Virtual Consultation

Moorfields A&E online video consultation (Attend Anywhere) service is for existing Moorfields patients and those who live locally to Moorfields Eye Hospital in London who have a potentially life or sight threatening problem.

A&E runs a video consultation service, which can be accessed at any time without an appointment, by accessing City Road - A&E Virtual Registration online.

Video calling is as convenient as a phone call, with the added value of face-to-face communication.

Our video consultations are convenient, safe and easy to use from the comfort of your own home, you do not need to travel to the hospital. It can save you time and money, and brings your care closer to home.

We use Attend Anywhere, a secure technology designed for confidential video consultations.

video transcript

Welcome to Attend Anywhere, Moorfields Eye Hospital's video consultation service.

Video consultations are convenient, safe, and easy to use. They enable you to have your appointment via a secure video environment from the comfort of your own home.

Your clinical team will have assessed your case before inviting you to attend a video consultation and should you need to be assessed or treated in person you will be sent a follow-up appointment to attend one of our clinics.

In your appointment letter, you will find a link to a short video guide explaining how to log on to the service and what devices and internet access you will need. Video calls are free for patients, though you will need to have internet access.

When you have logged onto the service for your appointment, you will be greeted by one of our virtual receptionists. The receptionist will ask you to confirm your name, date of birth, first line of address and postcode, in order to verify they are speaking to the correct patient. You will also be asked to confirm your telephone number, email address and GP details.

If any of these details have changed, the receptionist will update these for you. Your personal details are not stored in the system and your call is not recorded.

You will then be transferred to the correct virtual clinic waiting area and the receptionist will exit the call. The clinician will join the call as soon as they become available and you will have your consultation. Please be reassured that if you experience any technical difficulties during the call, we will attempt to call you on the contact number you have provided us with.

Patients who've used the service have found it to be simple to use, convenient and have found their appointments to be a positive experience.

We can often reassure, believe it or not, most of the complaints that patients come by, you know lumps or bumps around the eyes, can be resolved just on a video consultation and then we can put them on the right pathway, to the right clinic for further management if needed.

Some patients do sometimes say they've just had an operation and they have really severe pain, the vision has changed, those kind of red flag symptoms get flagged up and we bring them straight to A&E or we ask them to attend the local A&E department depending where they're calling from.

For emergency eye care and we liaise with that department accordingly and so the feedback I often get from a patients is ‘thank you’ and that's a great experience because I don't know how many patients who go to A&E thank the doctor. But, if I save someone an unnecessary journey, or if I can just say to the patient ‘oh you haven't been seen for X number of months, but now your vision's declining let me you now contact your regular team, get your appointment sorted’ things like this have been very well received and recognised, not only by patients, but also by the NHS community – so I think it's an overwhelming positive feedback,especially for the A&E Attend Anywhere service.

Please read the following before you log on to use the service, as this will help us and you save time in getting the correct care.

  • The service is not for general advice on minor conditions or to discuss use of medications or up coming appointments.
  • If you are under the care of another eye hospital, you must contact them for advice first. If you live closer to another eye unit, we will redirect you there.
  • Even if you have been advised to call us by your GP or 111, you may not be seen if you do not fulfil the above criteria and your condition is not an emergency. ​
  • If you are non NHS eligible or live outside the UK, we are unable to help you. 
  • Attend Anywhere is not an examination. It's a chance for you to speak to a Moorfields clinician to discuss whether you need to attend eye casualty.
  • This is not an emergency service. If you are in danger and require urgent help, dial 999. ​

Please note, this service does not replace a full ophthalmic examination. Instead, it is aimed to help the doctor decide the safest action for you. Some patients may be asked to come to hospital for a further examination, whilst others can be managed locally.