Governance documents were developed and clinically led for guidance on how to use video consultations, by way of protocols, privacy impact assessment (PIA), and standard operating procedure (SOP). Practices have been able to adapt these protocols, and are now able to do much of their work in this way, including medication/annual/dementia reviews, check-ups, End of Life (EOL) assessments, and much more.
Over 150 video consultations were carried out in the first month of the wave 2 pilot, not including the hours of support offered by NSCHT to care homes, and participants have since praised the value that this offers to them. Clinicians have been able to see and update patient records in real time, improve patient access to care, become much more time efficient, more digitally enabled and confident, and discover new ways of working that would have otherwise been left unexplored.
Further to all of this, nurses in Staffordshire have started interacting with some of their other patients through video. For example, one nurse successfully used Skype to support an asthma patient whilst he was driving his tractor! Other nurses have also been conducting whole asthma reviews and other long term condition support. Skype was also used to interact with a TB patient so they could observe him taking his medication!
Here is a landing page with more information about the video consultation pilot.