Hospital outpatients in the Covid-19 pandemic

Healthwatch Tower Hamlets, Healthwatch Waltham Forest and Healthwatch Newham undertook research on hospital outpatient services during the Covid-19 pandemic. They received 661 survey responses and analysed a further 46 comments from local people between March and June 2020 to understand experiences of outpatient care during the first wave of the pandemic. 

The research found that essential appointments generally continued, while many non-urgent appointments, investigations and treatments were postponed or cancelled. Patients were largely positive about the quality of medical care and the attitude of doctors and nurses, and many found telephone and online appointments effective for routine reviews and managing long-term conditions. However, remote consultations were often less suitable for people experiencing new symptoms, chronic pain or those awaiting investigations and diagnosis. 

Cancelled procedures, scans, tests and physiotherapy appointments were a major concern. Many patients reported anxiety, uncertainty and worsening symptoms caused by delays to diagnosis and treatment, particularly where they had already spent a long time on waiting lists before the pandemic. Administrative problems, inaccurate correspondence and difficulties contacting hospitals by telephone also affected patient experiences. 

The report concluded that telemedicine worked well for some groups of patients but could not fully replace face-to-face care for everyone. It highlighted the need to address the backlog of postponed appointments and procedures, improve communication with patients, reduce administrative errors and ensure that people waiting for diagnosis or treatment receive appropriate support and information while services recover from the impact of the pandemic.