Dr Naomi Lauret is General Practitioner at Woodlands Surgery in NHS Surrey Heartlands CCG.
Five months after the Consultant Connect Telephone Advice & Guidance was made available to her practice, Dr Lauret talks to us about what she thinks of the service and how using the Consultant Connect App has improved patient care.
1. What would you say are the key benefits you’ve gained since using the Consultant Connect service?
- “Ability to provide faster and better care for patients
- Often able to access immediate advice whilst the patient is in the room
- Improved confidence in treating patients
- Better informed/increased knowledge from speaking to specialists
- Reduction in unnecessary referrals
- Improved integration between local GPs and consultants, resulting in better relationships with consultants.”
2. What do you see as the main benefits to your patients?
- “It improves their care
- Patients generally appreciate the input of a consultant
- Patients get better care faster
- Unnecessary referrals are reduced.”
3. Do you have feedback about communications received regarding the service? What do you think of the Consultant Connect App?
- “Communication and information I received from Consultant Connect about the service has been good.
- Since launch I’ve used the service approximately twice a month
- The Consultant Connect App is excellent
- I highly recommend colleagues to use Consultant Connect
- This service is an improvement on the tools I had before, it’s a great resource!”
4. Can you share a recent example of how the service helped you and a patient?
- “I wanted some more information on how to manage a fontanelle question for a 13-week old baby
- I used the Consultant Connect App to speak to a Paediatrician
- We discussed my questions over the phone
- This saved an unnecessary referral.”