BackgroundProviding care for our patients during the COVID-19 pandemic required a rapid shift to video consultations (VCs). A service evaluation was performed to capture hospice professionals’ (HPs) and patients’ experiences of VC.MethodsOnline or postal surveys were sent to HPs and patients, who had participated in VC between March and July 2020, focusing on their experience and satisfaction with the service.Results31 responses from HPs were received. 19 (61.3%) rated their experience of VC as good, despite 29 (93.5%) having no prior VC experience. One-third of HPs had undertaken potentially sensitive consultations, including resuscitation discussions. 23 (74.2%) undertook a VC that included a family member and 18 (58.1%) had included an external healthcare professional. 25 (80.6%) wanted to offer VC as an option going forward. Well-being staff successfully provided multiple group support sessions via video. 26 responses from patients (23) and carers (3) were received. 22 (84.6%) had access to a smartphone. 8 (30.8%) included a family member in their consultation. All patients/carers reported satisfaction with their VC, although 10 (38.5%) expressed a preference for face-to-face consultations. 22 (84.6%) patients would be happy to receive care via VC going forward and 21 (80.8%) stated they would recommend the use of VC to others.ConclusionPatients reported VC to be an acceptable way to receive support from a hospice service and HPs would like to continue to offer VC in the future. VC can be offered as an alternative to face-to-face consultations with the potential to continue and improve access to a wide range of hospice services.
consultation with a family member participating and 52.9% had included an external health professional. Wellbeing staff had also successfully provided multiple group support sessions via video for both patients and carers. The respondents thought video consultations were efficient and convenient for hospice professionals (80.6%) and patients (67.7%). As a consequence of the rapid shift to video consultations, our results highlighted that 78% of respondents had received no formal training, and in addition, 39% reported some technical difficulties. Overall 80.7% wanted to offer video consultations as an option in the future. Conclusion Hospice professionals have quickly adapted to video consultations and are keen to continue to offer this service in the future but need appropriate training and reliable videoconferencing technology in order to do this effectively. Videoconferencing can be used in creative ways to expand access for patients and family caregivers to a range of palliative care services and enhance multi-professional teamworking.
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