England Appointments-National Slot Categorisation

Our latest version of Appointments 3.1 is now available for all users and includes updates to: National slot categorisation, slot auditing, SMS Messaging and Appointments events.

If you haven't already upgraded to our latest software in VAS (Appointments Setup) to access this new functionality, email Andrew Nicholls today. There is no disruption or downtime so you’ll see the benefits tomorrow!

National Slot Categorisation is for GP Appointments Data, existing slot types will need to be mapped to a national slot category as a one off exercise which is expected to take between 30-60 minutes to complete. Practices in England will need to complete this exercise in time for the deadline of 30th June, and you may have attended one of the webinars from NHS Digital on this.

The reporting will be automatic and start after the 30th June implementation date for English practices. As well as all information being accessible in the Appointments Help Centre we also recently ran a number of webinars to specifically cover Appointments Management and National Slot Categorisation functionality. You can view the webinar below.

Slot Auditing - It is now possible to see all changes to a slot including adding, booking or cancelling by a patient or staff member. This is a new option within your right click menu.

SMS Messaging for Shared Care- Patients can now receive messages to advise them if their appointment has been moved or cancelled. These are actioned directly from Appointments. This is in addition to Appointment reminders which are managed in Vision+. Speak to your Customer Success Manager about how to set up SMS for your PCN.

Appointment Events - Events are now managed within Control Panel and no longer accessed from Appointments.

If you're looking for further information and support, don't forget to visit our Help Centre, where you'll find a number of guides and videos to help you take advantage of all the new enhancements available to you - it's as easy as that!

Please note that if you haven’t already upgraded to VAP (Appointments Practice) which is for the day to day use of making appointments etc. and GP Connect activation, this can be done at a later date. We will be sharing webinar details for this in the near future so that you can ensure your staff have the training needed ahead of the VAP upgrade.

If you need any further help or information on Appointments, please click here for the help centre.