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GP appointments in the NHS App

Find out how to use the NHS App to help patients book and manage GP appointments, and what to do when something is not working.

Page contents

If you are a patient and want to know how to use the NHS App or need help, go to the NHS App help pages. This page is for GP practice staff, including receptionists, practice managers, and clinicians.

How patients can manage GP appointments in the NHS App

Patients can use the NHS App to book and manage their GP appointments. Appointment management is a core NHS App feature and GP practices should have it enabled, as outlined in the national operational planning guidance. Appointments do not have to be booked through the NHS App for patients to be able to manage them.  

NHS App help on GP surgery appointments explains how patients can manage their GP appointments in the app. The page also has a useful walkthrough video that shows what appointments look like in the app. 

Configure your GP IT system settings so patients can book or manage appointments in the app

You can configure your GP IT system settings to control how patients book and manage their appointments in the NHS App. 

If all settings are available in your GP IT system, you can set it up so patients can: 

  • view their upcoming appointments, including appointments they booked by telephone or in person 
  • view their past appointments 
  • book appointments that you choose to show in the app 
  • add notes explaining what the appointment is for 
  • cancel their appointments 
  • add their appointments to the calendar on their device 

Contacting a GP and viewing appointment notes

In the Appointments section of the app, patients can also ask their GP about a health problem, request a letter or request information by completing an online consultation form. Online consultation forms are managed separately to appointments in your clinical system. Find out more about how online consultations and the NHS App works. 

Patients can also view their appointment notes. Appointment notes are managed in the records access settings of your GP IT system. Find out more about how records access and the NHS App works. 

The NHS App roadmap shows what changes to appointments are being worked on now and are coming next. 

Benefits for staff and patients

Reduce the administration burden for staff
  • reduce the 8am rush, as patients do not need to call to book or cancel appointments 
  •  save time matching records, as patients can verify their identity using NHS login 
Patients can manage their appointments more easily
  • giving patients more types of appointments to book helps them choose one that suits them 
  • patients can add reminders to the calendar on their device, which also helps reduce the number of did not attend (DNA) appointments 
  • patients can cancel appointments in the app, further reducing the number of DNAs 

Choose which types of appointments patients can book in the NHS App

You use your GP IT system to set the type of appointments that patients can book through the app. This means you can control how the NHS App fits into your processes for appointments.  

For example, you might let patients book appointments through the app that do not need triaging, like a routine screening.

Control how patients can book and cancel appointments through the NHS App

The app shows any appointments that you make available for booking online within the next the 16 weeks.  

You can use embargoes and booking limits to control how patients can book appointments through the NHS App. 

Embargoes help you limit when patients can use the NHS App to book appointments. For example, you could use embargoes to ensure that appointments booked online can only be booked while phone lines are open. 

Booking limits cap how many appointments a patient can book. This limit applies to all appointments whether they were booked online, over the phone or in person. 

If your GP practice is part of a group, you can also control if patients can book appointments at branch practices through the NHS App. 

You can let patients add notes to their appointments in the app. If you choose to turn this on in your GP IT system, GPs should read the patient’s appointment notes before their appointment.   

You can also allow patients to use the NHS App to cancel any appointment they have booked. Appointments do not have to be booked in the NHS App for patients to cancel them using the app. 

To manage cancellations, you can set time limits on how much notice patients have to give to cancel their appointments.  

Making appointments available to book and cancel in the NHS App

Even if you do not let patients book appointments online, they can still cancel appointments through the app. 

Set up appointment booking and cancellation in SystmOne

Set up online booking for appointments
  1. Go to Online Services then Appointment Booking.  
  2. Make sure Enable appointment booking is checked. This may already have been checked as part of setting up GP online services. 
  3. Decide whether you want to let patients book all slot types, rota types and clinicians, or specify which ones. 
  4. If you choose to specify which slot types patients can book, a box will appear. Move the slots you want to make bookable over to the list on the other side. The bookable slots should match the slots that are bookable over the phone.
Turn on online appointment cancellations
  1. Go to Appointment cancellation in Online Services. 
  2. Select Enable appointment cancelling 

You can then set a time limit for cancellations and choose to receive a Task when a patient cancels an appointment. 

Set up appointment booking and cancellation in EMIS Web

Set up online bookings for appointments
  1. Check the settings in the Appointment Book tab. 
  2. Select the slots you want to make bookable online. The bookable slots should match the appointments that are bookable over the phone. 
  3. Right click, select Slot Properties and make sure the Patient Facing Services check box is ticked. 
Make appointments automatically bookable by updating appointment templates in EMIS Web
  1. Select Create session. 
  2. A pop-up box will appear. Select Load from template. 
  3. Select the session template you want to amend. 
  4. Highlight the slots you want to make bookable online. 
  5. Right click, select Slot Properties and make sure the Patient Facing Services check box is ticked. 
  6. Select Apply and close. 
  7. Select Save. 

Follow these guidelines to help patients book the right appointments

The name and description that you give to appointments in your GP IT system also appears in the NHS App. It is important to use clear names and descriptions so that patients know which is the right appointment for them. 

Do
  • make it clear if the appointment is face to face, over the phone or online
  • use simple language and avoid acronyms  
  • use words that patients understand like blood test 
  • make the purpose of the appointment clear 
  • use the NHS App test patient to check how the appointment names appear in the app 
Don't
  • do not use clinical terms like phlebotomy 
  • do not use words that will not make sense to patients like default, internet or embargo 
  • do not include the time, location or name of the clinician because these are shown separately 

When you add the clinician's name, it’s recommended that you include their gender in the name field using (M) or (F). Research has shown that this is important to patients. 

How to name appointments in SystmOne

In SystmOne patients can view the slot type and the rota type. You need to name both so that patients can understand them.  

Only administrators can set custom appointment slot types and rota types. 

To change the name of the slot type: 

  1. Select Setup then Appointments then Slot Types from the main menu. 
  2. Select the slot you want to change and choose Amend Slot Type. 
  3. Edit the name and description then select Ok. 

To change the name of the rota type: 

  1. Select Setup then Appointments then Rota Types from the main menu. 
  2. Select the rota type you want to change and choose Amend Rota Type. 
  3. Edit the name and select Ok. 
How to name appointments in EMIS Web

In EMIS Web patients can view the session name and slot type. 

To change the session name: 

  1. In the Appointment Book tab, select Create Session and then select Load from template. 
  2. Edit the Session Name and select Save as template. 
  3. If this session template is already in use, a pop-up will appear asking you if you want to update existing session. Select Yes to rename them. 

To change the name of the slot type: 

  1. In the Appointment Book tab, select Appts Config and then select Slot Types. 
  2. Select Edit on the slot type you want to change. 
  3. Change the Name and select OK and then select OK again. 

Using a test patient to check your chosen appointment types appear correctly in the App

You can use your NHS App test patient to check that changes you make in your GP IT system are shown in the app.  

You can use the app test patient to check: 

  • which types of appointments patients can book 
  • the names of appointments that patients can view
  • for spelling or formatting mistakes in appointment names
  • that appointment names appear in the way you want them to
  • if appointment cancellations are turned on

Other types of appointments in the NHS App

Patients can also manage other types of appointments in the NHS App. 

Hospital and specialist appointments 

Patients can view and manage their hospital and specialist appointments in the NHS App. What patients can access depends on the NHS trust and the patient engagement portal they use, but can include: 

  • viewing referrals and appointments  
  • viewing past appointments  
  • booking, changing and cancelling appointments 

Help patients find out more about hospital referrals and appointments. 

Vaccination appointments 

If a patient asks about vaccination appointments, they can use the NHS App to: 

  • book a COVID-19 or flu vaccination 

  • cancel and rebook a vaccination appointment  

Help patients find out more about vaccination appointments. 

Common GP appointment issues that you can fix in your GP IT system

Most problems with GP appointments in the app can be fixed by updating your GP IT system settings. If you do not have the right permissions to change the settings, speak to someone in your GP practice who does. 

Problems with hospital appointments cannot be fixed in your GP practice. If a patient has problems with their hospital appointments in the NHS App then they should: 

Patient cannot view their past appointments

What to check first 

Before you update your GP IT system settings, check if your practice made appointments available for online booking. If not, follow these steps to make appointments bookable online. 

Update your GP IT system settings 

If you have completed the first set of checks and you have not solved the problem, you need to update your GP IT system settings. 

In your GP IT system: 

  • check your practice settings for appointment history visibility 
  • enable appointment history if it is turned off 
  • ask the patient to log out of the NHS App and log back in 

Why this happens 

Your GP IT system settings control whether patients can view their appointment history. If this is turned off, patients only have access to upcoming appointments. 

Patient cannot view any appointments to book

What to check first 

Before you update your GP IT system settings, check through this list of questions for a possible solution to the problem. 

  • Does your practice’s policy let patients book appointments online? If not, tell the patient how they can book an appointment 
  • Is the patient registered at your practice and active in your clinical system? If they are not, either direct them to the GP practice they are registered to or register them in your clinical system
  • Patients must complete the ID verification process before they can book GP appointments. Has the patient completed the verification process? If not, ask the patient to complete the verification process following these steps 

Update your GP IT system settings 

If you have completed the first set of checks and you have not solved the problem, you need to update your GP IT system settings. 

In your GP IT system: 

  • go to your appointment booking settings in your clinical system 
  • check which appointment types are set to bookable online 
  • make sure the slots you want patients to book are marked as available for patient-facing services 
  • check that online appointments match the appointments that patients can book by phone 

Why this happens 

Patients can only book appointments in the NHS App if you make appointments available to book online. 

Patient cannot find the appointment type they need

What to check first 

Before you update your GP IT system settings, check if your practice’s policy lets patients book appointments online. If not, tell the patient the routes they can use to book an appointment. 

Update your GP IT system settings 

If you have completed the first set of checks and you have not solved the problem, you need to update your GP IT system settings. 

In your GP IT system: 

  • check which appointment types are set to bookable online 
  • add the missing appointment type if appropriate 
  • check the appointment name is clear so patients can find it 

Why this happens 

The specific type of appointment the patient needs is not available for online booking. You use your GP IT system to choose and set which types of appointments patients can book through the NHS App.

Patient cannot cancel their appointment

What to check first 

Before you update your GP IT system settings, check that the problem is not caused by one of these questions

  • Is the patient registered at your practice and active in your clinical system? If they are not, either direct them to the GP practice they are registered to or register them in your clinical system

Update your GP IT system settings 

If you have completed the first set of checks and you have not solved the problem, you need to update your GP IT system settings. 

In your GP IT system you should check if: 

  • online cancellations are enabled in your clinical system and enable them if they are not 
  • the cancellation time limit for online appointments is correct 
  • the patient is within the cancellation cut-off time, if not cancel the appointment for them 

Why this happens 

Your practice has not enabled online cancellations, or the appointment is too close to the start time.

When to escalate issues with GP appointments

If you've checked all the relevant settings in your GP IT system and followed the guidance on this page but the problem is not resolved, follow these steps. 

  • First, check any guidance from your GP IT system supplier to make sure you settings are correct
  • Then, use the NHS App test patient to check if the problem is still there
  • If the problem is still there, contact your system supplier (Optum, TPP or Medicus) as they can help you with configuration issues
  • Finally, if the supplier confirms settings are correct, gather evidence of the problem, like screenshots, and contact the NHS App and account team

Escalate to NHS App and account team immediately if: 

  • the patient's record shows information that does not belong to them 
  • the issue affects multiple patients 
  • you encounter error messages you do not recognise 

Help patients learn more about booking and managing appointments in the NHS App

NHS App help has information and guidance for patients about booking and managing GP appointments. This includes useful walkthrough videos that show patients how to book and manage appointments through the NHS App. You can use these videos on your display screens and website. 

Last edited: 8 June 2026 3:19 pm