More than 135,000 patients registered and nearly half a million appointment letter sheets of paper kept from print and post – all thanks to the introduction of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells (MTW) NHS Trust’s patient portal a year ago. Since launching, the patient portal – Patients Know Best (PKB) – has been helping users quickly and easily access their health information on their phones, computers and tablets and take advantage of a host of features.

This includes viewing appointment details, appointment letters, clinical correspondence, discharge notifications and additional health information online. Patients are also easily able to request to cancel or reschedule an appointment, all of which saves them time and avoids a call to the hospital administrative teams.

Just one of the thousands of patients registered is Hannah Browning, 46, from Sevenoaks. With a busy home and working life as a teacher, Hannah has appreciated the seamless benefits of the portal, which have not only saved her time managing her outpatient appointments but also collates all her health details into one place, meaning they are never more than the click of a few buttons away. We caught up with Hannah to find out more about her experiences with the portal and why she thinks you should sign up…

How did you find out about the portal and why did you want to sign up?

I first heard about the portal after seeing a poster in the hospital and I wanted to sign up because I find it so much easier to do things electronically and if I could help the NHS save themselves the cost of a stamp, even better! The portal is so easy to use. You can log in when you want and find what you need instead of searching through thousands of emails and trying to figure out when they were sent and who they were from.

How has the portal helped you?

It is about speed of communication. For example, I got a notification to tell me there was an upload to the portal from the Trust and then I was able to log in and see it straight away. You don’t have to wait for the letter to arrive in the post and everything is done as efficiently as possible and then I always have that letter there in the portal to refer back to should I need it, rather than having to remember to keep it somewhere safe. I also see the portal as a way of helping the NHS get more people seen and saving the number of calls that they receive because so much can be done now electronically. I also really appreciate being able to look back at my appointment history because it is always really useful to look back at that before I see my consultant as it gives me peace of mind and I am then able to tell my story properly.

Why would you recommend the portal to others?

This makes everyone’s lives quicker and easier. It removes the complicated layers out of your lives and I think by signing up you are really playing your part in freeing up time, so that things such as picking up the phone are then there for those that maybe aren’t as computer literate. This is about preparing the future and it couldn’t be easier. It is also really comforting to know that if I ever needed to change an appointment because of a change with work or something at home, I don’t need to set time aside to call in, I can just do this on the portal.

Why do you think it is important for your local hospitals to invest in services such as this?

It is patient-focused, patient-centered and it reduces all those barriers to people accessing services and it gives you wider options and flexibility as a patient. The sustainability side of things is also important to me. If I can save a few pages of paper, a stamp and a plastic windowed envelope so all those funds can then go back into other services, then why wouldn’t I? And also it is part of moving with the times and the digital age. So many aspects of our lives are managed electronically, how we order our food, how we get our cars fixed, so it just makes total sense for us to also manage our healthcare in this way – it is the future and we have to embrace it. The portal works beautifully and works alongside all my other commitments. Everything in my life is digital so it is lovely for the NHS to be onboard with that too.

Are you using the portal? Tell us about your experiences by completing our quick survey.

More than 20,000 patients are now using the portal regularly every week, with all the registration info and FAQ’s available on our website. A special video has also been developed to demonstrate the interface of the portal and highlighting the many benefits.

Please note, the portal is only compatible with outpatient appointments for those over the age of 16. Further benefits and services are currently being developed.