Video consultations - public and clinician views: consultation summary

Summary of the national public engagement exercise held during June to August 2020, to understand the general public and health professionals’ views on using Near Me video consulting.


Near Me public engagement outcomes report

Key findings

  • Over 5,000 people responded to the public engagement and consistent themes emerged across all types of feedback received
  • Strong support for the use of video consulting was found: 87% of the public and 94% of clinicians thought video consulting should be used for health and care appointments, providing it is appropriate for the consultation
  • The public stated a small preference for use of video over phone consulting both during periods of physical distancing for Covid-19 and afterwards
  • Health professionals identified a clear preference for using video consulting within the ongoing management of conditions, rather than in undifferentiated diagnosis
  • The public and clinicians identified a wide range of benefits and some barriers of using video consulting
  • Main benefits identified: improving access and convenience, and reducing the risk of infection
  • Main barriers identified: digital connectivity (and other issues relating to digital exclusion) and lack of private space for video calls
  • Service providers should stop making generalised assumptions about the groups of people who can or cannot use video consulting

Contact

Email: nss.tec@nhs.net

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