What is this about? 

The Public Health 5-19 Service in conjunction with Cumbria Health on Call is working with families, schools and other agencies to get a better understanding of how to improve health services using technology. Several health services around the world have used video clinics successfully and we want to continue to learn and develop how best to use them in Cumbria.

Why are we doing this?

E-School Nurse video clinics, will allow us to support parents, carers, head teachers, school staff and other professionals by providing health information, support and advice via a fair and easily accessible digital service across the county.

What is a video clinic?

A video clinic is the same as any other clinic where a patient may see a doctor or a nurse, but instead of face to face, the consultation will take place over a live video link that is private, secure and confidential. The video consultation is not recorded but the service-user will receive an email or written copy of the consultation summary.

A consultation about an identified child or young person can only take place with a parent or carer if they have parental responsibility www.gov.uk/parental-rights-responsibilities.

If a teacher or professional is seeking support on behalf of an identified parent, child or young person this can only take place if the parent or young person has given consent and been provided with this information leaflet. www.nhs.uk/conditions/consent-to-treatment/children/

Please be aware that in order to provide the best care and support for a child the E-School Nurse may contact a child’s specialist nurse, paediatrician or other health practitioner. A copy of the consultation summary will be recorded on the North Cumbria Integrated Care (NCIC) child health record and also sent to the child’s GP.

Anonymous cases can be discussed and this contact will be recorded on the NCIC database against the school or organisation. An email or written copy of the consultation will be sent to the school or organisation for their own records. If safeguarding concerns are raised the school or agency will be directed by the E-school nurse to contact the Cumbria Safeguarding Children Partnership: Cumbria County Council

To ensure that the consultations run to time it is important that each appointment slot is about one child and one health problem.

A health problem is defined as a physical or mental health difficulty which is affecting a child or young person’s ability to access school or everyday activities. Examples could be problems or concerns about:

  • General health and development
  • Continence – including night or daytime wetting, constipation or soiling
  • Weight management – including under/overweight or diet/eating problems
  • Substance misuse – including cigarettes, alcohol and drugs
  • Sexual health – including puberty, contraception, sexually transmitted infections, sexuality
  • Emotional health – including feeling sad, angry, anxious, self-harm, suicidal thoughts
  • Existing health conditions – support with accessing services and care planning
  • Allergies
  • Asthma
  • Immunisations

Is there anything different when seeing the E-School Nurse using a video clinic?

The only difference when using live video messaging is that you are not in the same room. As a way of communicating with people, it is no different from the millions of people that use video messaging on their computers and smart phones every day. When you see a nurse through the video clinic everything else is the same, you will talk about the same things, make the same plans, get the same advice and come to an agreement on treatment and care planning, and everyone that needs to be informed will be.

Will anything else happen afterwards?

Your time with the E-School Nurse will end with a clear plan that aims to support the health needs of the child or young person. You will be asked to complete a short questionnaire about your experience. These questionnaires are anonymous. We do keep information about the age, gender and types of problems that attendees need help with but we can assure you that no patient will be personally identified from our data. The information from the consultations and questionnaires is vital to ensure the video clinics work well in Cumbria.

Thank you for reading this information, and we hope it explains the E-School Nurse video clinics. If you have any concerns or questions about seeing a nurse using the video clinic please do discuss this with a member of the 5-19 Public Health Service.

To book an e-school nurse appointment, call 01228 603973 between Monday and Friday from 8am until 4pm.

The link for the video clinic is https://nhs.vc/ncic/nchc4

Confidentiality

‘The Trust’s vision is to keep your information safe in our hands.’ We promise to use your information fairly and legally, and in-line with local and national policies. You have a right to understand how your information is used and you can request a copy of the information we hold about you at any time.

For further information on confidentiality contact the Information Governance Team:

Information.Governance@ncic.nhs.uk | 01228 603961

Feedback

We appreciate and encourage feedback, which helps us to improve our services. If you have any comments, compliments or concerns to make about your care, please contact the Patient, Advice & Liaison Service:

pals@ncic.nhs.uk | 01228 814008 or 01946 523818

If you would like to raise a complaint regarding your care, please contact the Complaints Department:

complaints@ncic.nhs.uk | 01228 936302