England’s NHS has sent over 65 million messages through Microsoft Teams since it was rolled out in March, according to NHS Digital.
The technology services provider to the health service also said yesterday that about 13.2 million virtual meetings had been held on the platform. Figures for the previous week alone were nearly 4 million messages and 850,000 meetings.
The organisation made Teams available to 1.3 million users with NHSmail accounts in response to the need for more remote working as Covid-19 struck. It provides secure instant messaging, direct audio and visual calls and has virtual meeting capabilities.
Chris Parsons, who runs NHSmail at NHS Digital, said: “The use of remote messaging and meeting technology like MS Teams has proven to be essential for NHS organisations during the pandemic.
“Many doctors and nurses have had to work remotely to provide effective care, especially to those patients who have been self-isolating, and technology like this can help make it possible.
“There has been a seismic shift in how organisations work over the last few months, and these figures show that the appetite for digital collaboration has increased exponentially over that time, becoming part of the fabric of working life on the front lines.”
