MyGOSH

MyGOSH is a safe and secure online portal that enables children, young people and families to have access to specific parts of the electronic patient record at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). This means everyone can manage their health and care wherever they can get online.

With MyGOSH you can:

- review and reschedule certain appointments as well as accept earlier appointment offers

- look at the health summary – this is taken from your electronic patient record so is always up to date

- view test results

- ask for repeat prescriptions for medication that is only supplied by GOSH

- communicate securely with the medical team

- share the MyGOSH record with other health professionals

MyGOSH is a totally free service offered to children, young people and families who are GOSH patients. Remember though that accessing MyGOSH on a mobile device could use up data allowances.

We have to be sure that it is a good thing to have access to parts of the record through MyGOSH. All parents (or people with Parental Responsibility for you) will be able to sign up to MyGOSH – when you are old enough, you can sign up too: •

- If you are under 12 years old, you cannot have access to your record directly, but your parents can have access – we call this proxy access because your parents have access on your behalf.

- After your twelfth birthday, the nurse or doctor will check whether you are mature enough to be able to use the MyGOSH portal. If staff think you are mature enough, we will give you access to your record using the portal. Your parents will also keep access to your record – so you can both see the same parts of the electronic patient record.

- After your sixteenth birthday, the nurse or doctor will check again if you can use the portal safely and if you can, you will be given your own access code for MyGOSH. We will also ask you whether you want your parents to carry on having access to MyGOSH or if you want someone else to have access as well. If the nurse or doctor does not think you can use it safely, your parents will carry on having access until your eighteenth birthday.

- After your eighteenth birthday, if you cannot use the MyGOSH portal safely, then your parents or carers would need to get special permission from the Court of Protection to be appointed as a “Deputy”.

If you are not sure whether you are allowed access, talk to your parents or ask a member of staff.

Children and young people who want to use MyGOSH will be given an activation code during their clinic appointment or inpatient stay. We may also get in touch to offer you the chance to sign up before you come to GOSH for the first time.

You should use the activation code we give you to log in and create your own username and password. Remember, the activation code only lasts 45 days so if it expires, you will need to contact us again to ask for a new one.

If we have discussed MyGOSH on the phone or face to face, we can also send you an activation link by SMS or email. This lasts only 24 hours for security reasons.

If you forget your password, click ‘forgot password’ on the log in page to reset it online. You can also contact the team to request a new password

All you need is a device connected to the internet and an up to date version of an internet browser, such as Chrome or Internet Explorer. We also provide an app for mobile devices that should work on most smartphones.

MyGOSH information comes directly from the electronic patient record – if anything is wrong, ask the nurse or doctor to correct it at your next visit. Health information is checked and updated if needed every visit.

We are starting to use the MyGOSH portal with just a few functions so we can see how everyone gets on and how useful it is in the long term. In due course, we may add extra functions if they would be helpful. Equally, if a particular function is not working well, we will remove it from the system.

A small number of lab test results (such as blood tests) are released automatically after 24 hours. These sorts of tests are the type that some families use to monitor their child’s health. Other groups of lab test results are released automatically after two weeks. A small number of tests are not released at all – these are usually very complicated tests that may need additional review by an expert doctor.

Remember, you may be able to see results on MyGOSH before the medical team have reviewed and commented on them. You should not make any changes to your child’s treatment until you have discussed the results with the team. They will contact you before your next appointment if you need to make any changes.

The MyGOSH portal allows you to send a message to your medical team but this should never be used for urgent queries. You should still call 999 or visit your nearest Urgent Care Centre or Accident and Emergency (A&E) department.

When you have sent a message to your medical team, please allow at least three working days for a response. This will vary from team to team but please be assured that they will answer your messages as quickly as possible during office hours. If you send a message at weekends or out of hours, there may be a delay.

You can request a repeat prescription through MyGOSH if the medicine cannot be prescribed by your GP and has to come from the hospital. Your medical team can tell you whether your medicines are in this GOSH-only group. All other repeat prescriptions must come from your GP or local paediatrician.

Yes, you can upload files and these will be stored in your electronic patient record along with any photographs or videos taken at GOSH. These form part of the health record so would not be used for anything else unless you have given your permission for a specific use by signing a consent form.

Once you have logged on, go to the Preferences section to choose what you want to update. When you change your contact details, this will automatically update on the electronic patient record so we will always be able to contact you.

Like all health information held by GOSH, we take great care to make sure it is kept private and secure. Access to information is controlled through using a secure activation code which allows you to reset your username and password to something only you know. No one can access MyGOSH without their password and everything you do in MyGOSH is stored securely at GOSH.

If you are logged into MyGOSH on a computer and you do nothing for 20 minutes or longer, the system will automatically log you out to protect your information. If you are logged on via the mobile App on your phone or tablet, you will be logged out after 10 minutes of inactivity. You would need to log in again to carry on what you are doing.

MyGOSH is owned and operated by GOSH so is fully compliant with UK laws governing privacy. Your name and email address are treated as securely as the health information and will never be used to sell you something or passed to an external organisation.

Email - MyGOSH.Helpdesk@gosh.nhs.uk

MyGOSH helpline - 0207 829 7985