Thousands of patients benefit from virtual clinics
Pictured: Cystic Fibrosis clinical nurse specialist Laura Barlow using the 'Attend Anywhere' system
Thousands of patients across multiple specialties are benefitting from virtual clinics. The ‘Attend Anywhere’ (AA) system enables patients and clinicians to have video consultations from home so their care can be continued without interruption. More than 2000 patients have used the system so far, with more than 90% saying they felt it was easy to access, their needs were met and they were able to communicate well. The system is proving popular with patients and clinicians alike, with more than 30 clinical services now using the solution to deliver video consultations as part of regular clinics.
Laura Barlow, Cystic Fibrosis clinical nurse specialist, said: “When one of my patients logged on to Attend Anywhere recently, it became apparent that they needed to be admitted urgently. This was clear to me because I was able to see them. Thanks to AA, we were able to very quickly arrange for the patient to be reviewed by a consultant, brought into hospital and begin treatment and this may have played a role in saving the patient’s life.”
Dr Grant Heatlie, Consultant Cardiologist and Deputy Medical Director, said: “Patients are telling us that they feel supported and that they like being able to see the team, rather than just talk on the phone. Staff have even noticed that patients are writing down notes during consultations, which they wouldn’t have done face-to-face. They feel the virtual clinics save them time and stress travelling to the hospital and they would like to be able to continue with virtual appointments in the future, post-Covid.
“Being able to see a patient rather than just talk to them helps to enhance the doctor and patient relationship enormously. The project started because of COVID-19, but I expect we may continue to use this method of consultation well into the future.”
The Attend Anywhere system is web-based and does not require patients to download additional apps. Patients are asked to complete a short survey about their experience after their appointment has concluded so that effectiveness and satisfaction can be measured.
Many positive comments have been received from patients, including: “The service is very good and easy to navigate and I will definitely keep on using Attend Anywhere, “I feel that this is a very good way of undertaking a consultation and would do it again” and “An extremely efficient service which saves having to be in a physical waiting room unnecessarily.”
Paul Bytheway, Chief Operating Officer, said: “The virtual clinic system is a brilliant development because it’s making sure patient care continues from the safest environment possible – their own homes. However, we do want to stress that the appointment slots taken by patents via this system are just as real and valuable as any physical ones they may have, and therefore we encourage people to take them very seriously - they will need to book out an adequate time slot in their day to get ready for and attend the appointment.
“Attend Anywhere offers the same experience that a patient would normally have when coming for an outpatient appointment. There is a virtual waiting room where patients can ‘sit’ when they have logged on. Then they are ‘called in’ by the clinician and a video consultation can begin. Appointments are scheduled by secretaries who can also monitor things like waiting times and several patients can be in the waiting room at the same time. Clinicians can choose to hold a combination of telephone, face-to-face and virtual appointments if they feel it is necessary and patients can still opt out of the virtual clinics if they feel they would prefer an appointment in the usual way.”