Virtual care through video calls

Video calls took off during the pandemic – whether that was for meetings or seeing family and friends while we were in lockdown. But did you know that we have been trialling the use of video calls between patients and our clinicians since 2019?

When patients call our NHS 111 service, their condition is assessed over the phone and in some cases, then passed to a clinical advisor – which could be a nurse or paramedic. It is at this stage that we have been trialling video calls and so far, these have been successful.

NHS 111 Service Development Lead Ross Luckie said: “A simple way to explain the benefits of video consultation is to think about calls for skin complaints or rashes. How does a clinical advisor identify during a telephone call whether the problem requires further medical attention or whether it might be resolved by an over-the-counter cream.

“With video consultation, the clinical advisor can see the rash, ask questions, and note reactions. 42 percent of the video calls in the trial have been for patients with skin conditions, but they have also proved useful for patients with sore throats, minor wounds, bites and stings, and eye problems.”

Video calls are also used in our 999 service, where clinicians carry out further assessments of certain patients. Being able to see the patient helps the clinician decide whether an ambulance is required, or the patient could be cared for by another service in the community.

Keeping more ambulances free to attend more urgent calls helps to ensure that the patient gets the right care, at the right time, in the right place for their condition. If an ambulance is required, the clinicians who have done the video call assessment can give the responding ambulance crews more information than they might have been able to if they’d only spoken to the patient on the telephone Ross adds:

“After initially working closely with NHS England to trial the technology, video consultation has proved it has a place within telephone triage settings. We are proud to have been part of this work which has resulted in the technology being made available to all NHS 111 services nationally.

“Results from the evaluation are positive and have helped show our team the benefits of using video consultation for appropriate calls. Use of the technology is still growing and I’m sure we’ll find other uses for video consultation to help us ensure patients always receive the most appropriate care.”