Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has partnered with OX.DH, a health tech supplier affiliated with the University of Oxford, to introduce a new virtual consultations solution utilizing the OX Waiting Room product.
Somerset FT incorporates acute, community and mental health and disability services across Somerset as well as Symphony Healthcare Services which runs a quarter of GP practices in the county.
The platform successfully went live in March across all Somerset FT services. This innovative platform will enable patients to have video consultations with Somerset FT clinicians and healthcare teams, replacing the current virtual consultation tool and enhancing the overall patient experience.
The OX.DH digital health platform has been developed using Microsoft Azure infrastructure, leveraging the national NHS investment in Microsoft technologies, including Microsoft Teams, which is already widely used across the trust. This integration ensures a seamless and secure virtual consultation experience for both patients and clinicians.
"We are delighted to partner with OXDH. Embracing innovative technology is at the heart of our commitment to provide accessible and high-quality healthcare to our community. This initiative will empower our patients with more convenient ways to connect with our clinicians, and we are confident it will significantly enhance their experience with our Trust." Demelza Douglas, paediatric occupational therapist and associate chief clinical information officer.
“Being able to offer our patients choice in how they receive care is important and video consultations plays an important role in seeing more patients, in the right place at the right time. The stress of attending appointments in person, due to having to travel or find parking often puts patients off accessing treatment”. Says Nicola Boyland, service lead for talking therapies.
John Kosobucki, CEO of OX.DH, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership: “We are thrilled to be working with Somerset NHS Foundation Trust to introduce our virtual consultations platform. This launch will provide clinical teams and patients with an intuitive experience that mirrors the technology they use in their daily lives.”
Emma Stratful, chief operating officer at OXDH, commented: “Following our successful virtual consultation projects across the NHS we’re delighted to collaborate with the team at Somerset FT to successfully go live, quickly."