This year the Christmas and New Year Bank Holidays are:
Thursday 25th December (Christmas Day)
Friday 26th December (Boxing Day)
Thursday 1st January (New Years Day)
Scotland has an additional Bank Holiday on Friday 2nd January
This article covers the change in response time displayed to the patient when they complete their eConsult and also how to schedule a bank holiday closure so patients aren't able to submit eConsults.
Extended response time
The eConsult system recognises the Christmas & New Year Bank Holidays by automatically extending the time you have to respond to clinical eConsult submissions during this period.
Please see the updated response times below:
December 2025/January 2026
The below table relates to clinical submissions fir practices who respond to patient by the next working day. Please check your Settings Portal for confirmation on your set up.
Submission date | Response time |
Wednesday 24.12.2025 | Monday 29.12.2025 |
Thursday 25.12.2025 (Christmas Bank Holiday) | Monday 29.12.2025 |
Friday 26.12.2025 (Boxing Day Bank Holiday) | Monday 29.12.2025 |
Wednesday 31.01.2026 | Friday 02.01.2026 (Monday 05.01.2026 if in Scotland) |
Thursday 01.01.2025 (New Year Bank Holiday) | Friday 02.01.2026 (Monday 05.01.2026 if in Scotland) |
Schedule to Close over the Christmas Bank Holidays
If you are planning to remain open on the Bank Holiday days please notify us at practice.support@econsult.health.
Your practice admin(s) can schedule to close over the Christmas Bank Holidays by heading to the Settings Portal.
Log into the Settings Portal
Head to 'demand management' on the left hand side of the page
Select the start date and time (when you would like to close) and the end date and time (when you would like normal service to resume). Please note you can only book for a maximum 7 days therefore if you want to be switched off for the full festive period you may need to create 2 closures see below)
Once the closure has been successfully added it will appear in the table below.
How do I login to the Settings Portal?
Please note only admin users can schedule closures. If you’d like to update your admin users please email practice.support@econsult.health.
You can log into the settings portal using your usual NHS Mail or Smart Inbox login.
To check your practice admin, head to ‘user management’ on the left hand side of the settings portal where you will be able to view which users are admin.
Non Smart Inbox Users
If you are not a Smart Inbox user, your emergency contacts will have admin rights in the settings portal.
If you are logging in for the first time and do not have an NHSmail account (e.g. you have an @nhs.scot or @wales.nhs.uk domain) please follow the below steps to create your login:
Head to the settings portal
Select ‘login with another email’
Select ‘forgot password’
Enter your email address
You will then receive an email from auth@econsult.health, please click 'confirm' in the email.
You will then need to create a new password
You can now login to the settings portal
During a closure:
Patients will be unable to start consultations on the practice's eConsult page
Patients can still access self-help and pharmacy options
eConsult Lites can still be submitted by a practice user.
If you have any questions, please contact us on the live chat through our website or Smart Inbox, or email us at practice.support@econsult.health.