Video appointments
Many of our services offer video calls as a more convenient way of having an appointment with one of our healthcare professionals. This reduces the need to attend the hospital for an appointment, saving our patients time, energy and money, and it gives our healthcare professionals the functionality to share important health information with you virtually and securely.
We use Microsoft Teams for our video appointments to take place between our healthcare professionals and patients.
All you need is:
- An internet enabled device, like a smartphone or tablet, or a computer or laptop with webcam, microphone and speakers
- A reliable internet connection
- Chrome, Safari, Edge or commonly used web browsers
- A quiet and private place to have your appointment.
To attend a video appointment
You will receive both a written letter in the post and an email confirming the date and time of your video appointment. The email will include instructions on how to join your appointment at the scheduled time.
You can help prepare yourself for your appointment by:
- going to the email you received from your healthcare provider and click on ‘Join your appointment’ five minutes before your appointment is due to start
- entering your name – this information will help us identify you and is not stored after the consultation.
- clicking on the ‘Get started’ button when you're ready – you will see yourself appear on the screen.
If you don’t see yourself appear on screen, check that your camera and microphone are switched on, so that your healthcare professional can see and hear you.
- Click ‘Enter lobby’. You will enter the lobby and need to wait until your healthcare professional joins the call. Please note: the lobby is private and you will not see any other patients.
- Your healthcare professional will join you when they are ready to start your appointment.
Microsoft Teams is a secure video service and we will not store any of your details from the video appointment. The video call is free to use when connected to WiFi. If your phone is not connected to WiFi, it will come out of your data allowance and it will cost you in accordance with your mobile service provider’s terms and conditions.
Video calling can use a significant amount of data, so if you have a monthly mobile data plan, you may wish to check you have sufficient data available within your plan.
No part of your appointment will be recorded, but the medical outcomes will be documented on your patient record.
Please note that your clinician may refuse to conduct the video appointment if they do not feel you are in a suitably private place or if the quality of the video connection is not adequate.
If you have any difficulties attending a video call, please refer to the video appointment guide below.
Video appointments - help guide
This guide is for patients who have been offered a video appointment with one of our healthcare professionals, using Microsoft Teams.
Before your scheduled appointment
Check the appointment information
Open the email you received from your healthcare provider, with the appointment information. It will confirm:
- Service name
- Date and time of your video appointment
- A button for you to join your video appointment, at the confirmed time.
If you cannot find this email in your inbox, please check your spam or junk folder. If you still cannot find the email, please contact the service you are due to meet with - details of how to get in touch can be found on your appointment letter.
At the time of your appointment
Join using the link within the email you received.
Inside the email, you'll find a button ‘ Join your appointment ’. Click on the button to join the virtual appointment.
You may be asked to join the meeting via the web browser or through the Microsoft Teams app. If you don't have the Microsoft Teams app installed, you can choose ‘ Join on the web ’.
When prompted, enter your name in the provided field and select ‘ Get started ’. This helps identify you in the appointment.
Select ‘ Enter lobby ’ to go into a waiting room. If your healthcare professional has not yet joined the appointment don’t worry; they will do so as soon as they can. Your healthcare provider will admit you into the appointment when they are ready to make a start.
Once your appointment has started, you can adjust your audio and video settings. Make sure your microphone and camera are enabled. If you need any help, please refer to the Microsoft Teams support.
When your appointment begins, your healthcare professional will introduce themselves and you will be asked to verify who you are (as you would with any other appointment). They will confirm that you are happy to proceed and check that you can see and hear clearly. Your appointment will then carry on in the usual way and you can interact with your healthcare provider just like you would in a face-to-face meeting.
When the consultation is over, your healthcare provider will likely end the meeting. Simply close the Microsoft Teams window or app to exit the meeting.
Need further support?
If you require any support, please contact the service you are due to meet with - details of how to get in touch can be found on your appointment letter and within the email you received.