1. Submit

Whenever you have a health concern, you can complete a request here.

You can submit requests for a variety of medical and administrative queries.

If you want to request a GP appointment please select the option “I want help with a medical issue” or see our videos below.

Get Help for a Medical Issue from your GP Surgery | Anima

As these do not need triaging you can contact the surgery for the following:

• Any regular injections including B12, testosterone, prostate, depo, etc. 
• Vaccinations
• Travel Vaccination
• Any annual reviews, including diabetes, asthma/copd, etc. 
• Medication reviews
• Cervical Screening (smear) test
• NHS health checks
• Blood test appointment 
• Follow up appointment for test results (if received a text message from the surgery)
• New pregnancies 

2. Review

Once your request has been submitted, it is not necessary to contact us to find out the status of your request, updates can be found on the Anima tracker and we encourage patients to check this regularly. 

Anima requests are triaged based on clinical urgency, with appointments allocated accordingly.

Once processed, you will receive a text update or a phone call from a member of the team.

General enquiries can also be submitted via Anima and can take 2 working days to action.

FAQs

What are the opening times for Anima?

Anima is open from 07.30 every weekday. 

Why Is Anima closed?

The practice closes one afternoon per month for staff training, on these days Anima will close at 12.30. Training dates can be found here. 

Remember there are also out of hours services when we are closed, including the Enhanced Access Hub, 111 and 999.

How soon will I hear back?

Appointment requests are triaged based on clinical need and appointments are allocated accordingly. We aim to respond to all appointment requests within one working day.

General enquiries and routine requests may take up to two working days to action. 

You can always check the status of your query via your Anima dashboard.

What happens if I can’t access the internet or don’t feel confident using it?

Our reception team are always happy to help.

They are able to submit requests for patients who require additional support, these patients have already been identified with the practice. The reception team will then call you back to inform you of the outcome of your request.

Our dedicated tech support team can offer support and guide patients through the process to give you the confidence to submit your own requests in the future.

Submitting the online request yourself enables you to answer the questions freely, and is the most efficient method of requesting appointments. By doing so, it speeds up the process and allows reception to help those requiring additional support. 

Why have we changed to Anima?

GP practices are experiencing significant strain with declining GP numbers and increasing demand. Ensuring that patients are seen by the appropriate clinician in the right place and the right time means that patient care and experience is improved, and it reduces pressure on GP practices, allowing GPs to spend their time where it is needed the most. The idea behind a total digital triage is also to avoid the “8am rush” that has become a problem for many. This approach is supported by NHS England who have advised that GP surgeries consider this approach in future.

Can I use Anima to request a repeat prescription?

Yes you can either use the NHS app or Anima to request medication. Alternatively, you can come into the surgery to request via a medication slip at reception and posting requests through the prescription box. 

Is Anima an App?

No, Anima is not an app currently. It can only be accessed through the website. The Anima team are working on integration with the NHS app and we will update you when this has happened.

Once on Anima, there is the option to use your NHS app login credentials, or create your own unique Anima username and password.

The reception team can help you to save the website as an icon on your homescreen so it easily accessible. 

Can I contact Anima directly?

Yes! We would encourage you to email Anima’s support team on support@animahealth.com if you have trouble using the website.

How do I add a dependant to my account?

You can add dependants to your Anima account if they are registered at the same GP practice as you. Once you add someone as a dependant, you will be able to submit Anima requests on their behalf - this may be useful to submit requests for children, or elderly relatives for example. For further help and a detailed guide, please click here.

Our appointments are triaged based on clincial need. For more urgent matters, a same day appointment will be offered.

We kindly remind patients to answer calls from reception, as we may be able to offer an appointment at short notice. 

For routine requests we can offer pre-bookable appointments up to two weeks in advance. 

If you have a preferred clinician or availability requirements, please specify this on the anima request.  

We ask patients to submit one problem per request only discuss. This ensures that each request can be traiged effectiviely and booked with the right clinican, at the right time. 

Should you arrive more than 5 minutes late for your appointment, our computer system will automatically mark you as not arrived and your appointment will need to be rebooked. We thank you for your understanding with this matter. 

Telephone consultations are available with a GP or Nurse Practioner.

You may be offered a telephone consultations in the first instance dependant on your clinical need. If the appointment is booked for the morning the Clinician will contact you between 08.30  and 13.00.  For afternoon appointments the Clincian will contact you between 14.00 to 18.30. 

We shall contact you twice. If there is no answer you will need to submit another request via our appointment booking system to re-arrange the appointment. Unfortunately we do not have capacity to call more than twice. 

It is advised that you keep the surgery up to date of any changes to your details. 

Housebound patients are not required to submit an Anima request.

Please call reception before 10am and the team will pass your request to a GP to be triaged.

We also have a Paramedic Home team that attend home visits for housebound patients. 

Please let reception know that it is a home visit you require with a clear description of the problem.

East Northants Enhanced Access Hub

If the doctor or nurse is going to carry out an intimate or personal examination they will explain the examination, procedure or consultation and will offer you the choice to have a chaperone present in the room during the examination or consultation.

Some clinicians may require a chaperone to be present. You can choose whether a member of staff provides the chaperone, or a person of your own choice.

If a chaperone cannot be made available at that time then another appointment will be made for you.

You can help us by:-

• Being on time for your appointment. After five minutes your appointment will be missed.
• Please report to Reception or use the self check in screen upon arrival. If you do not let us know you have arrived, we cannot see you and if it is too late you will be asked to re-book your appointment. 
• If you need to cancel an appointment, please give a minimum of one hour notice so we can then offer it to somebody else.
• Signing up for the NHS app for test results
• If you change your contact details, complete the following online form. 
• Try using the NHS app or Anima for online prescription orders
• We are a large/busy practice, please be patient and respect all our staff.

It is important that you and your family are able to ask questions and get answers about your health in your own language. 

Harborough Field Surgery can make arrangements for an interpreter to join your GP/Nurse consultation over the telephone.

If you require a sign-language interpreter this can be arranged in person provided sufficient notice has been given. 

Please advise reception when booking appointments if you require an interpreter so that these arrangements can be made on your behalf. 

• When you receive your appointment reminder via text message you can respond via the link to cancel your appointment.
• Telephone the surgery to speak to a member of the reception team. 
• You can also complete our appointment cancellation notification request form (this can only be used if your appointment has been arranged for more than 24 hours in advance (excluding weekends and public holidays)
• Through Anima, using the admin request option.

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS FOR HARBOROUGH FIELD APPOINTMENTS ONLY AND NOT EAST NORTHANTS ENHANCED ACCESS APPOINTMENTS. YOU WILL NEED TO CONTACT YOUR OWN SURGERY IF YOU NEED TO CANCEL AN ENHANCED ACCESS APPOINTMENT.

If you need to cancel your Hub appointment and your surgery is closed, please email northantsicb.eastnorthantspcn@nhs.net. Please note this email is only monitored Monday to Friday 18.30-20.00 and Saturday 09.00-17.00 and will only deal with cancellations. 

If you're planning to travel outside the UK you may need to be vaccinated against some of the serious diseases found in other parts of the world.

Please find the link below which will give more advice and guidance on the vaccinations you may require

View the NHS Travel Vaccination Advice

At least 6 weeks before travel please complete the following document and return to reception. If you are unable to access the link then you can collect a form from reception. Travel Vaccination Form

Your Travel Vaccination Form will be assessed by the travel nurse and appointment will be made for you if necessary. 

The surgery has been accredited as being suitable as a training practice for trainee Doctors and Nurses. 

The trainers in the practice are Dr Pawlik and Dr Umrao. Our GP registrars are with us for a few months at a time as part of their ongoing training. Video recordings of consultations are often used for training purposes and therefore you may be asked if you are willing to have your consultation videoed. You will be asked at the time you book your appointment if you consent to this. The training doctor and registrar are the only people to use the recording, it is then erased.

There are occasions when medical students or registrars may need to sit in with one of the clinicians during your appointment. You will always be informed and have the right to decline if preferred.

Please accept these trainee practioners as a valued addition to our team and consult with them as you would any other doctor/nurse in the practice.