Frequently asked questions
Yes. The patient portal is a software provided by East Kent Hospitals University Foundation NHS Trust. The portal meets rigorous NHS requirements for health record systems and is fully compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Identification is provided through the NHS App and is fully secure.
The portal is an optional service to provide choice to patients who wish to interact with the hospital in a digital format, and requires you to ‘opt-in’.
If you do not wish to use the portal, you can choose not to sign up and continue to receive your hospital correspondence in the usual way. This will not affect the care that you receive from the Trust.
This service is not available yet, but we will be providing this capability in the future.
Once logged in, you will see four tabs on the left panel of the portal. These are:
Account – check your phone number and NHS number. Any changes will have to be done in the NHS App
Communication preferences – here you can select how you wish us to send letters to you, digitally or by post and if so in what format, large font, easy read, braille. You can also tell us if you have any additional accessibility needs
Postal address – check the home address we have for you and edit it if it is incorrect
Apps and integrations – this will show what apps and permissions you have granted. This will include more once other systems are brought on board.
Yes, you will be able to log into the portal at any time to amend how you wish to receive your correspondence, in which format and change any other preferences you may have
An email will be sent to inform that a letter is available on the portal.
Faster delivery – letters are received in seconds rather than days
Convenience – letters can be opened and read anywhere on a mobile device
Environmentally friendly – sending letters by email reduces paper and stationery usage
Cost saving – email costs considerably less than posting a letter. The Trust is able to re-invest these savings into providing an improved service for our patients.
There are still some departments within the Hospital which are yet to use the Trust's electronic mail provider, and there may also be times when you need to receive additional items such as hearing aids or physical items that are relevant to your appointment. On both of these occasions you will receive your letter in the post instead.
To view your letters, click the letters tab at the top of any page of the Patient Portal.
By clicking the 'Letters' button the list of available documents will be displayed. From there you will be able to view or download your letter.
If you have asked for an appointment to be rebooked or cancelled, there will be a delay in the list being updated to allow sufficient time for staff to action your request.
This delay could be for various reasons but once the appointment has been changed within our appointments system, your list will be updated to reflect the new details.
The Patient portal only shows appointments provided by East Kent Hospitals, for example we do not show any GP appointments.
Inpatient appointments are not currently available on the Patient Portal, but we will be providing this capability in the future.
There may be some appointment types that not currently available to view on the Patient Portal. This is something we are working on and will be available in the near future.
If you find that you have completed a rebook or cancellation request by accident then please contact the phone number on your appointment letter and we can manage the request accordingly.