Virtual tour to help demystify the patient journey

Company news

Aug 27, 2014

People in Rochdale are to be among the first in the country to be able to explore an NHS clinical assessment and treatment service from the comfort of their own homes prior to an appointment, courtesy of an innovative Google Business View Virtual Tour.

Independent sector health and social care provider, Care UK, operates the Rochdale NHS Ophthalmology Clinical Assessment and Treatment Service (CATS) on behalf of the NHS. Care UK hopes the tour will help to demystify the patient journey and assist people to be better prepared for their appointments.

The virtual tour showcases the high quality facilities available to NHS patients using the service which operates from the Croft Shifa Health Centre in Belfield Road, Rochdale and The Phoenix Centre in Heywood. The service offers a number of treatments to NHS patients across the region, including a glaucoma service, pre-operative assessments and a minor operation service for numerous eye conditions. Patients can choose to be seen by Rochdale NHS Ophthalmology CATS when their doctor or optician refers them for treatment.

Ericka Ashworth, head of clinical services at Rochdale NHS Ophthalmology CATS, said: “Every patient is important to us and we understand that a visit for an investigation or treatment can sometimes be stressful. Our team works very hard to make sure that people are fully prepared for treatment. We believe this virtual tour is a natural extension to that familiarity process.

“Supporting patients to be as relaxed as possible before, during and after their treatment is a fundamental part of our work. By embracing new technology we are able to help the people we support and care for, as well as their families, to make informed choices about their health and social care provision.

“I believe that by launching this virtual tour we are demonstrating our ongoing commitment to patient satisfaction and I hope that people will find it a useful tool prior to their appointment with us.”

Care UK worked with Ideal Insight – a Google virtual tour specialist – to create the tour of the Rochdale Ophthalmology Clinical Assessment and Treatment Service. It can be accessed by visiting rochdaleophthalmologycats.nhs.uk/take-a-look-inside