Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Praise for roll-out of NHS Near Me video appointments

Post Thumbnail

The Aberdeenshire Health & Social Care Partnership has publicly supported the roll-out of a new way for people to attend healthcare appointments by using video consulting technology.

The software, called NHS Near Me, allows people to arrange an appointment with their healthcare provider by making a video call, similar to Facetime.

Patients using their own digital device, such as a computer with a camera, a smart phone or tablet, can enter an ‘online waiting area’ for the booked appointment.

The technology behind NHS Near Me has been designed specifically for the health care sector and is already being employed by a number of services in NHS Grampian and elsewhere in Scotland, including outpatient clinics and community-based services.

Dr Chris Allan, an Aberdeenshire GP and primary care clinical lead for the AHSCP, said: “Practices have been using telephone appointments for a number of years for when a physical examination is not required, and this is a further upgrade to that, allowing GP and patient to see as well as speak to each other directly.

“Near Me video appointments will not be suitable for everyone, or every situation, but with the current advice around COVID-19 (Coronavirus) to self-isolate and not attend GP practices or hospitals if you have concerns or symptoms, then using NHS Near Me, where it is available, is a very good idea.”

GP practices across Aberdeenshire are at varying stages of rolling out NHS Near Me and the AHSCP has a dedicated team supporting practices in adopting the technology through training and installation of necessary ‘kit’.

Anne Stirling, chairwoman of the Aberdeenshire Integration Joint Board, said: “Using NHS Near Me is a great way for people to attend healthcare appointments and using this service for appointments with your GP, advanced nurse practitioner or other healthcare professional means that you don’t have to travel, which at this time of year is good news for everyone.

“The Integration Joint Board has recently signed off a strategic plan for the delivery of Health & Social Care across Aberdeenshire for the next five years and rolling out technologies, such as NHS Near Me, is a crucial area for ensuring that we future proof our services across both Primary and Secondary care.”

Residents have been encouraged to look out for promotional materials about NHS Near Me and ask their practice or healthcare professional if they are offering appointments.