Technology is allowing people to stay in contact with friends and family who are in hospital.

During the COVID-19 pandemic visiting to all hospitals has been suspended, except in end-of-life and other exceptional circumstances.

This has meant many patients and service users have no access to family and friends throughout their stay in hospital. They may also have no access to mobile phones or other devices to enable them to stay in touch with their families and friends virtually.

Some NHS boards have been introducing person-centred Virtual Visiting to assist patients and service users to keep in touch with loved ones. There are different ways in which Virtual Visiting has been happening across Scotland and we are carrying out a scoping exercise to find out how it is being used.

As we respond to the number of cases of COVID across the country, it is likely that we will need to offer a mix of face-to-face visits and virtual visits. The information and resources available on these pages will help you offer virtual visits to your patients and their loved ones when face-to-face visits cannot take place. For all up-to-date advice in your area please visit the Scottish Government website.