Welsh Ambulance Service introduces ‘virtual video booth’ for public feedback

Members of the public can now share their experiences of the Welsh Ambulance Service through a new ‘virtual video booth’.

The interactive portal allows patients, relatives and carers to record feedback on the Trust’s website via phone, laptop or desktop computer in just a few minutes.

The Welsh Ambulance Service is the first in the UK to harness this technology.

According to the Trust the feedback that is received via the portal will help the service to understand what it is doing well and how it could improve.

Leanne Hawker, Head of Patient Experience and Community Involvement, said the service is keen to hear from anyone who has used 999, NHS 111 Wales or the non-emergency patient transport service.

“We are an organisation committed to learning and are forever keen for people to tell us about their experience, whether good, bad or indifferent,” said Leanne.

“There are a number of ways that people can do this already, but we wanted something even slicker and easier, especially in this digital age.”

The secure video booth will ask users to record four separate clips, including about them, their experience, how the experience made them feel and what could have been done differently.

“Those clips are then reviewed by our Patient Experience and Community Involvement Team to identify any themes,” said Leanne.

“If positive, it’s an opportunity to share best practice and celebrate what has worked well.

“Where there’s lessons to be learned, we highlight this at various forums, including at Trust Board and committee meetings and where appropriate with colleagues elsewhere in NHS Wales and Welsh Government.”

The Welsh Ambulance Service has a legal obligation under the Health and Social Care (Quality and Engagement) (Wales) Act 2020 to meet Welsh Government standards for health and social care.

It includes a Duty of Quality, which came into force on 01 April 2023, which means all NHS organisations have a legal responsibility to continually improve the quality of the services they provide.

Liam Williams, the Trust’s Executive Director of Quality and Nursing, added: “Quality is at the heart of everything we do here at the Welsh Ambulance Service.

“The lived experience of patients, their families and carers is key to unlocking some of the quality improvement opportunities we continually aspire to achieve.

“Having this interactive approach builds on the really positive engagement we already get and will hopefully enable greater opportunities for co-production with people across Wales, something we’re passionate about as an organisation.

“We look forward to the public embracing this additional opportunity to share with us what it feels like to use our services.”

You can visit the virtual video booth and submit your own story on the Welsh Ambulance Service website.