Video consultations

This guide is designed to help you get started with video consultations. Here you can find information on:

• Where to have your video consultation
• How and when to start your video consultation
• Check your setup before the consultation
• Which devices and browsers can I use?
• How to get to the video from a laptop
• Can I invite family into the video consultation?

Read this quick start guide for a summary of your next steps and click the embedded links to learn more.

Where to have your video consultation

For your video consultation to run smoothly, it's important that you find a quiet, comfortable spot with the best possible internet connection (cup of tea recommended 😉).

For the strongest WiFi signal, sit near your router so there are as few obstructions as possible between it and your device.

Please don't try and have your video consultation on the move. The quality of the video will probably be poor or the call will break up completely, wasting your time and your doctor's. Walking to work, on the bus or in a car are all really bad places to have a video consultation.

You'll also want to be at home or at work to take advantage of WiFi and save your mobile data. If you cannot be on WiFi, do make sure you have mobile data turned on in your system settings.

How and when to start your video consultation

You should get a text reminder with a link to your video room an hour or two before the appointment time. You can also join the video room from the appointment details view in the portal.

The video room will only be open about an hour before your appointment, you'll see a message if you try and join too early. But do join a short time before your appointment, because it's worth taking a minute to test your computer or mobile device is set up okay.

You will need to wait in the video room until the doctor can join you. Just like a normal hospital visit, sometimes clinics run a little late. It's important that you remain in the video room; if you close your web browser it will look like you no longer wish to have the appointment.

One more thing! You will need to make sure your web browser is allowed to access your camera and microphone. On some browsers it will prompt you to do this, on others you may need to check your browser settings (we have another article to help with this). 

Check your setup before the consultation

Running a self-test is a quick and easy way to make sure your device is working ready for your video consultation. It only takes a couple of minutes, and is the best way to ensure success. 

Before you join the call, you will be asked to grant access to your microphone and camera and can check and test your setup. 

• To test your speakers, click the "Test" button next to the speaker icon. You should hear a short chime. If you hear nothing, it may be that your computer or mobile is currently muted, or that the volume is set very low. Check this first.
  • If this is not the issue, you may need to change the speaker setting on your device. You might find this in Control Panel on a Windows computer, or System Preferences on a Mac. Mobile phones and tablets have similar device settings screens. This is often necessary if using earphones or a headset.
• To test your microphone, speak out loud. You should see the volume indicator under "Microphone" flashing if your microphone is working.
  • If not, try changing your input device from the drop-down menu.
  • If this does not work, it may be that your web browser has not been allowed access to your mic. You will need to find the settings on your browser to rectify this.
• To test your video, you should be able to see yourself on the preview screen.
  • If you can't see yourself as we've described above, make certain that the camera on your device is switched on and not covered by something.
  • If that is okay, you may need to change your input video preferences from the drop-down menu. 
  • If this does not work, it may be that your web browser has not been allowed access to your camera. You will need to find the settings on your browser to rectify this (we have another article to help with this).

Which devices and browsers can I use?

On a Windows laptop or desktop computer, your video consultation will work on the latest versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Chromium-based browsers such as Opera, Vivaldi and Edge, as well as Safari. Internet Explorer is not supported. For the most seamless experience, we encourage you to update your browser to the latest version. 

On Android mobile phones and other devices, video consultations should work best on Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

On iOS mobile phones and tablets (iPhone, iPad), your video consultation will work on recent versions of the Safari browser as well as Google Chrome.

If you are using the recommended browser for your device and it does not work, you may be using a very old version. We strongly recommend that you upgrade to the latest browser version!

We recommend:

• Windows: Windows 7 and later
• Mac: MacOS 10.10 and later
• Linux: Any x64 based system
• iPhone and iPad:
  1. For Safari – iOS version 13.1 and later
  2. For Chrome – iOS 14.5 and later

How to get to the video from a laptop

If you've received the link to your video consultation via text message, and want to join the video consultation from a computer or tablet there are two ways to do it. One way is to sign-in to the Patient Portal on your computer. Here's how you can do just that:

1. Go to https://drdoctor.thirdparty.nhs.uk/
2. Enter your personal details and click "Continue"
3. This will send a one-time-code to your mobile phone
4. Once you have entered that into the portal, you're signed-in
5. Now find the right appointment and click on it
6. You should find a "Join video room" button on the appointment details view
7. ...and that will get you in

As an alternative, you can copy-and-paste the video link from your text message into an email, and send it to yourself. Open the email on the other computer and the link will still work. This is quicker and easier if you're familiar with copy-and-pasting links.

Can I invite family into the video consultation?

If there is someone not living with you that you wish to join your video consultation, you can forward your text message to them. Or copy-and-paste the link from the message into an email. They can use exactly the same link and it will allow them to join the video consultation with you.

There are two important points here. The link you receive is private to your video consultation. But this does mean that anyone you share it with can join the call. Be careful!

Also, it may be appropriate to check with your doctor or the hospital first, and confirm that it is okay for you to invite someone else. Imagine your appointment was at the hospital - would your doctor expect you to bring this person into the consultation room with you?