Elective Care | Trust buys back time for specialist consultants

Telemedicine devices overcome location issues by using world-class image and sound technology so consultants can see, hear, and speak with patients as if they were at their bedside – even if they are miles away at a different hospital.
What We Do - Consultant Connect

‘With the telemedicine device, I can be doing a ward round on one site in the morning and have a clinic booked immediately afterwards in the afternoon at another.’

 

Elective Care | Trust buys back time for specialist consultants
 

Elective care consultants in the NHS often have to divide their time between different locations, which leads to wasted time on travel.

With telemedicine devices, consultants can see, hear, and talk to patients as if they were right beside them, even from a different hospital.

Dr Steve Jackson, a Consultant Physician and Chief Medical Information Officer at University Hospitals Leicester, frequently travels between two sites, so he was eager to test the technology.

 


Getting started with the new technology


The device was used for the first time when a colleague was self-isolating, and Dr Jackson could not get to the other hospital in time to cover his colleague’s ward round. Using the telemedicine device, he conducted the ward round from the hospital where he was based, and this gave him an extra 45 minutes of patient-facing time. He led the ward round from his office and commented:

‘Everyone loved it. It amazed me how easy it was to use. I had one screen with the patient visible, and then I had all the electronic patient records and the GP record open on my other screen, so I could answer questions patients asked without having to leave the bay and go back to the computer or back to the notes, so I could do it all efficiently with the junior doctors examining the patients as necessary.’

If a self-isolating clinician is well enough to work, they can still participate in ward rounds and patient consultations from home via a secure login to the telemedicine device.

 


Device functionality

The telemedicine device has two high-definition cameras for scans, temperature readings, and reading bedside notes. Powerful batteries allow it to run off-power for four hours. It is height-adjustable with a pan-tilt and zoom head, allowing a consultant to study monitors. The remote consultant can grab scan images, send them down to the device by the bedside, and annotate them in real-time for the medical team with the patient. Boom cameras with a 36x zoom can look down on a patient in close detail. Consultants can also listen to a stethoscope to hear a heartbeat in real time.

 

Patient and clinician experience

Dr Jackson has been pleased by the patients’ reactions to the technology. He comments:

‘Patients are not fazed at all by the fact I’m on the screen. They are very positive about it when they give feedback, and the junior team loves it. Using a telemedicine device felt surprisingly natural, despite my initial concerns. I can also review patients who are admitted to my ward between my formal ward rounds, which means they may be discharged earlier.’

The telemedicine device relies on someone to take the device to the patient. The team can view a small image on the screen to see the consultant’s perspective. This means that if there’s a part of the patient’s body, the consultant needs to see if the team can assist. Dr Jackson gives an example of this:

‘As a diabetic foot doctor, I would normally have to get on my knees and look underneath the patient’s foot. With the telemedicine device, the team can lift the foot up for me, and they can see where to place the foot so I can view it myself without too much effort on my part!’

Increased access to specialists from other sites

Specialists at Leicester try to go to other departments to save a transfer of a patient from one site to another. However, this isn’t always practical–until now. Dr Jackson cites a recent example:

‘Patients had to wait for hours to be transferred from our emergency department to the hospital with cardiologists. I freed up some of my time to wheel this cardiologist into the emergency department on the telemedicine device. As a result, patients were discharged from ED, instead of having to wait for a bed at the other hospital, and the follow-up was organised in a timely fashion by this consultant on the screen.’

The news is spreading at University Hospital Leicester, with Dr. Jackson receiving inquiries from other specialties.

The consultant neurologist believes that telemedicine devices with a specialist on the screen can effectively diagnose patients, as the examination adds little to what the history provides. And if the examination is required, one of the other clinicians in the room can do it with the supervision of the specialist; they can make a plan with the patient, and so that there’s confidence all round.’

 

Related case studies

GP case study: Answering SCAS calls

GP case study: Answering SCAS calls

Dr Simon Hodes describes how answering Telephone Advice & Guidance calls from 999 ambulance crews and clinical support desk staff saves NHS resources.

Hospital @Home Respiratory Medicine line in the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust

Hospital @Home Respiratory Medicine line in the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust

Following the launch, in April 2022, of NHS England’s national Hospital @Home (H@H) programme, the ICB within Greater Manchester received funding to develop H@H services across the Northern Care Alliance (NCA).

5 minutes with…a Paramedic in Wales

5 minutes with…a Paramedic in Wales

Marcus Viggers has worked as a Paramedic for the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust (WAST) for nearly 20 years. Since May 2020, Ambulance staff across WAST have had access to rapid advice, from specialist clinical teams across NHS Wales, via Consultant Connect. We asked Marcus to tell us about his experience of the service.

GP case study: Teledermatology in the NHS

GP case study: Teledermatology in the NHS

Two GPs describe the benefits of having access to Teledermatology via Consultant Connect.

- Consultant Connect

Contact us

For more information about how we work with commissioners, hospitals and mental health trusts to improve patient care, please get in touch.

- Consultant Connect

Join a webinar

Listen to health experts from the comfort of your desk as we bring the experts to you in our series of online webinars.

- Consultant Connect

Join our mailing list

Join our mailing list and we'll keep you informed of our latest blogs, project news, and upcoming webinar dates and topics.

Contact us

Permissions

You can view our Terms & Conditions here.

Most Read Articles

Transforming the care of older people

Advances in healthcare mean more of us are living longer, and, in recognition of the International Day of Older People, we’re showcasing how we support clinicians in providing the best care for these patients.

read more