More than 160 virtual healthcare appointments in the Western Isles last 2 weeks!

All GP Practices, hospitals and other care settings across Scotland have been asked to increase use of remote consultations by telephone or video, through Near Me.

NHS Western Isles had already successfully used this service effectively for several years, but has now successfully expanded its use to all specialties, including GP Practices across the Western Isles, and local opticians.

Patient feedback has been extremely positive across the board, as the service is easy to use and enables people to continue to access healthcare services remotely from the comfort of their own homes.

In terms of the use of Near Me in the last 2 weeks there were 163 virtual appointments totalling 37 hours of consultation time across nine services:

• Respiratory
• Physiotherapy
• Various GP Practices
• Child and Adult Mental Health Services
• Speech and Language Therapy
• Nutrition and Dietetics
• Paediatrics
• Diabetes Specialist Nursing
• Orthopaedic Surgery

Virtual Reception enables Patient Services staff to #stayathome too!

As part of the remote access to services, NHS Western Isles has also recently set up a virtual reception service to help patients access Near Me VC appointments.

The virtual reception is staffed by real members of our Patient Services team who will answer VC calls and transfer patients to the right Virtual Waiting Room for their Near Me appointment.

NHS Western Isles Patient Services Team member, Liz Macleod, stated that it is a ‘great resource’ that ‘runs very smoothly’. 

She added: “It really is fantastic that patients and clinicians can still see each other and interact virtually. 

“I am very grateful to be able to #stayathome but to be able to continue to provide a service to colleagues and patients at the hospital.”

Just ask your GP or other health care professional for a Near Me, Attend Anywhere or VC appointment, and we’ll do the rest.

#Stayathome for us – and attend your appointment from the comfort of your own sofa! 

Picture shows Virtual Receptionist Liz Macleod in her living room, transferring patients to their virtual waiting room for their healthcare appointment from home.