Digital letters

Yes, there is a ‘take the tour’ feature on the portal which will take you through the functionality available, step by step. This is always there for you. To access the tour, click on the in the top right corner of the patient portal.

Your letter will be viewable when you first log in to the portal. If at any time you need to access your letter, you can find this in the overview section by selecting ‘view letter’. Or you can view your letter on the NHS app.

If you have not viewed your digital letter within 48 hours, a physical letter will be sent to you.

If you are registered with the patient portal or NHS app, then your appointment letters will remain visible for as long as your account is active. If you have not registered, your letter will be viewable up to 10 days after your appointment date.

If you do not access your digital letter within 48 hours of receiving the text message, the system will automatically generate a physical letter to be sent to you in the post. You will also automatically receive the letter after three unsuccessful login attempts to the portal.

You will still receive a text message but will not be able to access the portal link. Do not worry though, a hard copy of the letter will automatically be sent to your home address.

You are automatically opted in to receiving digital letters. If your details have changed, please call the number on your letter.

There is an option to add the appointment to your phone calendar when you open the digital letter. You can also register for the patient portal to view all your previous letters in one place, just click register at the top right-hand corner once you have opened the letter. We will also continue to send our appointment reminder text messages ahead of your appointment.

You can view accessibility functionality in the top right-hand corner of the page. Features include translating your appointment letter to a chosen language, creating an audio MP3 file, text highlighting tool, and text magnifier to allow increased text size.

The system is secure. You need to put your date of birth and the PIN from the text message in to be able to access your appointment letter. Once you have registered for the portal, you will be able to create your own username and login password.

We can only send digital letters to one mobile number per patient. If you wish to change the number to yours, we can do that with consent from the patient but please bear in mind that this will change the contact number we have for all correspondence and contact. Please speak to the relevant Speciality Administration team to request this change. Alternatively, the patient could opt out of receiving digital letters and continue to receive a letter in the post.

Children under the age of 16 will have a parents or guardian’s details recorded as our point of contact and the messages and letters will continue to go to the parent or guardian.

The NHS App features include being able to view your referrals and appointments in one place, access supporting information, and you will have a single point of contact for your appointments.

If you already use our patient portal you can continue to use this, and you can also use the NHS App.

While you are waiting for your  appointment or treatment, you can now use the NHS App to help support you while you wait to be seen.

For more information including please visit the NHS App website