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The Witterings Medical Centre (along with the other Chichester practices) are using a messaging service to contact groups of patients.  This new tool has be developed by the same company who brought us the text messaging service that enables the doctors and nurses to messages patients directly.  In addition, we used their software for the huge undertaking of messaging invitations for their COVID-19 vaccinations.

As a medical centre, there is information we need to gather from patients to ensure that their medical records are as accurate as can be.  This is information that patients provide when they register with a GP Practice but over time can become out-of-date.  Over the coming months the Witterings Medical Centre will be messaging patients who are missing up-to-date information in their medical records. 

The information we will be asking for is an up-to-date height and weight, smoking status and blood pressure.  In an ideal world the software would enable us to send out one message which asks all of the above, however that aspect has not been developed yet – maybe that will come in 2023!  We will try our best to spread these messages out so that patients don’t feel bombarded.  When a message is sent asking for these details, 2 reminder messages will be sent on days 3 and 6 to those patients who have yet to respond.  For blood pressure readings, you are welcome to use our BP machine in our waiting room. 

Understandably some patients have queried whether these messages are legitimate. To reassure you, if you receive a text message from “Witterings” including a link which begins with “floreys.accurx” asking for your height & weight, smoking status or blood pressure, this is from us.

The messages sent include a link to enable you to reply.  The details of your response are then automatically saved to your medical records.  If you have any problems with the link you may wish to email your results to reception.witterings@nhs.net  We ask politely that you refrain from calling the medical centre with your response so that our reception team can focus of handling urgent enquiries.

This is an exciting service, saving many hours of work for clinicians that can be spent elsewhere.  Thank you for your support with this process.

Please visit the following link to find out more about National Data Opt Out:

• www.digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-collections/general-practice-data-for-planning-and-research/advice-for-the-public