Consultant Connect, saving the NHS time and money, and improving patient care

An award-winning service that helps time-poor GPs treat their patients more efficiently is being incresingly adopted by NHS trusts.

Founded in 2015, Oxford-based Consultant Connect gives GPs the capability to communicate immediately with medical specialists by telephone, instant message and photo-message when their patients are in the consulting room.

Consultant Connect says that the UK average response time to a call is an incredible 27 seconds and estimates that its telephone advice service has saved the NHS more than £12 million to date by ensuring patients are given the right treatment from the start.

It also estimates that more than 60 per cent of calls through Consultant Connect avoid unnecessary referrals to hospitals, including accident and emergency.

The service has so far expanded to more than 60 areas of the UK covered by 50 NHS Trusts.

The company has also established a national network of NHS consultants to help areas manage demand. These consultants are usually part-time and can take calls on their days off. They act as a back-up to local services and provide specialities that are not available locally.

The phone camera function on its Consultant Connect app has also led to a 75 per cent reduction in hospital referrals for skin conditions.

CEO, Jonathan Patrick, said: “This is a golden period for innovation in the NHS.

“Austerity has been an unbelievably tough challenge, but the silver lining is that commissioners and hospitals are more open to new ways of doing things.

“New ways of making money go further and improving patient care through technology.”