Virtual tour to help demystify the patient journey

Company news

Apr 25, 2014

Patients in Buckinghamshire are to be among the first in the country to be able to explore an NHS diagnostic and treatment centre from the comfort of their own homes prior to an appointment, courtesy of an innovative Google Business View Virtual Tour.

Independent healthcare provider Care UK operates the Buckinghamshire Musculoskeletal Integrated Care service (MusIC) and the Mid and South Buckinghamshire NHS Diagnostic Centre, in High Wycombe, on behalf of the NHS. It 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 at the Mid and South Buckinghamshire NHS Diagnostic Centre in Lancaster Road, High Wycombe. The centre is also one of eight venues around the county where Care UK provides a musculoskeletal integrated care service. The two services between them see around 5,500 patients each month.

Service Manager Michelle Saunders 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. 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.

“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.”

The centre provides fast and convenient access to high quality diagnostic imaging procedures. The clinical team uses the latest technology to deliver x-ray, ultrasound, echocardiogram and MRI scanning and has recently invested in a new state-of-the-art x-ray machine and ultrasound, increasing the quality of its imaging and efficiency of patient care.

Buckinghamshire MusIC provides high quality assessment and treatment including physiotherapy and specialist musculoskeletal GP appointments for NHS patients living in Buckinghamshire who are experiencing problems with their joints, muscles, ligaments or nerves. It operates from eight locations in existing health centres and hospitals across the county.

Patients requiring either of the services are referred by their GP and can expect to receive quick access to the service. On receiving a referral, the booking team will contact patients to arrange a convenient appointment time and location. 

Care UK worked with Ideal Insight – a Google virtual tour specialist – to create the tour. It can be accessed on Google maps using postcode HP12 3QL or by visiting buckinghamshire-music.nhs.uk/take-look-inside