Video consultations between care homes and health and social care professionals

Key messages

• video consultations were rapidly adopted in care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic
• uptake was shaped by organisational readiness, infrastructure and staff confidence
• care homes faced challenges managing resident data on digital platforms
• social care staff often lacked access to advanced digital systems compared with healthcare professionals
• Variation in digital experience influenced the effectiveness of video consultations

Policy implications

• care homes require equitable access to digital infrastructure and platforms
• training and support for care home staff are essential for effective technology use
• digital systems should be designed to reflect care home workflows and data needs
• integration between health and social care digital platforms could improve coordination.

Gaps

• limited inclusion of care home residents’ perspectives
• care home staff views were underrepresented compared with healthcare professionals
• findings are context-specific and not generalisable across all care settings
• limited evidence on longer-term use beyond the pandemic period.

Commentary
This study captures how video consultation technology was introduced into care homes under pandemic conditions. It shows that while video consultations offered a way to maintain clinical input, their effectiveness depended heavily on infrastructure, staff capacity and organisational support.

Differences in digital capability between health and social care organisations were particularly evident. Care home staff often had fewer tools and less access to integrated systems, making coordination more complex and increasing reliance on workarounds.

In terms of care equity, the study highlights how unequal digital investment across sectors can shape access to care for residents. Where care homes lacked robust platforms or support, residents were less able to benefit from remote clinical input. This unevenness risks creating a two-tier experience of technology-enabled care based on setting rather than need.

Overall, the findings suggest that technology use in care homes must be informed by the experiences of both staff and residents. Without addressing structural gaps in digital capability across social care, video consultation risks reinforcing existing inequalities rather than improving access and quality of care.