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Wick GP Practice pilots innovative NHS Near Me service

29th October 2018

Patients of Riverview Practice in Wick are among the first in NHS Highland to be offered GP appointments by video.

The new ‘GP Near Me' service is being tested this week as an extension to NHS Highland’s NHS Near Me video consulting service.

For one week, starting on Monday 29th October 2018, a GP and nurse at Riverview will offer video appointments when it is clinically appropriate, in other words, when hands-on care is not required.

"Many patients have told us that being able to attend an appointment from home or their workplace would be much more convenient for them," Clare Morrison, NHS Near Me lead at NHS Highland, explained. “It isn’t going to be for everyone, but this is about giving patients another option to make care more accessible.”

Patients have highlighted that not having to go out in bad weather and not having to arrange care for a relative while they attend their appointment as key reasons why video appointments at home are useful. For patients who are at work, video consultations can significantly reduce the time taken off work to attend an appointment (providing they have a private space to make the video call).

Clare added. “One patient told us that she always gets breathless on the walk into the consulting room, so being able to attend an appointment by video from home meant she was able to focus on the whole consultation, rather than miss the first few minutes while she caught her breath.”

To attend a video GP Near Me appointment, patients need an internet connection and a device to make video calls: either a computer with a webcam or a smartphone or tablet. When an appointment is made, patients will be given a link for a website from which the video call is made.

“We are very keen for patients to try out GP Near Me during this test week so we can work out the best way to offer this service to patients,” said Riverview Practice business manager, Joanna Groves.

A few patients in Caithness and Sutherland have had video consultations for medication reviews with their GP practice’s pharmacist, but this is the first time that video appointments have been offered by a GP in the area. Video consulting is used by GPs elsewhere in the UK.

NHS Near Me was developed in Caithness for hospital outpatient appointments.

And in a further bid to consult with patients, NHS Highland plan to launch a survey next week specifically seeking views on whether the practice should move into the proposed new Care Hub which will either be located at Wick Town and County Hospital or Pulteney House.