Acute & Community Care
Video consultations have become an essential tool in secondary and community care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Overview
Supporting local acute and community trusts to optimise the use of video to support patient care
Sharing best practice to ensure better outcomes for patients
Gathering and spreading learning at speed and scale across the South West
Detailed Programme Information
As well as limiting transmission of the virus, video consultations enable both patients and clinicians to self-isolate and continue providing – and attending – important appointments.
By analysing usage data and monitoring interactions in acute and community health settings, we have been identifying effective, innovative and sustainable practice. This has enabled us to support Trusts to implement technology and systems to ensure better outcomes for patients.
Our expertise and extensive network of partners – including NHS England and NHS Improvement, NHSX, local acute and mental health providers, local Sustainability and Transformation Partnership digital boards, and the Peninsula Cancer Alliance – is enabling us to gather and spread learning at speed and scale across the South West.
Impact includes:
- By the end of April 2020, every general practice in the South West was using video to consult with patients, compared to 5% before the pandemic.
- 100% of practices in the South West utilised video consultation between May and June 2020 to continue providing services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 75% of practices in the South West now utilise online consultation (compared to 50% in March 2020).
Patient information videos
We are supporting the spread of a patient video library, developed by Devon-based enterprise, Health and Care Innovations (HCI), to enable Trusts to continue delivering patient care in challenging operating environments.
The series of 600 videos is the largest collection of videos in the health and care sector in the UK. The videos provide a practical and easy-to-digest digital alternative to written information and can be delivered remotely by NHS clinicians and accessed by patients and carers.
In July 2020 the library was made available to all health and care settings in England under a new contract with NHSX.
For more information, please contact our Programme Lead for digital-first pathways, Maja Jorgensen.
