Video Group Clinics

Video group clinics are a way for you to spend more time with a clinician, have a one-to-one review and get answers to your questions alongside others living with similar health issues.

You spend longer with the clinician than you would in a one-to-one appointment. People find having more time for questions and the chance to learn from other people’s experiences and share their own mean they learn more, cope better and often succeed in keeping themselves well.

At your video group clinic you get the clinical review and support you need. You get answers to your specific questions and there is group discussion about the topic too.

Your video group clinic lasts around 90 minutes. There are usually 6 to 8 people in a group. These will all be people that are experiencing similar symptoms or have the same diagnosis as you.

You will be sent all the information you need in advance. There may be some questions about the symptoms you are experiencing and there will also be information obtaining your consent for sharing of information within the group. There will also be a link for you to join the clinic on the day.

Once you’ve clicked the link and joined, a member of the team (facilitator) who is running the video group clinic will greet you. The facilitator’s job is to keep the group together and make sure the clinic stays on track.

They will ask you to confirm your identity and check you are happy to take part. Then they will start the session by reminding everyone in the group to keep information confidential and to follow some simple group rules or understandings that help you to get the most out of the clinic and your time with the clinician.

Each member of the group introduces themselves -just using first names. There is time to review and understand your condition and your main concerns about it. There may be questions that come to light within the group that would be appropriate to raise with the clinician. The facilitator will keep track of these.

The clinician will join the clinic after around 15 minutes. They will discuss and answer common questions with the group. They may ask the group members for their thoughts and suggestions. Everyone will have the opportunity to speak to the clinician on a one-to-one basis while the rest of the group benefit from hearing the consultation. There may be topics raised by others in the group that are relevant to you, but you had not thought of in advance.

The clinic ends after 90 minutes, and you get the chance to reflect on what you have learnt and what you want to do next to keep well.

Yes, there is a consent process in place, and this helps you and others stay safe and preserves the whole group’s confidentiality. It is important that you join the meeting from a place where you cannot be overheard. If you wish a family member to support you in the meeting this is fine, but we will need to ensure they have also completed the consent process to ensure they are aware of the need for confidentiality.

We ask all patients attending a group clinic not to record the meeting or take photos or notes relating to other patients.

Video group clinics are an engaging remote model for people with a whole range of health care issues. They are a real and better alternative for many people.

Video group clinics have been up and running all over the UK for several years and have proved popular. Patients say that they enjoy hearing the experiences and getting advice from other people in a similar situation. They also like having longer with the clinician to talk about their concerns and for questions. They enjoy sharing what has worked for them with others and hearing about others’ successes. They feel less isolated and alone, managing their health issues.

Of course. Video group clinics have proved popular for many patients, but they will not be right for everyone. Please let us know if you would prefer a one-to-one consultation.

Our policy is that we will not be able to add anyone who is more than 10 minutes late joining the meeting. This is because it is important that everyone is checked in, consents and signs up to the group understandings at the start. It is very disruptive for the group when people join late. If you are late, get in touch and we will book you into another video group clinic or remote clinic.

We will check you have everything you need to join before confirming your appointment. This includes an email account and device with internet access. We will send you a meeting link in an email. You click on this link to access the video clinic  platform.

If you no longer have access to the internet or a device, please contact us and we will find a different way for you to participate.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your computer has adequate anti-spyware and anti-virus protection. If you are participating in a video group clinic on a mobile phone, please understand that the session is only as secure as any other phone call on your mobile network. We recommend that you join the clinic as ‘guest’ this way your full name and email address is not shared. Your final joining instructions will explain more about this.

You won’t know until you give it a go! People tell us they really enjoy the experience. Video group clinics might not suit everyone. If you are feeling anxious beforehand, let the facilitator know. It is also OK to join a group and just listen and see if it is for you. You can even join in and decide to leave if it isn’t right for you. At any point you can leave a group.

Do let your facilitator know if you are feeling worried about being in a group. It is OK to join a group to just listen. You will still learn a lot and many people who do this and end up joining in once they feel comfortable.

If you feel the video group clinic isn’t working for you, let the facilitator know. You can leave at any time. The team asks for feedback at the end of every video group clinic so let your facilitator know if you think things could be improved.

Yes, with your agreement. It is often very useful for family members, carers or friends who support you to join. The beauty with video group clinics is they can join from their home or workplace, and you can join from yours. If your relative lives at a different address or even in a different town or abroad, they can still join in to support you. They need to consent to take part and agree to respect confidentiality and confirm their identity just like other participants.

Please let the facilitator know ahead of the time so we can add their name to the register.

No. To ensure all information shared in the session is kept confidential and your privacy is fully respected, you will be asked to sign up to the ‘Video group clinic Patient Agreement’. This means you must not record, share or post any aspect of the session. It’s in everyone’s interest to respect this.

You must alert the facilitator to people of any age in the background and within earshot of the video group clinic. Once alerted, the facilitator will ask anyone who can overhear to consent. Clinicians make the overall decision on the appropriateness of the information being discussed with young people present and may ask that the young person leaves.

No. If you want a relative or carer that you wish to join you in the group clinic, please let the team know in advance that your relative or carer will be joining, and they will register your relative or carer and send them the confidentially paperwork and joining link.

We assure this in three ways.

• First, before the group, all participants are sent an agreement to not to share any information discussed within the group.
• Second, when you join the session, the facilitator asks you to consent to share limited and relevant information about your condition with the group.
• Third, the clinic team makes a record that you have consented and note this in your computer record.

Our staff get training and support in preserving confidentiality and safe information sharing. The video platforms being used to host video group clinics meet NHS cyber security quality requirements.

Not necessarily, the video group clinic may give you all the support you need for a particular condition. If you have any private concerns or the clinician feels you needs some further one to one time or follow up, then you can be booked in for a follow-up one to one appointment as usual.