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Dr Allan Wardhaugh, Consultant Paediatric Intensivist and Chief Clinical Information Officer at Cardiff & Vale University Health Board reflects on the journey of video consultation in Welsh healthcare.

Discover how the Digital Solutions Fund (DSF) supported the MedTRiM programme in adapting to online delivery in the face of Covid-19.

NHS Wales Informatics Services has been carrying out a technical evaluation into openEHR to test its viability as a repository for structured clinical data. The technology will be rolled out soon to support national projects such as Accelerating Cancer and to provide a shared medications record for NHS Wales.

With the emergence of COVID-19 in Wales, came uncertainty for every aspect of society. Questions quickly surfaced; how and where the virus was spreading? What effect it would have on public health? How would our health and care services handle the additional pressures?

If you’d told me this time a year ago that the NHS in Wales would be doing around 3,000 video consultations (VC) per week across all health boards and trusts, in primary care and secondary care and introducing it to community pharmacies, optometrists and dental practices, I would have accused you of the kind of populist boosterism most of us are now allergic to. But here we are.

The NHS as an organisation is risk averse, no question. You could probably consider that its USP, because who wants to take risks where public health

Depending on where you’ve had your treatment you might have been asked to fill out a paper form, complete an online questionnaire or you might have