Multidisciplinary community paediatric video appointments during COVID-19 pandemic: descriptive study

In responsive to the COVID-19 pandemic, paediatric services adapted working practices. While changes to traditional face-to-face appointments were necessary enabling consultations to continue, it was initially unclear whether new technologies would be reliable or acceptable to staff and patients.

Following social distancing commencing in late March 2020, Seaside View Child Development Centre, Brighton, UK (specialising in children with special needs, primarily neurodevelopmental and complex disabilities), converted all appointments to video or telephone formats. The department sought service user and staff experiences of video consultations to assess the impact of this intervention.

All families who had AccuRx video consultations, within a 5-week period, were sent anonymised qualitative questionnaires. Appointments performed included multiprofessional appointments: 57% were follow-ups and 17% autism-specific histories. All staff members (doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and other health professionals) who had either performed or observed video consultations were asked for qualitative responses. Seventy-four families and 29 staff...

from Archives of Disease in Childhood current issue https://ift.tt/3k2JgH3