Barts Health NHS Trust is working in partnership with the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford; East London and City (WELC) Clinical Commissioning Groups; Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; NHS England and Microsoft to scale up the use of outpatient video consultations in the NHS.
Research has shown that using remote video outpatient consultations rather than face-to-face reviews can increase patient attendance rates, improve outcomes and provide more patient-centred care. However, implementing such services within routine practice in the NHS is challenging.
RUBIS.Qi is working with The Health Foundation to support the team at Barts Health create a virtual consultation unit and scale up the national roll-out of virtual consultations by supporting sites who are interested in using this type of consultation.
The unit will provide:
The project team’s ultimate aim is to create a national network of sites which can learn from each other’s experiences. Working with national-level decision-makers, the project team also aims to develop a national policy around the use of video consultations, including a tariff, technology, governance and staff training. The team will also work with a technology provider to test the various options for web consultations.
For more information http://www.vocalproject.co.uk/
Project manager: Joanne Morris joanne.morris@nhsnet
Project lead: Dr Shanti Vijayaraghavan, consultant physician diabetes and endocrinology at Newham University Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust shanti.vijayaraghavan@bartshealth.nhs.uk
RUBIS.Qi improvement coach: Annie Laverty