A national public engagement exercise was held during June to August 2020, to understand the general public and health professionals’ views on using Near Me video consulting. We found that:
- There was high acceptability for the use of video consulting with 87% of public respondents saying video appointments should be offered.
- Members of the public preferred the use of video over phone consulting.
- Near Me has a wide range of potential uses.
Members of the public thought Near Me
- Lowers infection risk
- Improves access to services
- Is more convenient
- Saves time
- Is better for the environment
Health professionals thought Near Me
- Lowers infection risk
- Enables wider access to my service
- Helps me deliver a service my patients have requested
- Is better for the environment
- Frees up resources within my service through reduced travel
The Near Me public engagement outcomes report is available both as an executive summary and as a full consultation report.
Videos of callers and patients describing why Near Me works for them:
Why Near Me works for Bill
Near Me – a patient’s perspective
Near Me reducing travel with Chronic Pain
Near Me reducing travel for Children and Families
Near Me for Mary who is a Deaf BSL user (link directs to Facebook, see 2:44 onwards)
Near Me for Sandra who is a Deaf BSL user (link directs to Facebook, see 2:43 onwards)
Here is a summary of people’s feedback (pdf) after they have had their Near Me video call.