THE CWTCH Team never dreamed their work would be so far reaching when they started a project to enable young people to access timely support for their mental health and wellbeing.

The Connecting With Telehealth to Communities and Hospitals initiative, led by Professor Alka Ahuja MBE working with Dr Jacinta Tan and research and evaluation lead Gemma Johns, offered video consultations as an alternative to face-to-face appointments when clinically appropriate and was the winner of the Research Impact category at the South Wales Argus Health & Care Awards 2020.

It was initially piloted in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) at the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB) but has since been adopted by a wide range of health departments across Wales due to restrictions in place to stop the spread of Coronavirus.

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“Before 2019 the use of video appointments was very low,” explains Alka. “When Covid 19 came along in March 2020 we were seconded to the National Technology Enabled Care (TEC) Team and CWTCH was used as an exemplar to roll out video consultations across Wales.

“We worked with families, patients and clinicians, including primary, secondary and community care, providing technology and support and showing them what to do should things go wrong.”

Within six weeks of the first lockdown, the TEC team was able to cover almost 90% of GP practices, before moving on to hospital care and, later, care homes. Other health professionals using it include dentists, pharmacists and optometrists.

All in all video appointments have been used for more than 230,000 consultations across Wales and feedback indicates that most people are happy with the system, which uses a secure platform called ‘Attend Anywhere’ to ensure patient information is kept confidential.

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“When we started there was a lot of anxiety, such as missing out certain groups of people; we were asked how the elderly cope if they hadn’t used technology,” says Alka.

“As it is, 21 per cent of the people using it are over 65 and there’s quite an equal distribution between people living in urban and rural areas. Wifi is a big challenge, but people have adapted.”

Alka says coronavirus has led to a speeding up of inevitable changes within the NHS.

“The NHS was never perfect, and with backlogs and waiting lists there needs to be some room for thinking differently,” she says.

“For people who need to have blood taken for analysis or surgery, they will need to in person, but for advice and many other appointments, the video calls work well.”

A major benefit of video technology is that it allows specialists to come together to help people living with several health problems. Other advantages include savings to the environment and in terms of patients’ time.

“The feedback has been wonderful,” says Alka. “Many people enjoy the fact that they don’t have to travel a long way just for three minutes. They’re saving time, mileage and reducing their carbon footprint.”

In terms of medical care, some health departments have reported distinct advantages from video consultations, with patients appearing more empowered and relaxed in their own homes.

“The whole dynamic has shifted,” says Alka.

“Around 90per cent say they would use it again. It will be a tool in the clinician toolkit to use where appropriate so that we can provide safe and timely care to the people in Wales.

“The pandemic has been horrible but it has provided a testing ground for video consultations, and many people have found that they like it.”

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