In December we published our report on your experience of GP and hospital appointments during the first lockdown period.
Our recommendations, based on what we found, were about:
- Improving the experience for those having a remote appointment
- Providing people with information about what to do if they are concerned their health has been impacted by missed appointments or tests, or what to do if they are still waiting to hear about a cancelled or postponed appointment.
We have now had a response from Buckinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group and Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust.
Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust said:
The Trust has established an outpatient transformation group, which includes patient representation to learn from our experience of virtual outpatients during the pandemic. The aim is to provide patients with a choice of virtual or face to face appointments dependent on the clinical need. As part of this work, we are reviewing guidance on virtual appointments to assist patients in preparing for their virtual appointments.
The Trust has also established a new public, patient equality, diversity and inclusion group. This group will provide a focus for understanding and improving the patient experience of our diverse communities, including their experiences of virtual appointments as well as looking at what more we can do to address health inequalities in the county.
