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Virtual consultations at Spire Thames Valley

We're now offering telephone or video appointments giving you fast access to our experts, from the comfort of your home.

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01753 662241

About virtual consultations

What is a virtual consultation?

A virtual consultation is a video or telephone appointment, which allows you to speak to a consultant or private GP without the need to travel to a Spire hospital. You’ll have fast access to our medical specialists and have the opportunity to discuss your health concerns at your own convenience.

How long is a virtual consultation?

The length of virtual appointments with a consultant may vary.

Book a consultation

Online initial consultations with our consultants.

Find a consultant

Booking a virtual consultation

About your virtual appointment

Whether you make a virtual or face-to-face appointment with us, you can be sure that you, or your loved one, will receive expert care from the start. A telephone or video appointment gives you the convenience and same fast access to our experts without having to travel to a Spire hospital.

If you wish to book an appointment for someone under 18 please call the hospital to make the appointment.

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Step 1

Find and book a consultant online or by phone

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Step 2

We’ll confirm your appointment and send an invite for your video or telephone consultations

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Step 3

Join the video meeting or use the dial-in details to start your appointment

Once you’ve booked your appointment we’ll send you a confirmation and details of how to join the video meeting and dial-in details for telephone appointments. If for any reason we feel that a virtual consultation would not be appropriate for your symptoms or concerns we will contact you to discuss this further and what other options are available.

Your consultant will write to you with the outcome of the consultation and details of any tests or follow up you might need.

If you need further tests, such as blood tests or imaging, we’ll arrange these for you. You’ll need to visit a Spire hospital for these appointments taking into consideration the latest advice from the UK government on coronavirus. Learn more

If you’re prescribed medication, your consultant will send this to you to take to a retail pharmacy. Certain medications may be issued by a Spire pharmacy and they’ll let you know when your medication is ready to pick up.

Using Zoom for your appointment

What is Zoom?

Zoom is a video conferencing service for hosting live virtual meetings. You can join a Zoom appointment by video, computer audio, or by telephone.

How do I access Zoom?

Zoom can be used from a computer, mobile or tablet. You don’t need a Zoom account to attend a virtual consultation.

Spire will send you an invitation via email confirming your Zoom virtual appointment. The email will contain a link to join the consultation. You’ll need to click on the link and enter the meeting ID to join your consultation.

If you’re using a mobile or tablet device for your appointment, you’ll need to download the Zoom app from the App Store (iPhone/iPad users) or Play Store (Android users). Once the app is installed, you can then join your consultation by following the link in the email and entering the meeting ID.

View our guides to setting up and using Zoom on your PC or mobile devices:

Attending your virtual consultation

Once you’ve successfully downloaded Zoom (mobile and tablet devices) and are ready to proceed, you can click on the ‘Join meeting button’ in your invitation email and enter the meeting ID. This will bring you into a virtual waiting room where you can wait until your appointment time.

Your specialist will then begin the consultation.

Joining your virtual consultation

You’ll receive an email with a link to a Zoom meeting invitation. Check that the invite hasn’t gone into your spam folder.

You should join the meeting up to 10 minutes before your appointment start time to make sure you are ready. Make sure you’re somewhere quiet where you feel comfortable discussing your health.

Help and support

Manage your camera and microphone audio

Check that the microphone and camera on your PC or device are set up before your appointment. You can find more information for these browsers:

Google Chrome 

Firefox 

 

Connection problems

If there are problems with your Internet connection, Zoom will attempt to reconnect you to the meeting when the connection is available.

 

Using telephone consultation

You can join the Zoom meeting by phone if you’re unable to join by video. Dial-in details are listed in the appointment invitation.

 

I have concerns about using Zoom. Will my appointment be secure?

Zoom has exploded in popularity as people turn to video conferencing amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. With this extra attention, Zoom is now facing a backlash from security experts, advocates and IT professionals warning that default settings are not secure enough.

The privacy of our patient data is paramount. Spire Healthcare has made changes in our corporate Zoom settings to ensure we keep our video conferencing secure. Our online consultations only use the video conferencing feature and we do not allow file sharing and in-conference chat. We use unique, strongly encrypted meeting codes for each meeting and our staff receive training on how to schedule and conduct meetings, including monitoring their attendees to ensure they know and validate who is attending.

We work closely with Zoom on its application roadmap and ongoing development to ensure the platform remains secure. When vulnerabilities are discovered, we promptly apply updates to our corporate environment. We’ll continue to review our use of Zoom, ensuring it meets our high expectations in terms of security and information privacy.