Ruth Hunt, a journalist and columnist who lives with spinal cord injury, on what she believes is a concerning reduction in access to in-person appointments.

In-person monitoring appointments for long-term patients with a spinal cord injury (SCI) have now, in many cases, been replaced with remote calls, either by phone or video; meaning many of those with substantial needs are not getting a regular face to face appointment with their spinal team putting them at risk of harm. Using remote methods, such as phone or video calls for appointments with doctors is something we have seen in primary care. But it hasn’t stopped there, such appointments have seeped into secondary services, such as spinal cord injury centres (SCIC). This has caused alarm as the research regarding remote appointments in primary care reveals serious safety concerns for some patients. Could this be the case for those using secondary services like those living with SCI?