Video appointments

Video consulting in the NHS

Guidance and resources for NHS patients and clinicians to support online consultations are available to anyone considering using video technology as part of an NHS consultation. They are designed to be relevant to any technology or clinical setting.

The guides have been developed as a collaboration between Barts Health NHS Trust and Design Science with the IRIHS Group led by Professor Trish Greenhalgh and Professor Sara Shaw.

You can talk to your healthcare professional with the same level of privacy you would usually experience during a face-to-face appointment. The video appointments are not recorded and none of your details are stored once the appointment has ended.

Each video appointment takes place in a private video call room which can only be entered by authorised healthcare professionals and the calls are encrypted.

1. You will be contacted by the service looking after you either by phone, email or text message. The communication will tell you the time and date of your appointment and will include a link to this webpage.
2. 5 minutes before your appointment time, find the service your appointment is with below and click on the link such as children's services.
3. Click on the video appointment button on the service webpage.
4. Click start call and you will be taken through some connection tests to make sure the video appointment will work.
5. Enter your name, date of birth and phone number so your healthcare professional can see you in the waiting room and call you back if needed (these details are not stored anywhere once the call ends).
6. Tick the consent box and click continue then start call.
7. Enter the waiting room and wait for your healthcare professional to join you.

Do not enter a waiting room unless you have a pre-arranged appointment or have been contacted directly by one of our services.

• A good connection to the internet. If you can watch a video online (such as YouTube) you can make a video call.
• Wi-fi connections are best if possible as they are more stable.
• A private, well-lit area where you will not be disturbed during the consultation.
• Either:
  • Google Chrome web browser on a desktop or laptop, or on an Android tablet or smartphone
  • Safari web browser on an Apple iMac, MacBook, iPad, or iPhone
• A web-camera, speakers and microphone already built into laptops or mobile device or a headset or headphones which include a mic.

What if I do not have Google Chrome or Safari?

• How to download Google Chrome.
• How to download Safari.

What if I do not have Wi-Fi?

A 20-minute video call is expected to use around 230 MB of data on a smartphone, or around 460 MB on a desktop or laptop computer that is tethered to your phone.

No data is used while you are in the waiting room.

Check with your mobile phone provider if you are not sure what your data limits are.

What happens if the connection drops?

If we cannot get you back into the video appointment, we will contact you and complete your appointment by phone. We will use the number you provide when joining the online waiting room.

Can I test my equipment before my call?

Visit the Attend Anywhere website using a Chrome or Safari browser and look for the test call button. You will also find some troubleshooting information on that page to help you.