NHS Direct has developed an online initial assessment tool to make it quicker and easier for our users to contact the service. People with internet access can now bypass NHS Direct’s initial telephone assessment by using our new online tool to assess their symptoms and get advice.
The online assessment tool asks users some initial questions about themselves and their health problem. Where appropriate, it will give people advice on how they can treat their symptoms at home, or if necessary direct them to another health service. Those who need further advice will be given the option to click to get a call-back from an NHS Direct nurse advisor.
The new tool mirrors the clinical assessment criteria used by NHS Direct health advisors in our call centres. People using the online tool will be asked similar questions to those asked over the telephone, and the advice given, based on users’ answers to the questions, will be the same.
James Smith, aged 63, from Northumberland, used the online initial assessment tool for an upset stomach. He said:
“I have never used NHS Direct’s telephone service, but when I was feeling ill with an upset stomach I decided to go online to get some advice. I found the tool excellent, despite not being of the ‘computer generation’ age! I liked the fact that I could take responsibility for my own illness and could do this in my own time. I can really see how a tool like this could save people time, especially those who may struggle to attend a face-to-face appointment."
Since its launch mid-November 2009, there have been over 300,000 visits to NHS Direct’s online assessment tool.
Obviously, some people will still prefer to speak to our staff over the phone or they may not have access to the internet. They will still be able to call NHS Direct 24 hours a day, seven days a week in exactly the same way as before.
