virtual appointments help Patients get important diagnoses during the coronavirus lockdown without leaving home

There has been a 70% increase in digital, video and telephone consultations since the start of the pandemic. During lockdown, Northumbria Parkinson’s service used the ‘Attend Anywhere’ technology – and waiting times have reduced from three to four months pre-COVID to two weeks, diagnosing a number of patients.

Charlie Blyth, 64, is one of the patients at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust:

I felt so much more comfortable being able to see Annette and her happy, smiling face than I would have done over the phone and I felt so much more relaxed being able to remain in my own home and not have to travel, which with me living in Berwick could have taken hours.

Nurse consultant Annette Hand:

It’s [Attend Anywhere] also meant a lot less travelling for the patients which is a major benefit and for clinicians it has meant we are able to see many more patients and been able to decrease our waiting times significantly.

Read more: https://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2020-07-01/berwick-grandfather-relieved-as-virtual-appointment-helps-him-get-important-diagnosis