Introduction
Following the merge of Mill Road Surgery and Bluebell Surgery, the services offered at Bluebell Surgery are aligning to those offered with patients of Mill Road. The team at Mill Road Surgery and Bluebell Surgery are keen to continue to offer the best possible patient care.
In recent years however, due to limited funding from NHS England, we are having to think of different ways we can deliver safe care to our patients and making the most out of every pound spent. NHS England have steered the focus of General Practice in the direction of Digital Health.
Digital Health in simple terms means increased access via digital avenues to access healthcare. This does not mean healthcare is exclusively delivered digitally, nor does it mean access for those who do not use digital platforms is limited. It simply allows those who can submit requests digitally to do so from the comfort of their home, at their workplace, during the school rush etc., as opposed to needing to be physically present at the surgery.
Those who cannot access the surgery via these means are still able to present to the surgery reception team, or call via our phone lines, and we anticipate waiting times on our phones will decrease significantly due to the increase in digital requests as opposed to verbal requests.
We ask that you work with us through this transition, we know change is not always well-received at first, however we have carefully thought out these new pathways and have always kept patient experience in mind when considering different providers. With this in mind, please be respectful to our staff during this transition and we thank you for your kind understanding and patience.
What is AccuRx?
AccuRx is an online platform that connects our clinical and admin teams to you via online requests. These clinical requests will go directly to the clinical team who will review its urgency and what appropriate action needs to be taken, from here you will receive a response of the clinician’s assessment and what further action needs to be taken, this could include a prescription, a booked face to face appointment, a telephone appointment, or simply some advice.
What to do if I don’t have access to a smartphone?
You can call the surgery where one of the team will complete this form on your behalf. Therefore, phone lines will be reserved for those who need to use them, as opposed to all patients rushing to queue at 8am where they could otherwise submit the form online via their smartphone.
Who will deal with my query?
For administrative queries, this will be a member of the admin team. For medical queries, this will be a clinician, either a doctor or nurse practitioner/paramedic practitioner, dependent on the type of query.
What queries can I send in?
Admin queries: including change of address, prescription queries and medical forms for a doctor to fill in.
Medical queries: including minor illnesses, vaccinations, medication reviews, skin conditions, contraception and much more (please see patient leaflet).
How much information must I include?
Ideally as much as possible as this will help us to manage your request or query efficiently for you.
What if I want to call at 8am to guarantee an appointment?
This will not be possible from 26th August 2026. You will be asked either to complete the form on your smartphone or our receptionist can complete it on your behalf.
This request will then be sent to the clinicians who will review it with the same priority as someone completing it at home, or via the telephone. This will remove the ‘8am rush’ in totality, as requests will be dealt with based on urgency as opposed to submission time.
We feel this process is a fairer way of dealing with requests, meaning those with urgent requests can be seen as a higher priority, whereas those with routine requests may be asked to wait for an appointment. As this is assessed by a clinician, we are confident that this is the safest avenue for triaging appointments.
How long will it take to process my query?
We will process your request or query up to two working days dependent on clinical urgency. If you need to see a clinician in an absolute emergency, please visit the Urgent Treatment Centre within the grounds of Colchester General Hospital or call 999.
Do I need to create an account?
No, you can submit a request for yourself or on behalf of someone else and you do not require an account. The process is faster if you login via the NHS app to complete this, as it pre-populates your personal information, however this is not obligatory.
Will this take over the role of your staff?
No. AccuRx will be an aid to our staff, but we will still require our clinical and administrative teams just as much, all that changes is instead of dealing with requests verbally they will be written. We anticipate that some additional time will be freed up for administrative staff which will allow for faster processing of other essential tasks.