“I find the whole service absolutely brilliant – it means I can be at home with my child and I don’t have to worry about getting someone to mind her.  And usually, a lot of the time, it’s just my concerns and my worries and they really do calm me down,” according to Celine Garvey, a cancer patient commenting on video enabled patient care at Naas General Hospital.

Outlining how she has been accessing the service for the last few months, Celine explains: “I’m a single mum so it means that if I do have to visit the hospital to go to the oncology department, then I would have to go and organise somebody to mind my child. That makes life kind of hard. So having this service is really invaluable to me. It means I can talk to Lorna or anyone in the oncology department and I can show them visually if something is wrong that I’m concerned about. And what usually happens is that they can immediately tell me if I need to do something about it or tell me to relax, and not worry.”

Lorna Cosgrave, Acute Oncology Specialist Nurse, Naas General Hospital, explains that she started her role as Acute Oncology Nurse Specialist at the hospital in January 2021:

“My service provides a point-of-contact for patients receiving systemic anti-cancer therapy. The patient contacts me if they are unwell. Traditionally, this is done by a phone call which inevitably has its own limitations.”

Lorna, whose post is funded by the HSE National Cancer Control Programme, continues:

“The video enabled patient care provides many benefits, allowing me to see the patient, assess them and assure them from the comfort of their own home. It avoids unnecessary presentations at the hospital.”

Jane Ball, Clinical Informatics Nurse, Naas General Hospital, adds that “with this online service, patients can scan a QR code, or click on a link provided by their own nurse. They then enter a virtual waiting room and the oncology nurse can then text them to let them know when she will be with them. They can then go straight into a consultation. The National Telehealth team has funded the tablet so the oncology nurse can take it with them as they move about the hospital – it means they can always be contacted by patients. It is guided by the principles of delivering the right care in the right place at the right time by the right team.”

Watch a short clip about video-enabled patient care at Naas General Hospital on YouTube.com