The NRH Outpatient Department implemented video-enabled care (VEC) across the Outpatient services, using Microsoft Teams initially and then through the national rollout of the ‘Attend Anywhere’ platform, within 2 weeks of the initial closure to in-person treatment in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The variety of activities being provided through Telehealth include Consultant Clinics, Interdisciplinary Team (IDT) assessment and intervention, individual and group treatment programmes and therapy sessions.

The NRH Outpatient Department worked through the COVID-19 management group to establish new protocols to allow services to reopen safely and stay open through subsequent severe pandemic restrictions. Since services initially reopened in June 2020 on a phased basis, there was no further need to fully shut down again and those patients who required in-person care were safely provided for in the Outpatient Department.

By the end of 2020 Outpatient services were running at pre-COVID levels using a hybrid model of in-person care where required and Telehealth. This is a significant achievement in maintaining access to rehabilitation services. The majority of services for NRH Outpatient Services were redesigned as a result of COVID-19. This also impacted the administration team who rapidly learned and adapted to new processes and technology in order to allow clinical work to be continued efficiently and ensure that any impact on services to patients was kept to a minimum.  Following the lifting of the pandemic restrictions, and the success of the telerehabilitation systems put in place, many patients attending the Outpatient Service have opted for a hybrid model of combined video-enabled and in-person care.