Queen Elizabeth Hospital

A Telemedicine Clinic is a way of using technology to deliver healthcare at a distance.

The BBS clinics service at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham uses the DrDoctor platform for video consultations.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham will send you an appointment notification by text or email.

Your text message or email notification will tell you that your appointment will be a video consultation. It will also state the date and time of your appointment.

Doctors from your regular BBS specialised clinic will take part in the clinic.

A clinical nurse specialist and Amy Clapp from BBS UK clinics will also join.

There are a few things you can do to help you prepare for the clinic:

• Make sure your device has a camera, microphone, and speakers (mobile devices and laptops often have these built in)
• Check and make a note of your weight
• Put together a list of your medication
• Make a note of any new health professionals involved in your care
• Make a note of any questions or concerns you may have
• Decide if you would like anyone with you to support you during the clinic. During this period of isolation, this will need to be someone within your household

To have your appointment, you will need:

• Access to a device, mobile, table, laptop, PC
• An active email address (so that you can receive your joining instructions)
  Internet/Wi-Fi access
• If for any reason your consultant or healthcare professional is unable to contact you via DrDoctor at the allocated appointment time, you will be contacted by telephone on the number we have recorded for you on your patient record

Your consultation or healthcare professional will always be in a private space throughout the consultation so that your privacy and confidentiality are respected. We also recommend that you are also in a private location before joining the video consultation.

No part of the video consultation will be physically recorded or otherwise permanently digitally stored. The medical outcomes of the consultation will be recorded and stored as a permanent part of your patient record held by the hospital. This happens in the same way as for face to face or telephone consultations.

Step 1

Click the nhs.my/UHB link on your text message or email to login to your patient portal and view information about your appointment.

Step 2

Check you have what you will need for your video consultation.

For the appointment, you will need a:

• smartphone, tablet or computer with a camera and speaker (these are usually built into your device)
• good connection to the Internet. We recommend using Wi-Fi where possible which may have a better connection and will not use up your mobile data allowance
• quiet, well-lit room where you will not be disturbed. If you are by a bright light, like a window, sit so the light is on your face not behind you
• table or surface to prop your device on, so your camera stays steady during the call

Please note DrDoctor video does not work in Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) and you will have to use another browser such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Edge

Step 3

Queen Elizabeth Hospital will send you a text message reminder 1 – 2 hours before your appointment with a secure link to your video consultation.

Step 4

Click the secure link a few minutes before your appointment to launch your private video consultation waiting room.

Step 5

Please wait for your clinician to join you in the virtual consultation room.

Occasionally there might be a short delay and your appointment might not run at the planned time. This might be because the clinician needs to spend a little longer with another patient. If this happens, the clinician will try to let you know as soon as possible.

Step 6

If there are any problems with the video platform your clinician will phone you on your mobile number. Please ensure you have provided us with this, so we can get in touch with you if we need to.

You will receive a clinic summary letter and a copy will also be sent to your GP and other health professionals involved in your care.

You can contact your BBS UK Patient Liaison Team as follows:

Patient Liaison Officer, Amy Clapp: 07591 206787

Asst Patient Liaison Officer, Laura Davis: 07512 198484