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Target of 70% of outpatient appointments being virtual by year’s end

VIRTUAL appointments will be the norm for 70 per cent of outpatients if health bosses meet a new target.

Hospital and health chiefs want to see the majority of outpatient appointments, including initial assessments and followups, take place via video or phone call by the end of this year.

The target is on a list of 10 key expectations drawn up to build on adaptations made to keep services up and running during the pandemic.

Bosses said they will ensure there is an alternative for those who cannot access virtual appointments.

In a report that went before University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust’s board yesterday, director of strategy Mark Wightman outlined the plans.

He said: “In recent weeks, as partners in the Leicestershire and Rutland health and social care system have turned our collective attention to restoration and recovery from the first pandemic peak, there has been a strong desire that the innovation, improvement and lessons learned across the system are captured and used for the longerterm benefit of patients, public, staff and our organisations.

“It is important to note that from the outset system colleagues have been keen to ensure the expectations are meaningful, that is to say, more than just well-intentioned hopes and aspirations. “Hence we have worked hard with partners to ascribe specific, measurable, attainable and timely actions to each high-level expectation.”

The list was drawn up by the System Strategic Recovery Group, a team made up of senior representatives from each organisation in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, with clinical staff.

We have worked hard to ascribe specific, measurable, attainable and timely actions to each expectation Mark Wightman