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Specialised consultations

Adapting a consultation for the resident in front of you.

What this is: practical adjustments for running virtual consultations with residents who have specific needs.

Who it's for: registered nurses, enrolled nurses and care staff.

The core consultation workflow stays the same, but some residents need it adapted. A resident living with dementia, a resident with hearing loss, a mental health review, an end-of-life conversation, each calls for small, thoughtful changes that make the consult work. This guide covers the most common situations. The principle running through all of them: meet the resident where they are.

Residents living with dementia

Virtual care can be gentler than a transfer for a resident with dementia, who keeps the comfort of familiar surroundings. Some adjustments help:

  • Use a quiet, familiar space with minimal background noise and distraction.
  • Keep the same trusted staff member present throughout for reassurance.
  • Allow extra time, and don't rush. Let the resident set the pace.
  • Introduce the person on screen clearly and simply, and reintroduce if needed.
  • Watch for signs of distress or fatigue, and pause or stop if the resident needs it.
  • Involve family where it helps the resident feel settled.

One Visionflex aged care site used virtual review for behavioural assessments via a specialist service, letting geriatricians connect with residents who couldn't be moved due to advanced dementia. The consultation was more humane, and more clinically useful, than a stressful transfer would have been.

Residents with hearing or vision impairment

Small sensory adjustments make a big difference:

  • Hearing: offer headphones or a second speaker, face the resident so they can see lips and expressions, use captions if available, and check understanding often.
  • Vision: make sure audio is clear, describe what's happening and who's present, and sit close enough for the resident to see the screen.
  • Have the resident's usual aids (glasses, hearing aids) in place and working before you start.

Mental health consultations

Virtual care widens access to mental health support, which can otherwise be hard to arrange. For these consults:

  • Prioritise privacy and a calm, unhurried space.
  • Clarify in advance whether the resident prefers a staff member present or privacy.
  • Be ready with your local mental health support contacts and escalation pathway.
  • Treat the conversation with the same confidentiality as any in-person mental health review.

End-of-life and palliative care

Virtual care can bring specialist palliative input and distant family to the bedside at a critical time. It supports advance care planning conversations, symptom review, and family presence when travel isn't possible. Approach these consults with extra sensitivity to the resident's comfort, dignity and wishes, and make sure any advance care directive is on hand and understood.

Geriatric and comprehensive assessments

Geriatric review often means a longer, multi-part consultation. Prepare thoroughly: have records, medications and recent observations ready, and use your peripherals to support a full assessment. A comprehensive geriatric assessment by video can cover cognition, function, medications and goals of care, without the resident leaving the home.

Interpreter-assisted consultations

Where a resident's preferred language isn't English, an interpreter is essential for safe, respectful care:

  • Arrange the interpreter ahead of time (the free Translating and Interpreting Service, TIS National, can be booked on 131 450).
  • Introduce everyone, including the interpreter, at the start.
  • Speak in short segments and allow time for interpretation.
  • Address the resident directly, not the interpreter.
  • Confirm the resident understands key information before moving on.

The common principle

Every adaptation comes back to the same thing: dignity and access. Adjust the consultation so the resident can take part fully, comfortably and safely. When in doubt, ask the resident or their representative what would help.

Need help?

This is general guidance, not clinical advice. Always work within your scope of practice and your home's policies.

Visionflex acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and pays respect to Elders past, present and emerging.