More patients across north Cumbria are benefitting from receiving services through video consultations as more than 45 services introduced the technology since the start of the coronavirus crisis.

The adoption of the video platform 'Attend Anywhere' for consultations is now being used for lots more hospital outpatient services, GP practice visits and community service appointments.

Use of the platform has increased from 14 services using video technology in early March to more than 60 services to date with more than 600 clinicians now using it.

Organisations including North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, Cumbria Health on Call, GP Practices and integrates primary care organisations as well as social care and charitable organisations have adapted to new ways of working in order to reduce risks of infection for patients and staff while still delivering services that can be done remotely.

Pilot schemes with general practice meant clinicians were able to adapt to the challenges of Covid-19 quickly and adopt the technology quickly.

Jo Howard, North Cumbria ESSD co-ordinator, said: "Our early stroke and discharge service has remained operational during the Covid-19 pandemic in order to promote early and safe discharge for our stroke population.

"We identified that video consultation could be used in various ways to help us to assess and triage referrals as well as plan discharges and maintain closed links with the multi-disciplinary meetings on the hyper-acute stroke unit and with the rehabilitations wards."

Farouq Din, associate director of digital healthcare has described how the pandemic has effectively moved forward the use of technology in the health service overnight

He said: "I cannot think of any comparative situation in the history of the NHS. This is such a complex innovation, changing the way we relate to patients and the workflows of the NHS. This is not just about video and telephone consultations, but a move towards a total triage system. This is a radical and complex innovation, where the relative advantages are huge."

For more information and videos to explain the technology visit https://www.ncic.nhs.uk/news/video-consultations-offer-more-choice-and-flexibility-patients-cumbria