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magine never having to step back into the dreaded waiting room ever again, listening intently for your name to be called out after two hours leafing through the same homeware magazine. The health service has been affected in many different parts of the UK across England, with doctors and nurses adapting to new ways of treating patients In 2020, digital communication has never been easier, with millions of people now choosing to work from home, and Mersey Care Foundation Trust is harnessing technology to support a range of people through both inpatient and community services. Since the Covid-19 outbreak, visiting people in their homes and providing face-to face support has been reduced and instead replaced with video calls to assess and talk to patients. Karina Woodyer-Smith, Head of Service for Integrated Community Nursing, said that although Mersey Care had encountered inevitable challenges while using digital technology, the patients and staff have learned to adapt to this new mode of communication.
From the waiting room to appointments on Zoom BETH GAVAGHAN reveals how NHS staff and patients are adapting to the new digital way of life She said: “Embracing digital technology has allowed us to treat patients in much more timely a place. It’s been very, very difficult for our patients to understand that. Obviously, from a nurse knocking on the door it’s now a nurse greeting them over a laptop, video screen, smartphone or tablet device. “But what the patients have done is that they’ve embraced it as well because what they said is that they would still have a nurse to come and see them. ” Adapting to new norms have changed the way the NHS operates forever. Ms Woodyer-Smith said: “I don’t think we’ll ever go back to the traditional methods of delivering healthcare. The utilisation of digital technology will not go back. I think that we’ve broken the mould now
and I think that some of our nursing colleagues out there who said that nursing technology wouldn’t take off, even now they are saying that they wouldn’t be without it and they can’t see themselves going back.” Student nurses trained by Mersey Care have also been integral to the effective running of the trust and have continued receiving their tuition digitally. Additionally, final year student nurses were fast-tracked into the NHS workforce at the beginning of the pandemic, which Ms Woodyer-Smith said “should not be overlooked”. She also noted that they had been lucky in accessing personal protective equipment since the start of the pandemic, and emphasised the importance of continued social distancing. “We have staff here who are going through isolation who are
unfortunately suffering from Covid themselves. “From a population point of view we need to follow government guidelines. We need to wear face masks and social distance, but it’s not only about protecting ourselves, but all the doctors and nurses so that we can continue treating our patients.” Now that Liverpool has also entered Tier 3 and faces tighter lockdown restrictions, Ms Woodyer-Smith still remains confident that Mersey Care will be able to continue offering effective treatment. She said: “Wearing PPE is the new norm, embracing digital health technology is the new norm. So now, obviously we’ve gone into tier 3 and there are heightened restrictions but we can continue to deliver as we have been doing since March.”
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