Welcome to myhealthlondon – a new website that aims to provide the most local information you can find about  your GP service and local health groups

London has a tremendous mix of communities – its diversity is one of its great strengths. However, that very diversity means that we don’t all think alike about what we want from our healthcare providers. The services which are most important to us may vary depending on a number of factors such as our age, or whether we have a particular chronic health condition.

This means that GP practices are constantly adapting and evolving to meet these changing needs, which is why this site will be about showing what they offer and where you can find health help and support close to home – or for that matter relevant services near to where you work.

 

A webpage for every GP practice in London

For myhealthlondon we have created a webpage for every GP practice in London, that’s over 1,600 in total. And we are giving GP practices the opportunity to customise parts of their sites so that they can publish information that is relevant to their local population’s needs.

This hub of this local information is not just about GPs and Practice Managers telling you what is available, although we will be encouraging them to add lots of information about local services in coming months. It is also about involving you, which is why it’s got “my” in its name.

 

Get Involved

It’s about what you want to get from it and what you might be also be able to give to it.  This is a service that will grow overtime with input from local communities. We want Londoners taking part in surveys, giving feedback, comparing services and volunteering for campaigns. This will help us publicise and promote good local services– enabling patients to engage with professionals and other patients across the capital.

You might, for example, want to know if there is a good patient group in the local area relevant to your situation. The GP practice page can publicise these. Such options can help patients take better control of their health and thus keep themselves in better shape. Or you might want to advise your practice of a new group that is being set up that they might not have heard about.

Getting people involved in local GP services is important to ensure Londoners have what they need. They also need to be able to make informed decisions when it comes to their healthcare which is why the launch of myhealthlondon incorporates comparative information, on the standards for general practice in London. These are 22 standards – agreed with health professionals – which allow you to see how your GP practice is doing on a range of measures such as diagnosis, patient satisfaction and vaccinations.

 

The London Outcome Standards

This is the first time that a set of outcome standards for general practice in London has been pulled together and published in one place. To hear more, go to the article and video by Dr Howard Freeman.

Quite soon we will also be adding to the GP webpages the capability for patients to join online discussion groups about topics that are important to them and things that the GPs want to get your opinion on. Then in the Spring we will also be adding information about specific health needs – from maternity services through to services for veterans.

As well as a webpage for every GP practice in London, we have a homepage. Think of this as your local magazine for health and wellbeing for London - providing easily accessible information in the form of short features and Youtube style videos. These will be about everything from how to access innovative new services to giving you tips and information on how to keep healthy.

We know that this new online service won’t be suitable for everyone – not everyone wants to, or can use the internet. But equally, vast numbers of Londoners go online all the time – whether to do their banking or to book the best deal for their holidays. This is why we are really pleased that this London initiative is leading the way nationally and putting our GPs at the forefront on patient engagement and sharing standards.

myhealthlondon is a starting point in a journey to make healthcare as accessible online as other sectors. Be it for information sharing or the more practical uses of booking appointments or ordering repeat prescriptions –making it more convenient for you to access the information you want, at the time you want it. In so doing we can free up valuable GP practice time so that it can be better spent in providing direct patient care.

 

Pam Chesters, Mayor's Advisor on Health and Families