By X-on Health
X-on Health is thrilled to announce it is joining forces with Hanley Consulting to help tackle one of the most persistent challenges in primary care: the “8am rush” for GP appointments. This partnership brings powerful technologies, data analytics, and expert services together to achieve their shared goal of transforming patient access to primary care.
A strategic partnership to improve access
Following the NHS’s recent initiative to adopt Cloud-based telephony across GP practices in England, Surgery Connect, X-on’s flagship product, is now used by more than half of them. Each practice, on average, handles over 330 calls per working day with a significant portion received before 9am. This timely collaboration aims to help practices better manage call volumes, alleviating pressure on staff and improving the patient experience.
The Hanley team are experts in improving patient access, having delivered many successful projects for primary care partner organisations since 2009. They specialise in streamlining and optimising processes by enabling surgeries to better utilise the tools available to them to proactively manage the growing demands they face.
Hanley have recently introduced their own innovative technology solution, EDATT, now known as Surgery Assist, which is an automated digital support assistant for patients. Independent research confirms that it is proven to reduce inbound telephone calls and increase NHS App utilisation, enabling busy reception teams to better manage demand and work towards the reallocation of staff to deliver proactive and preventative care. One early adopter practice has already experienced 54% fewer calls during the “8am rush” as a result of the solution and applied nationally it is estimated that the service could result in 9.1 million fewer calls received per month by GP practices.
Bringing practical solutions to GP practices
Surgery Assist is designed as a fully agnostic digital solution, meaning it seamlessly integrates with any Cloud-based telephony system approved on the NHS purchasing framework. This flexibility ensures that regardless of the specific telephony provider in use, Surgery Assist can be implemented without the need for major changes to existing systems. Compatibility was one of the key drivers of the design, making it an ideal choice for practices looking to enhance their digital support capabilities while retaining their current telephony infrastructure. This approach not only streamlines the adoption process but also maximises ease of use across various NHS-approved systems.
Julian Coe, Managing Director at X-on Health, expressed his excitement about the new partnership: “We are delighted to have Hanley Consulting joining the X-on team. Everyone across the whole of the country wants to see an end to the 8am rush for GP appointments and by adding the intellectual property that Hanley have developed, we offer a very powerful solution. But the technology is only one element of the solution, we know that practices also need human help.”
Demand on staff time and a lack of resources often mean that practices don’t fully utilise the technology that they have adopted. With that in mind, X-on Health and Hanley have combined their knowledge and data resources, to create a sensible and effective solution backed by rigorous clinical safety and information governance standards.
The Access Optimisation Service is designed to ensure that practices can make full use of their existing technology to enhance patient access without requiring major new investments or additional work for staff. The hope is that this will help ease the burden on practice managers and frontline staff alike.
Moving beyond the “8am Rush”
Sharon Hanley, Managing Director at Hanley Consulting, is enthusiastic about the future. “Our main driver has always been supporting digital technologies that will ultimately help improve the health of the nation. However with 80% of patients still contacting their GP surgery by phone, despite the introduction of alternative methods of contact, we felt there was an obvious disconnect between telephone access and digital access, so partnering with X-on, the leading telephony provider, felt like the natural choice for us. Together, we can introduce smarter, more efficient ways for patients to access the care they need” she said.
The collaboration is poised to address a significant pain point for GP surgeries, making it easier to integrate digital tools into daily practice and improve patient access. By deploying Surgery Assist in conjunction with Surgery Connect, this partnership aims to make the “8am rush” a thing of the past and pave the way for more efficient, patient-focused, and preventative healthcare.
This exciting partnership represents a significant step forward for both companies in their mission to transform patient access in primary care. GP practices will soon be able to experience firsthand how innovative solutions can make a real difference in managing patient demand and improving the overall healthcare journey.
Stay tuned for more updates on how X-on Health and Hanley Consulting are working together to reshape primary care access and make a meaningful impact on patient outcomes across the UK.
