IT IS as easy as the click of the button.

But it could help Hampshire health chiefs save tens of thousands of pounds and prevent sick and vulnerable people suffering agonising waits in pain and distress.

An IT guru is urging thousands of patients to help tackle the crisis caused by more than 6,300 GP appointments being wasted in Southampton each month, by getting them to manage their appointments online.

Southampton City Council Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) GP IT head Dr Mark Kelsey makes the plea in the wake of the Daily Echo’s Turn up or Tell ‘Em campaign laying bare the impact of wasted appointments.

It comes after we exclusively revealed how 6,300 appointments a week are missed in surgeries in the city due to people not bothering to show up for their slots.

Dr Kelsey launched the Patient Online system a year ago and has so far more than 34,000 people have signed up to it.

The system – available on computers, tablets and smartphones – saves patients' time; can be used to help people book, amend and cancel appointments; request repeat prescriptions and check blood tests online without having to visit or telephone surgeries.

Parents can also book appointments for their children up until the age of 16.

This in turn eases pressure on receptionists – giving them more time to deal with patients with more complicated queries or people without access to computers.

But Dr Kelsey warns that urgent same day appointments should still be telephoned up for and if people are running late on the day they should call the surgery rather than cancelling online.

Dr Kelsey, who is also CCG deputy chairman, said people of all ages are using the system and said: “The service doesn’t replace the traditional methods of booking appointments and requesting repeat prescriptions, it complements them.

"This means that people without a computer can still call or visit the surgery.

"It will help free up the receptionists to use the phone as we know people have a lot of problems getting through when the phone lines are busy.

“We know it is frustrating when people can’t get through on the phone so we need to find other ways we can do these things.”

He said the city’s surgeries use one of two separate systems each with “robust” measures to uphold online security that are similar to those used by high street banks to help prevent hackers accessing people’s records.

Surgeries carry out identification checks to ensure that people registering for accounts are legitimate.

He said it is the first step in a much bigger scheme to give people more control of their health by offering online access to their medical records, test results and doctors letters - plus reminders of cervical cancer tests and parents notifications of forthcoming childhood inoculations.

He said: “This really streamlines it. We are used to so many things being online in our lives from banking to booking holidays and the NHS needs to catch up.”

He also reminded people that GPs often reserve time at the end of the day to conduct telephone appointments with patients - meaning they do not always have to visit the surgery.

The shocking legacy of missed appointments come at a time when the NHS health service is struggling with a funding crisis and a shortage in GPs due to doctors retiring and leaving the service faster than they can recruit.

On average each appointment costs £23, depending on whether GPs or practice nurses are seen and what treatments are administered. Across the country 61,000 appointments are lost every day by patients not bothering to show up.

The time is equivalent to a year’s work for 1,300 doctors and costs the NHS more than £300 million.

Daily Echo:

JUGGLING a busy life as a journalist working long hours and changing shifts means taking time to visit or telephone a doctors’ surgery can be difficult to fit in.

But registering online to manage my GP appointments was truly one of the easiest things I have ever done.

The initial process involved visiting the surgery with identification such as a passport or driving licence to prove who I was before the receptionist printed out my login details and passwords.

Within two minutes I had a range of options at my fingertips, including the chance to book appointments with chosen GPs or nurses within seconds.

I could then cancel or amend these with a click of a mouse - while I could add notes to them to let staff know in more detail in advance the exact nature of the appointment.

I was able to order a repeat prescription with the option of collecting the medicine directly from the pharmacy rather than visiting the surgery beforehand.

I was also able to check the history of my vaccinations and inoculations which can prove easy to plan things such as foreign holidays.
Overall it is a vital tool which can help save both me and the surgery valuable time.

CCG chairwoman Dr Sue Robinson said: “It frees up our receptionists and staff who can spend more time helping patients with more complicated queries and who need the personal touch.”

To register visit your GP surgery to obtain login codes and passwords.