Video consultations benefitting cancer patients in Wirral

Cancer patients in Wirral are benefitting from a telehealth system that allows them to have appointments with their nurse from the comfort of their own home.

The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust is using the Telehealth Clinic with a small group of lung cancer patients.

The technology has been piloted for almost a year and enables the patients to have an appointment with their specialist nurse via a video call.

Patients must still attend scans and specialist clinic appointments with their consultant every three months.

The group taking part were given the choice of using the service or attending appointments in person. The video-calls are the same as a face-to-face consultation where the patient’s condition is assessed, questions are answered and a plan is developed to follow up on what is required.

If the nurse has any concerns they will refer the patient immediately to their nearest acute hospital or make an appointment for them at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. Prescriptions can be delivered by the Blood Bikes service which operates at the hospital.

Professor Michael Brada, consultant in Clinical Oncology, helped to develop existing system iKonsult for use at the centre in Wirral.

Professor Brada said: “I have long been interested in making life easier for people who travel either short or long distances and then have to sit and wait in clinics, sometimes taking time off work or requiring their family to do so. This is a way of trying to make life easier for them. We want to deliver care that is close to patients and this is the ultimate way to do that.”

Sarah Cubbin, Macmillan lung cancer clinical nurse specialist, who uses the technology for appointments with patients, said: “There are strict guidelines for who is allowed to take part and we have been very careful to ensure suitability.

“It isn’t the right approach for everyone, some people actually want to attend face to face appointments. Others like the system as it allows them to keep in touch, ensure their needs are being met but they can avoid travel and possible waiting times.”

Terry Dickinson, from Fazakerley in Liverpool, has been having appointments via the Telehealth Clinic for five months. Terry, 66, who has lung cancer said that the system means he only has to travel to Clatterbridge twice every three months instead of twice a month.

He said: “I have blood tests at hospital in Aintree which is local, the nurse has my results ready for the appointment and then my medication is delivered by the Blood Bikes. It is so easy. I was amazed on the very first call at how clear the picture was. I could have been in the same room at the nurse. This is definitely the way forward.”