More than 130 London GPs, practice managers and commissioners came together on 19 April to look at new ways of using technology to offer patients online consultations.

Our Transforming Primary Care team hosted the event ‘Delivering the General Practice Forward View in London: Online Consultations’ at the Kia Oval.

The event aimed to support CCGs and GP practices to understand the wider strategy for making online consultations with GPs – via video on phones, laptops, tablets or desktop computers – widely available across London. It also aimed to help them identify the best way of offering online consultations that would meet the digital ambitions submitted within their Local Digital Roadmap and Sustainability and Transformation Plans.

Dr Robert Varnam, Head of General Practice Development at NHS England, spoke to delegates about the vision for online consultations in London and provided some top tips about what to do to make it work.

Delegates heard from GP practices that are already offering online consultations in London.

Dedicated workshops also gave people the opportunity to talk about the practicalities of setting up and offering online consultations, including how procurement might work.

Our Transforming Primary Care team have set up an online Digital Network Group on Slack for those involved in setting up online consultations in GP practices.  Those involved will be able to ask questions about digital innovations happening around London, share ideas and lessons learnt, or ask questions about suppliers.

Commissioners, GPs and practice managers can sign up to the group at https://tpcdigitalnetwork.slack.com/signup