Anima

Anima is our new Online Consultation triage tool that will help you to access the services at Kirklands Surgery.

By using Anima we can ensure that our patients are seen by the correct clinician at the right time.  If you need an urgent or a routine appointment please complete an appointment request through Anima.  The information that you provide us is categorised for clinical safety and then triaged by our duty team.

Our team will then contact you with an outcome for your request.  This could be,

•           To offer you an appointment
•           To invite you in for more investigations, such as a blood test
•           To refer you on to another service
•           To provide you with information about your condition.
•            To provide you with medication, sick note etc.

     You can also use Anima to submit admin queries.

Anima is a secure, easy to use online system that allows you to:

• Request a GP or nurse appointment
• Ask questions about your care
• Request sick notes, prescriptions and more
• Submit information securely at any time of day
• Be triaged quickly by the right member of the team

You can use Anima to submit medical and admin requests to the Practice.

Medical requests can be submitted during surgery opening hours; 8:00am – 6:30pm, Monday to Friday.

Please submit a medical request when you are asking for an appointment for a new or ongoing medical issue or medical advice. We process Anima requests in order of medical urgency. If we class your request as “routine” you may wait up to 3 working days for a response. 

If it is classed as “urgent” we aim to respond the same day. Please note requests submitted later in the day may not receive a response until the following day.   If you have an urgent request please try to submit this before 11am.

During busy periods, when we have reached our urgent capacity we will not be able to accept urgent medical requests. We will accept urgent medical requests from 8:00am the next working day.

If you feel you do need advice today please either call or visit the surgery or visit 111.nhs.uk.

Anima will be available through the Kirkland's Surgery website or via the NHS app.

The Anima request page will offer the following options:

• Get help for a new or ongoing medical issue (available during opening hours if we have sufficient capacity)
• Submit an admin request
• Access NHS online help and advice (always available).

You can submit requests on other people's behalf.  Please make sure that you have selected their name before you submit the request.  Please include any relevant information that we can use to submit the patient including alternative phone numbers.

You will be asked to answer questions requested and approved by our GP's 

These are the same questions we will ask if you phone or visit us. 

One you have complete the Anima form and submitted your request, the information will be sent directly to our clinical triage team for review.

Please watch the videos below for more information on how to access and submit a request or download our helpful step by step guide.

We will contact you to explain what will happen next:

For medical requests: We process Anima requests in order of medical urgency. If we class your request as “routine” you may wait up to 3 working days for a response. If it is classed as “urgent” we aim to respond the same day. Please note requests submitted later in the day may not receive a response until the following day.

For admin requests: we aim to contact you within 3 working days.

We will contact you and may offer:

• A consultation either face-to-face, by telephone or by text with a health professional

• A test for further investigation, e.g. a blood test

• A fit/sick note

• A new prescription

• A referral to a specialist

• Details of other NHS services who can assist you

• Information about self-care.

• Consultations by phone can be more flexible and often mean a GP, nurse or another healthcare professional can help you sooner.

We may ask you for more information.

If we send you a message about your request, you will receive an email and/or a text. We will call you instead if you cannot receive emails or texts.

Please watch the videos below for more information

If you are having problems using Anima, you can visit the Anima help centre..

Anima is designed to help patients get the right care as quickly and safely as possible.

Using your smartphone, tablet, or computer connected to the internet you will be able to submit requests directly to our clinical team. Anima will ask you a series of questions tailored to your medical or administration need. The team will then review your request and respond via Anima to offer the most appropriate solution. This could include written advice and signposting, the prescribing of medication, or the offer of an appointment at an appropriate time.

• You can provide all the information that the practice requires to help you, without waiting on the phone.
• You will be asked questions based on your concerns but without the medical jargon.
• You will have the most appropriate and qualified clinician respond to your request, meaning you get the best help at the best time.
• You will be able to log onto the dashboard to see the outcomes of your past requests.

Anima is approved by the NHS and fully accredited to provide services to primary care practices.  We believe Anima is the most suitable solution for our patients and staff, and to meet our contractual requirements

If you are unable to submit a request online, don't worry.  Our staff are here to support and guide you through the process and can help you to complete a request over the phone or in person if needed.

We're making this change so that we can:

• Ensure every patient is seen by the right person at the right time
• Improve response times and patient safety
• Make the system fairer and more efficient for everyone

• You will no longer need to wait in a queue, over the phone or in person to request an urgent appointment at 8.30 or 2pm.
• You will no longer need to email us your medical request or queries.
• You will no longer need to submit e-consult requests.

Instead, you can submit an online request anytime between 8.30am and 6.30pm.

The staff at Kirkland's Surgery are committed to help our patients transition to this new system. 

We are pleased to share that Anima have posted their updated Privacy Policy on their website, which can be viewed at the follow link: https://www.animahealth.com/privacy-policy – If you have any questions on the content of this policy, you can contact Anima directly by emailing support@animahealth.com

As a reminder, Kirklands Surgery have carried out an extensive contractual and information governance review to ensure that we are satisfied that patient data is safe and used for the intended purpose of supporting our staff to provide quick and accurate care for our patients. We can confirm that:

When you submit a request through Anima, your personal data is not shared with any third parties, nor are you subject to any advertising.

Our use of the system is governed by UK legislation.

Data for use of the system is stored within the UK.

No data for use of the application is transferred outside of the UK.

Anima is a processor of data and only process personal data to the extent that is required for us as your GP practice to provide you with the care that you need.