The Doctor will virtually see you now

Video consultations are an easy way for you to have your appointment with your hospital care team or consultant, without the need for you to travel to the hospital.

We know that, on average, patients save £30 with every virtual appointment by avoiding travel and parking costs, plus time off work to attend hospital.

As well as saving you time and money, during the Covid-19 pandemic video consultations are also helping to keep everyone safe. Where a virtual appointment is deemed clinically safe and appropriate, it is a convenient alternative to in-person appointments which keeps the number of people in our hospitals to an absolute minimum – to protect you, our staff and our inpatients.

From April to June of this year we delivered 78,500 virtual appointments. That’s a saving to our patients of over £2.35 million!

If you are offered a video consultation or follow-up appointment, here’s what to expect:

Step 1: We will notify you of your Video Consultation by text message or letter

Video consultations are an easy way for you to have your appointment with your hospital care team or consultant.

Your appointment reminder text message will notify you that your appointment will be a Video Consultation as well as the date and time of your appointment. Click the nhs.my/NUH link to login to your patient portal and view information about your appointment.

Step 2: Check you have what you will need for your Video Consultation.

For the Video Consultation, you will need:

• A smartphone, tablet or computer with a camera and speaker

• A good connection to the internet, we recommend using Wi-Fi where possible which may have a better connection and will not use your mobile data allowance

• A quiet, well-lit room where you will not be disturbed. If you are by a bright light, like a window, sit so the light is on your face not behind you.

• A table or surface to prop your device on, so your camera stays steady during the call

Step 3: We will send you a text message prompt 1-2 hours before your appointment with a secure DrDoctor link to your Video Consultation.

Step 4: Click this link a few minutes before your appointment to go straight to your private video consultation waiting room.

Step 5: Please wait for your clinician to join you in the virtual consultation room. You may need to wait a while if the clinic is running late so please stay on the call. If your clinician is running behind, they may send you a message within the video consultation to let you know.

Step 6: If there is any difficulty your clinician will phone you on your mobile number

To find out more about video consultations on our website, including an introductory video: www.nuh.nhs.uk/online-video-consultations