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Video Consultations

鲸鱼传媒 is now offering online video consultations to our patients in a number of our outpatient services, where your doctor or nurse has identified you as suitable for this type of appointment.

We recognise that travelling to a hospital appointment is not always convenient and can sometimes be costly and time consuming. Video consultations provide an alternative way to attend your hospital appointment, without the inconvenience of travel. Therefore, if you do not need an investigation, blood test or physical examination, your clinician may offer you a video consultation.

We have partnered with DrDoctor to provide this service. For more information on the DrDoctor system, please visit 听

DrDoctor video consultations are for patients with pre-arranged appointment times only. You can use DrDoctor on a PC, Mac or an iOS/Android device.

Video consultations are compatible with most devices, however they may not work with some older devices. The minimum requirements are:

Windows: Windows 7 and later
Mac: MacOS 10.10 and later
Linux: Any x64 based system
iPhone and iPad:
- For Safari 鈥� iOS version 13.1 and later
- For Chrome 鈥� iOS 14.5 and later
Android: Use the latest version of听the web browser.
Internet speed:
- One on one consultations require at least 2.0 Mbps upload, 2.5 Mbps download speeds, and a Ping score of less than 100 ms
- Four or more participants in a consultation require at least 3.2 Mbps upload, 3.2 Mbps download speeds, and a Ping score of less than 100 ms
- You can check your internet speed online using www.speedtest.net

Download听听or听听for free.

To find out more about attending your video appointment using DrDoctor, please read our听Video Consultations听FAQs Sheet:

Troubleshooting

Why have I been offered this type of appointment?

We recognise that the traditional face to face hospital appointment is not always convenient for patients due to travel and time constraints.

How do I use this service?

If you have agreed to attend a video call appointment, you will receive an appointment letter as normal, with the time and date of the appointment and the name of the video call service you will be attending.

There are a few things that we ask that you to do, in advance, to prepare for this:
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Read听the Patient Information Leaflet carefully (click on the relevant button below).
A few hours before your appointment time, please carry out a 鈥榯est call鈥� to test that you are using the correct web browser, your equipment works and you have a strong internet connection
We鈥檒l send you a text message a few hours before your appointment with a secure link to your video consultation.

What do I need to do on the day of the appointment?

Preparing for a video consultation

You will need a smartphone, tablet or computer that allows video calling (see technical requirements). Remember to make sure your microphone and camera are switched on.
Ensure the device has a full battery or power cord nearby to charge if necessary.
Be in a quiet, well-lit, private room.
Check you have a stable internet connection.
Turn off television/radio or anything that may distract you.
Point camera away from any lights or window and onto a neutral back drop so that you can be seen clearly.
Dress appropriately, e.g. wear shorts if you have a knee problem.

How do video consultations work?

听We鈥檒l notify you of your video consultation by text message or email.

Follow the link to login and view appointment information.
Check you have what you need for your video consultation.
See 鈥楶reparing for a video consultation鈥�
We鈥檒l send you a text message a few hours before your appointment with a secure link to your video consultation.
You can access this link from any device (see technical requirements below).
A few minutes before your appointment, click the link, enter your name, and allow your audio and camera to work.
We recommend you join a few minutes before so you can test your audio and video before your clinician joins.
Please wait for your clinician to join you in your private, virtual consultation room.
You may need to wait a while if the clinic is running late so please stay on the call. Your clinician may send you a message within the video consultation if they are running behind.
If there are any problems, your clinician will phone you on the number in your medical record.

For further information and FAQs, visit: , or contact the team your appointment is booked with.

DrDoctor is completely confidential and secure. The video calls cannot be accessed by anyone else.

Data handling

To enable us to deliver this service, DrDoctor will have access to your contact information, but not detailed information about your health. The information is used to confirm your identity. This is done in accordance with the data protection laws. Your information will not be shared without your consent and is stored securely using the standards mandated by the 鲸鱼传媒. For more information, visit

Do I have to take part?

No. It is entirely your choice whether you wish to attend your clinic appointment in person or via an online video consultation.

If you have been offered your appointment by video call but have changed your mind, for any reason, please contact the team your appointment is booked with, as soon as possible, so that they can arrange another appointment for you. The relevant contact details will be included in your outpatient letter

Will it affect my care if I choose not to take part?

No. Your care will be unaffected and will continue as normal if you do not wish to attend your appointment by video.

We hope that offering video consultations to our patients will improve your choice of how you attend you hospital appointments for those who would like to attend in this way.

Where would I go to attend my appointment?

Instead of travelling to your appointment and sitting in a waiting room, we鈥檒l notify you of your video consultation by text message or email. On the day of your appointment, we鈥檒l send you another text message a few hours before your appointment with a secure link to your video consultation.

Your clinician will be notified once you have arrived in the online consultation room and will join you when they are ready.

To use this service, you do not need to download an application or create an account. However, when prompted you will simply need to enter your personal details (these are not saved anywhere) so that your clinician can identify you correctly.

Can someone else accompany me in this appointment?

Absolutely! A great benefit of this technology is that if you would like someone else to join your appointment, such as a relative, friend, guardian or career, they are able to do so.

If they are with you in person, please just let the clinician know at the start of the consultation that they are present and that you are happy for them to be involved.

If you would like someone else to join you for your appointment and they need to attend from a different location to you, it is easy for them to do so. Please discuss this with the relevant booking team who will be able to advise.

What happens if I cannot access the virtual consultation on the day of my appointment?

Please review the 鈥淭roubleshooting鈥� section of the Salisbury Hospital Video Consultations webpage.

If you are still experiencing difficulties entering the virtual consultation, please do not worry. If your doctor or nurse cannot see you in the consultation space, they will contact you on the telephone contact number we hold for you.

What happens if I am having difficulty seeing or hearing my doctor through the video link?

If you are experiencing any technical problems during a call, tell your healthcare professional straight away.

If you are still having difficulty, your clinician will contact you by telephone. You may then continue your consultation by telephone, or, if your clinician decides this is not suitable, your appointment will be rescheduled.

What happens if I need a physical examination?

If you doctor decides after seeing you for the video consultation that you need a physical examination you will be offered the next available face to face appointment.

Patients and healthcare professionals are positive about our video consultations

鈥淚f the option of a video call wasn't there, I think I would have struggled to keep up with the sessions on a regular basis.鈥�

"It has the advantage over the telephone that we can see each other and read facial and body language cues. It negates the need for the patient (or the therapist) to travel - an important factor when working with patients with long-term physical health conditions."

Through surveys, many patients have told us they like video consultations:

Almost all patients that have had a video consultation would have one again. The majority felt that the consultation was the same or better than a face-to-face consultation in the hospital.
Half of patients expressed a preference for a mixture of consultation formats depending on purpose/needs.
Patients found video consultations more convenient than attending the hospital. Patients:
- Did not have to allow significant extra time before and after appointments
- Only needed to take minimal time off work/school/daily activities
- Had a more comfortable and shorter waiting experience
- Had a less stressful experience
- Felt it to be safer/easier where their condition reduced their ability to travel

Feedback

Your feedback about this service and your experience using it is really important to us, as it will allow us to continue to improve it.

You can leave feedback regarding your video consultation via this link:

We would be extremely grateful if you could give a few minutes of your time to share your honest thoughts and feedback.

Alternatively, if you would like to speak to someone directly to provide feedback, please contact the hospital PALS team.

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