The First 10,000 Responses - End of Video Consultation Patient & Professional Feedback on ‘Use & Value’. The Satisfaction, Suitability & Acceptability in Primary, Secondary & Community Care in NHS Wales During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, adoption of video consulting (VC) in the UK was relatively low. Since March 2020 VC was recognised as a viable option for healthcare delivery at a time where mobility was being restricted, and available space in healthcare settings was constrained by the need for social distancing. We report a rapid expansion of its use in the health and care service in Wales. The NHS Wales Video Consulting Service shows high levels of acceptability to patients and professionals. This service was set-up and implemented as a collaborative approach between Technology Enabled Care (TEC) Cymru and its local Health Boards and Trusts, and supported by the Welsh Government to be delivered this way. Due to its nature (a national programme), an all-Wales evaluation of VC was made possible. The ‘live’ end of consultation surveys from patients and professionals are presented in this paper to demonstrate a national VC picture. The data from 10,401 research participants exhibits VC as generally well accepted by Welsh patients and professionals, with high satisfaction and suitability. Our data demonstrate greater satisfaction among patients than professionals, although levels are high in both groups. Interestingly there is little difference in outcomes across urban and rural parts of Wales, which suggests that VC is nationally accepted and suitable. More in-depth and mixed-methods research in these areas is underway, and to date, we have recruited more than 28,000 research participants.Funding Statement: Technology Enabled Care (TEC) Cymru and the NHS Wales Video Consultation (VC) Service is funded by the Welsh Government.Declaration of Interests: None.Ethics Approval Statement: TEC Cymru obtained full service evaluation approval from Research and Development departments from all Health Boards and Trust, and consent from each participant was provided by way of agreeing to a statement of consent at the end of each survey.