Digital communications

What is changing?

We’re introducing online letters for appointments at North Bristol NHS Trust this autumn. This means when you’re given an appointment at our hospitals, you’ll receive a text message or email with a secure link to view your appointment letter online instantly. 

If you haven’t given us a mobile phone number or email address, you’ll continue to receive paper letters.

Why are online letters for appointments being introduced?

We know how important it is that you receive details about your visit to hospital quickly and easily.

By giving you the option to view your appointment letters online, you can access your appointment information sooner on your smartphone, tablet or computer, even if you’re away from home.

If you’re able to view your appointment letters online, this helps our trust reduce the cost and environmental impact of posting paper letters.

When are online letters for appointments being introduced?

Patients will be able to begin viewing their appointment letters online for vascular, dietetics, respiratory physiology and pain management clinics in October. This option will be made available for clinics in more services in the near future.

I want to continue receiving paper letters, is this possible?

Yes, paper letters will still be available for patients who prefer to receive their appointment letter by post, and for those who haven’t given us a mobile phone number or email address.

You can tell us if you want to receive paper letters for your appointment by:

• Replying with ‘PRINT’ to any text messages about your appointment. This will update your letter preferences so that you will receive paper letters for future appointments.
• Managing your contact preferences in our online portal. To do this, login at nhs.my/nbt, go to the 'Settings' tab in the top right-hand corner. Under ‘Letter Settings’ change the option ‘View your appointment letters online?’ to ‘No’.

What happens if I don’t view my appointment letter online?

We want to ensure that all patients receive the information they need to attend their appointment. If you don’t view your appointment letter online, we will automatically send you a paper letter.

Does this affect all letters I receive from North Bristol NHS Trust?

No. Currently, we are only introducing online letters for when you’re given an appointment. Other letters about your care will continue to be posted to you.

I’m having difficulty viewing my appointment letter online, what should I do?

Please be reassured that if you don’t view your appointment letter online, we will automatically send you a paper letter.

You can also contact North Bristol NHS Trust on 0300 555 0103 to request a paper copy of your letter.

I’ve received a text message with a link to my appointment letter, but I don’t have a smartphone or regular access to the internet. What should I do?

If you don’t have a smartphone, but you want to view your appointment letter online, you can do this on another device which has an internet browser, for example a computer or tablet. To do this:

1. Go to the web address nhs.my/nbt and login with your personal information.
2. You will be asked to verify your mobile phone number and enter a code which will be sent by text message to your phone.
3. Once logged-in, click ‘Letters’ and select ‘View Letter’ for the letter you want to open.
4. Your letter will automatically download so that you can open and view it.
5. You may be asked if you want to update your letter preferences to view your appointment letters online in future if you’d prefer.

If you want to receive paper letters instead of viewing your appointment letter online, you can reply to text messages from North Bristol NHS Trust with ‘PRINT’ to update your letter preferences for future appointments.

We will automatically send you a paper letter if you don’t view your appointment letter online.

I’ve given you a temporary address, which postcode should I log-in with to view my letter online?

Please use the postcode from your temporary address to log-in and access your letter.

I’m a carer, can I access appointment letters for the person I care for online?

Yes, if you’ve arranged for your contact information to be added for the person you care for, you will be contacted when an appointment letter for them is available to view online. You should log-in to view the letter with the patient’s information.   

I want to receive paper appointment letters, but still receive appointment reminders by text message or email, is this possible?

Yes, you can opt out of viewing your appointment letters online but this will not affect you receiving reminders for your appointment by text message or email. There is a separate opt-out process to stop receiving appointment reminders.

If you've given us with your mobile phone number or email address, you will now receive a text message or email confirming an appointment when it is booked for you. This confirmation will be followed by reminders before your appointment. 

Text messages will come from +44 7860 039 092. This number is genuine and not a scam. 

To opt-out of receiving future appointment confirmations and reminders by text, you can reply with 'STOP'. 

You can also choose to receive your appointment information by text and/or email by updating their preferences for each NHS Trust through the DrDoctor portal at nhs.my/nbt. 

We may also contact you by text message or email about unforeseen changes or cancellations to your appointment, or in the event of a major incident at the hospital.

If you’re registered with a GP in England, you can view your appointment information and receive notifications from the NHS App. 

You will need to download the NHS App, check your email address and phone number are correct and enable push notifications.  

There are some specialist clinics that do not appear in the NHS App. For these clinics, we will continue to contact you about your appointment in the usual way: 

• Burns Care
• Transient Ischaemic Attack
• Clinical Psychology
• Fracture clinic for Trauma and Orthopaedics
• Cardiac Rehab
• Rheumatology RTC clinics
• Care of the Elderly Rapid access clinics
• Dietetics Coeliac group clinics
• Midwifery diabetes clinics 

You may receive a text message or email inviting you to complete an online questionnaire about your care. Text messages will come from +44 7860 039 092. This number is genuine and not a scam. 

The message will contain a link to a secure webpage where you will be asked to answer some questions.  

The questionnaire may be short, asking you for a “yes”, “no” or “unsure” answer, or more detailed with multiple questions asking you to explain how you are managing your condition to inform your care. 

It will not affect your appointment or care if you’re unable to complete the online questionnaire. 

Our video consultation service allows you to have a video call with your healthcare professional as an alternative to a face-to-face appointment, where medically appropriate.

When you are invited to a video consultation, you will receive a text message or email with a direct link to your video appointment. You will receive this message 1-2 hours before your appointment time.

If you have any questions about your appointment, please call the number provided in your appointment letter.

If you are interested in having video consultations, please speak to the team involved in your care.

What to expect

• A video consultation runs in the same way as a face-to-face appointment but through your mobile device or computer.
• When you are invited to a video consultation, you will receive a letter with the date and time of your appointment. The letter will also ask you to confirm we have the correct UK based mobile number for you.
• You will receive a direct link to your video appointment by text message or email 1-2 hours before your appointment time.
• Please follow the link and log in to the portal 10 minutes before your appointment time to familiarise yourself with platform.
• Please be aware that clinics may still run late.
• When you follow the link to your video appointment, the button to 'Join the call' will be inactive until 1 hour before your appointment time. You will then be able to join the video consultation.
• All text messages will come from +44 7860 039 092. This number is genuine and not a scam.

To get the most from your video consultation, we ask you to:

• Ensure you have access to a laptop or desktop computer, smartphone, or tablet.
• The video consultation portal works in Chrome, Safari and Edge internet browsers. Please note the portal does not work in Internet Explorer.
• Find a quiet area of your home to have the video call.
• Have your questions ready, as you would do at a face-to-face appointment in hospital.
• Be available for up to 45 minutes after your appointment time in case the clinic is running late.​

DrDoctor is a secure communication platform used by North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) to communicate with our service users digitally, schedule appointments and provide important healthcare information.

You can check and update the mobile phone number and email address used to receive appointment information to through the NHS App, your GP or when you visit the hospital. 

Please do not update your contact details through the DrDoctor Portal as it will be overwritten with the information for the NHS digital information from the NHS App, your GP, and the hospital. You should also provide your updated details to the reception of the department you are visiting. 

DrDoctor adheres to strict privacy and security standards to protect your information and your data is only accessible to authorised healthcare professionals involved in your care.

Under UK law, you have the right to object to how your personal data is used for specific purposes. This means you can request your data not be used for certain reasons or activities.  

Please note you cannot object solely to the means or methods used to process your data, such as our preferred communication platform called DrDoctor and we are using the data to support your care.

If you choose to opt out of any of the reminders and notifications from DrDoctor, you will not receive any reminders from any service using DrDoctor. When your next appointment is arranged, you will automatically be opted in again as we are using this data to support your care. 
If you have previously used someone else's number on your healthcare record, they will receive communications regarding your care.

Important health notifications

We are committed to keeping you informed and ensuring your health and safety. As part of this commitment, we may contact you via direct SMS/text message through the DrDoctor Patient Engagement Portal to share important public health information. This could include updates on matters such as outbreaks of notifiable diseases (e.g. measles) or other health-related alerts that may affect you.

These messages are sent in line with our duty to protect public health. Our aim is to provide timely, accurate information while respecting your privacy.

Your personal information will only be used for essential communication and will be handled securely in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

If you have any questions about how we use your information or wish to discuss your communication preferences, please contact us directly.

For more information on our privacy policy and data protection, please visit our Privacy Policy & Data Protection web page.

DrDoctor is a Digital Patient Engagement Platform and our chosen provider for the communication services outlined on this page. We use DrDoctor to help patients stay up to date with communications about their appointments and care using a secure online portal.

Find out more about DrDoctor

Text messages we send through DrDoctor will come from mobile phone number +44 7860 039 092.

This number is safe and secure and will send you text messages from North Bristol NHS Trust, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, Sirona Care & Health and Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust.