Video appointments

We offer video outpatient appointments to as many patients as possible so that we can continue caring for patients.

Not every patient will be suitable for a video appointment. Your healthcare professional will make a decision, based on clinical information, about whether video appointments are suitable for you, e.g. if you need to come to hospital to have tests or be physically assessed.

Benefits of video appointments

Using video calls with patients is something that has been done for many years around the world; it is seen as a safe and effective way to care for patients, who do not need to be physically assessed by their healthcare professional.

Video appointments have many benefits for patients, including removing the need to take the day off from work, travel to hospital, pay for parking and wait in a waiting area for your appointment. Instead, you are able to have your appointment from the comfort of your own home. A friend or family member in another location can join the appointment as your representative by also using the link in your appointment letter, just let your health professional know they are waiting to join you. Your healthcare professional can also share scans and results with you on-screen within the video call.

Our video appointment systems are very secure and have been tested before being used with patients. The security of the systems is supported by ‘end-to-end encryption’ which stops any data being read or secretly modified.

Fifteen minutes before your appointment time, you will receive a text message and/or email with a link to your appointment.  

Your appointment time is approximate. Your healthcare professional will attempt to join you on the video call as close as possible to the appointment time. Please be patient if there is a delay.

What do I need to do?

As a patient using the service, you will need an internet-enabled device that allows video calling. This may be a smartphone, tablet, or a laptop or desktop computer with a web camera and built-in speakers and microphone.

The call will be free if you use free Wi-Fi or home internet. If your network uses mobile data for the call then please expect to similar amount of mobile data to a Skype or FaceTime call, and you won’t use any data while you wait for someone to join you. 

If you do not have access to a suitable device, please contact the departments telephone number which will be found on your appointment letter,  they will look to offer a telephone appointment instead.

T-Pro users from 1st April 2024 onwards

Getting ready for your video appointment

Please make sure that the device you are using for your appointment (mobile phone, tablet or computer) is fully charged and working properly and that you have a compatible web browser installed - one of Google Chrome (free), Apple Safari (version 12.2 or higher), or Microsoft Edge. 

Please make sure that you are in a quiet room with good lighting. Please do not sit in a location with a window (or light source) behind you, as this will make it hard for your health professional to see you properly.

Please use a strong internet connection, such as Wi-Fi broadband internet or a 4G/5G connection. If you can watch a video online (e.g. on YouTube) without any problems, then your internet connection should be suitable.

What to expect shortly before your appointment

Fifteen minutes before the time of your appointment visit the link on your text or email.

If you do not receive the link, please call the telephone number listed on your appointment letter for assistance.

Click on the link in the text message/email or enter it into your web browser on your computer/phone/tablet.

You will now wait in your own waiting room for the clinician to join the call. If you need to change your Audio/Video settings this can be done by clicking on the settings option and adjustments can be made to your camera, microphone and speaker.

When the clinician joins, the appointment will automatically be connected.

Where appropriate to assist a diagnosis or treatment recommendation the clinician may ask you to take an optional/voluntary snap shot of a wound or injury.  These voluntary images will then be stored on secure Trust clinical information systems and be retained with your consent as part of your Electronic Health record.

Your preferences

You will be automatically ‘opted-in’ to using video calling for your future appointments, this will be done after an individual review by your healthcare professional of your suitability for video appointments. If you have not been offered a video appointment but would like to have one, please speak to your healthcare professional to discuss your suitability for this.

If you have been offered a video appointment and do not want to have video calls with your healthcare professional, please call the Outpatients Booking Team on 01227 868686 and they can make alternative arrangements with you.

To cancel or change your appointment please contact the departments telephone number which will be found on your appointment letter, or you can cancel or change your appointment.

Please give at least 48 hours’ notice before cancelling, so that we can offer the appointment to another patient.

If you do not attend for your video appointment, or you change or cancel your appointment more than once, we may not be able to offer you another appointment date.

Attachments

We are currently unable to support the attachment function – please do not use the chat to exchange documents or pictures with your clinician during your virtual consultation.

Lateness and non-attendance

Please note that if you fail to attend an appointment or are more than 15 minutes late, your link will be deactivated and you will not be able to access your virtual consultation

Help using T-Pro video appointments

Use the T-Pro troubleshooting guide for help connecting to your video appointment.

Privacy policy

To view the supplier Privacy Policy, please click: Privacy Policy (tpro.io)