In England, home residents are supported via video telephony when medical problems arise and a doctor or nurse needs to be consulted. However, these online consultations are currently only available in an eastern area of Manchester. The project, which is unique in the Manchester area, is to be extended to the whole country because it has been very successful so far. The UK National Health Service (NHS) is using a Skype team to look after home residents who would have gone to emergency clinics or hospitals in the past to care for their medical problems. Residents‘ carers help with the Skype consultation. 8,000 calls have been received by the health service each year to date, saving 3,000 residents unnecessary visits to clinics or outpatient clinics. Also 2000 physician appointments could be noticed so by other patients, because cost- and time-consuming journeys are void. The digital technology should also considerably conserve the resources of the local health care system. To date, the concept has saved the British 1.3 million British pounds, or about 1.4 million euros, as treatment via video telephony and the resulting networking of the players leads in the long run to faster, more personalised and more efficient health care.
