Care via video: telemedicine saves money and frees up time

A hospital trust in Yorkshire has expanded its telemedicine service so that outpatient appointments can be conducted with people in a range of settings, from prisons to care homes

More than a decade ago, Airedale NHS Foundation Trust in West Yorkshire began using a video link to deliver consultations to prisoners at a high-security jail.

It meant prisoners no longer had to be escorted to the outpatient department. ‘Being handcuffed to a prison officer was embarrassing and sometimes the outpatient department would have to be closed to the public, so it was very disruptive too,’ says Rachel Binks, nurse consultant for digital and acute care at the trust.

The technology worked so well that hospital staff began to think about whether it could be used to improve care for other groups of patients,