Patients at more than 1,000 GP surgeries across the country can now book doctors’ appointments using digital interactive television or mobile phones.

DigiTV, which is owned and run by Kirklees Council in Yorkshire, was set up to help bridge the digital divide by offering local authority services electronically through any of the major digital TV access channels, including Sky, cable and Freeview.

GP practices in South Yorkshire, Stoke, Reading and Wrexham have been using DigiTV in a pilot, offering patients access to the popular Emis system used by the doctors’ receptionist to book, amend or cancel an appointment in real time.

The service is now available nationally via Kirklees’ Looking Local portal.

By using the digital TV channel, the council can reach those who do not have traditional internet access but do have a television or mobile phone, says the council’s interactive services manager, Steve Langrick.

‘Our aim is to provide public services through public channels and reach those people not traditionally reached through the internet,’ he said.

Once the old analogue broadcast signal is turned off, digital TV services will reach an even wider audience, says Langrick.

‘People who don’t want or have no access to the internet can now choose between the TV or a mobile phone for quick and easy GP appointment booking,’ he said.

Currently only those surgeries using the Emis booking software can take advantage of the service, but Kirklees Council hopes to work with other GP appointment system providers to extend the scheme.

‘We undertook development work to stitch the Looking Local service into Emis, but we have invested in the plug-in capability and XML schemas which can be used by other third parties,’ said Langrick.

Future plans for the service include provision for repeat prescriptions and patient health information to try to reduce the pressure on local GP practices.