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Video consultation services in Wales extended to dentistry

News

  Posted by: Dental Design      16th July 2020

The Minister for Health and Social Services in Wales, Vaughan Gething, last week announced that video consultation services in the country were to be extended to dental practices, as well as opticians and community pharmacies. This follows on from the successful rollout of such services in primary, secondary, and community care during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Video consultation has rapidly expanded across Wales during the last few months, ensuring that the public retains access healthcare services during the Covid-19 response. More than 6,400 GP video consultations have been undertaken so far, along with 8,800 video consultations to support community and secondary care. The Welsh government states that 92% of patients have rated the service as excellent, really good or good.

Not only has video consultation allowed essential services to continue, but it also helped to protect patients and NHS employees from an increased risk of infection. The service has reportedly saved 36,000 miles of travel and 1,200 hours of travel time. It has also reduced Co2 emissions by an estimated nine tons.

A pilot will now take place during July to extend the services to dentistry, optometry and community pharmacies, all of which have experienced an increased demand for additional services. As social distancing has restricted some services, video consultation will help support the reintroduction of some.

In dentistry, video consultations will support pre-visit consultations to provide an understanding of the patient’s medical history and to facilitate a clinical assessment.

“Delivering care closer to home through the use of technology has always been a key part of ‘A Healthier Wales’, to deliver healthcare away from hospitals to communities, and where possible in people’s homes,” said Gething. “The coronavirus pandemic has meant that we have had to rapidly expand and adapt services. Video consultation has allowed us to overcome the challenges that social distancing brings. The delivery of video consultation has been fast tracked and is testament to the work of NHS Wales in delivering this service ahead of time  to support patients. Thousands of people have already received care via video consultation. I’m pleased to be able to extend this service to dentistry, optometry and community pharmacies which will see even more people benefit.”


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