Text Messaging Service

Our Messaging Service

In June 2018 we introduced our text messaging service. In order for you to receive text messages we need you to “opt in”. All patients who have not filled in a consent form have been automatically opted out of this service. To date (January 2023) approximately 43% of eligible patients have opted in.

The benefits of opting into this service

  • Receive appointment reminders by text the day before your appointment
  • If you are unable to attend or no longer require this appointment you can simply reply to the text to cancel. The appointment is automatically cancelled by the computer system saving on patient and reception time
  • Receive important information from the GP / Nurse / Admin regarding results, cancelled clinics etc.
  • Receive annual chronic disease invites via text instead of by post
  • Participate in short questionnaires to update your medical record

All texts sent from us will be from a mobile number but will always have “Springwell Medical Centre” and our phone number so you know the message is from us. No identifiable information or clinical diagnoses will ever be sent via text message.

To opt in to this service please fill in the form below and hand or post it to the surgery where reception will update your record accordingly. If you have any queries please contact reception. Please note, children under 16 years old cannot be opted in to this service.

The text messages we send out to remind patients of their appointments are purely a courtesy. Although this helps in minimising our DNA (did not attend) appointment rate, we still expect patients to keep a record of appointments made and attend those appointments regardless of receiving a reminder or not. After initial teething problems this service is working well but like any other IT system it can fail through no fault of our own. We will continue to give appointment cards out as before and ask all patients to keep a note of their future appointments exactly as was done previously. If for any reason the text service is down and you do not receive your reminder and fail to attend an appointment we will follow our DNA policy. Please read our DNA Policy.

Text Messaging Consent Form

Non-urgent advice: Please note

You must be at least 16 years old to consent to contact by the practice, please do not complete this form if you are under 16.

Name
Date of Birth

This service will be used to send out reminders of appointments, allow patients to cancel appointments by simply replying to the text, invite patients to special clinics, send out important health information etc

To comply with new Data Protection Laws which came in to play in May 2018 we must have consent from you to send you any information via text message.

consent field
(Your Full Name)