onto another supplier without your prior agreement.

Our practice will is not longer using eConsult. We would therefore recommend closing your account.

The decision was made across the board in Tunbridge Wells for all surgeries within the Primary Care Network agreeing this was the best option.

Anima is already being successfully used in other surgeries both locally and nationally.

We understand there are a lot of online platforms and apps available and fully appreciate this can cause confusion. Our practice supports patient choice, however we recommend using the NHS app and Anima over other systems as these best link to our internal systems.

Both Anima and the NHS app can be used with the same login details, which also reduces the need to create multiple accounts and passwords.

Yes. As a practice, we take diversity and equality very seriously and aim to take all reasonable steps required to support patients with additional needs.

If you book an appointment with any health professionals and at the appointment they recommend a follow up, will they still be able to book that for you as they do now, or do you have to go through the whole procedure again?

If your clinician advises you to make a followup appointment, we recommend booking this via reception whilst you're still on site. Reception will be able to book you into a designated ‘follow-up appointment’ slot without needing to go through Anima. If it is not convenient for you to do this, you will need to use Anima and complete a ‘new’ enquiry form.

Yes, if its appropriate to add photos, Anima will give you the option to do so whilst completing the enquiry form.

No, both are totally seperate companies. Our practice is no longer using eConsult so we recommend you close your account to avoid future confusion.

Whilst every effort will be made to book you in with your named GP, if we believe you need a same day appointment based on your request, you may have to see whichever clinician has availability.

The NHS plans for all general practices to offer a ‘digital front door’ and we have chosen to use this platform to make our services as accessible as possible.

The following devices/resources can be used:

• Surgery iPad (level 1 reception)
• Your own electronic device
• Facilities on offer at the library

If you cannot use the above, our reception staff can complete an request on your behalf.

If they don't have an email address of their own, a separate account can be created for them which only the surgery has access to. Those under 14 can be linked to the guardian's account as a 'dependent'.

Outside of 7:30am to 4:30pm, you should, if required, use urgent out of hours support. We recommend visiting Sevenoaks urgent treatment Centre, Tunbridge Wells UTC, calling 111, going to A&E, calling 999 or if possible, waiting until the following working day.

Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) - Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust

Yes. A nurse related matter such as a routine smear test or dressing change can be booked. Otherwise, if you are unsure what is needed, we recommend completing an Anima enquiry form for the best outcome.

You will receive an email containing your log in information.

This comes under ‘Respiratory’.