Online booking service for sexual health appointments relaunched

Our 24/7 online booking service for sexual health appointments—eTriage—has been relaunched.

Patients can request a sexual health clinic appointment by accessing eTriage via any page of the HIV & Sexual Health section—all patients receive an appointment within 48 hours.

The revamped service went live in October thanks to the hard work of a team including John Pickett (Sexual Health Service Manager), Rona Davis (IM&T Project Manager), Harry Johnson (Computer Consultant), Katarzyna Makarewicz (Call Centre Supervisor) and Lynn Dayking (Call Centre Manager).

They analysed the use of the previous online booking system, including its useability and the attendance rate for appointments made online. The study showed that bookings and attendance rates could be increased by redesigning the system.

Dr Ann Sullivan, Consultant Physician in the HIV & Sexual Health team, worked with the Trust’s Communications Department to redesign the web pages to make them quicker and easier to navigate and make a booking—with dedicated information for young people.

The redesign has resulted in an increased number of visits to the online booking service, more bookings made online, and an increased attendance rate for clinic appointments.

The online booking service also now enables patients to select from a range of dates and times for clinic appointments to suit their lifestyle and commitments.

An automated texting service has been introduced to confirm appointments. Patients no longer have to wait for a letter to confirm their appointment because a text on their phone confirms and acts as a reminder of their appointment.