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We will be reintroducing Anima on the 17th March, now that the technical issues have been resolved. You are welcome to sign up and or read more information about Anima by clicking on the Anima Tile. However, please DO NOT submit requests before the 17th March as they will not be actioned.
Anima seamlessly and confidentially integrates with your medical record bringing improvements to how you access care and appointments and how our staff assess your condition.
While you are still able to call the surgery, the online triage form through Anima will ask you the same questions, streamlining the process.
This is another option for our patients to use to contact us about a medical problem, admin request or ask a simple question.
The NHS will soon require all GP practices to have a ‘digital front door’ like Anima.
We feel now is the time for CMC to make this transition so that we can move away from relying on telephone communications and the problems associated with it.
One such problem is the ‘8AM rush’ where our phone lines would open to long queues of people trying to contact us, resulting in long wait times and frustration for patients and we are now seeing our phone lines becoming consistently busy across the whole day.
Anima allows you to contact us without such queues and frustrations.
Anima gives us more information about what you need from us so that we can manage requests in order of urgency and clinical need (a process called ‘triage’) rather than ‘first come, first served’ which is not always equitable or clinically appropriate.
Why did Anima not work the first time and how is this time going to be different?
When we prepared to start using Anima in October 2024, we ran into a problem related to the communications provider that our surgery uses.
This problem was unrelated to Anima but their team have engineered a solution to the problem for us and we are now reassured to the point where we are confident to proceed.
Anima inform us that soon you will not need to register for an account to use the service, however we would still recommend setting up an account as it will make communicating with you easier.
What if I do not have internet access/cannot use the software?
Our phone lines will always remain open and you can call like you do now.
We would however strongly urge people to use Anima online.
If you call, you are more likely to be waiting in a queue and when you get through to a patient advisor they will take you through the same questions that Anima would have asked you online.
Calling the surgery will not enable you to bypass Anima or get your request reviewed quicker.
What time can I submit a request?
We will accept requests from 06:30.
Why do you stop accepting requests after a certain time or when you have reached the practices safe working limit?
We have finite capacity for consulting with patients in a safe way.
We cannot continue accepting requests beyond this as it would jeopardise the delivery of safe care to you and our other patients.
We cannot accept requests when the surgery is not open (e.g. weekends, bank holidays and nights).
For matters that cannot wait, the NHS provides services such as 111, Minor Injuries Units, PharmacyFirst and A&E.
The ONLY exceptions to our limits are URGENT health matters regarding a child under 16 or a palliative care (end of life) patient.
In these cases, we would ask you to call the surgery even when online requests are closed.
I have an urgent health matter regarding a child (under 16) or a patient who is receiving palliative (end of life) care but the practice has reached the daily request limit – what do I do?
We will always accept urgent requests regarding patients in these groups for triage even when our limits have been reached.
Please call the surgery and your request will be handled by one of our patient advisors.
I want to request a home visit – should I use Anima?
For now we are asking that all home visit requests continue to be made via a phone call.
Please note that we only offer home visits for genuinely housebound patients. They are not offered for other reasons such as convenience or a transportation problem (e.g. the cost of public transport).
If a home visit is to be considered for that same day we need to have received your request by 10:30.
Is my personal information secure with Anima?
Anima is NHS-approved.
They meet all data protection requirements of the NHS.
What should I be using the NHS app for?
Anima is a way for you to communicate with us and vice versa, it does not store your medical record, test results etc.
The NHS app is still what you should use to check results and view your clinical record. It is also the quickest way to request your routine repeat medications.
How do I register my children (Under 12) to use Anima?
Due to data protection regulations, any child over 12 years old has to consent for a parent to have access to their records.
We have therefore taken the approach that children over 12 can register for their own Anima account.
Children under 12 should be registered under a parents account by adding them as a ‘dependent’.
Over 12’s can also provide written consent to be added to a parents account as a ‘dependent’
