The digital health team in St Patrick’s Mental Health Services (SPMHS) has developed a new guidance document for service users on using Microsoft Teams (MS Teams).
Our Service User IT Support Service (SUITS) developed the guide. It aims to help you to join and manage appointments or activities with SPMHS taking place on MS Teams by sharing practical information, such as on how to:
- join MS Teams meetings from different devices
- manage settings
- deal with several troubleshooting and support issues.
The guide is designed to support you through each of these areas in an easy, step-by-step way, with text and images used to show and describe each of the steps.
What the guide covers
The guide starts by covering how to access SPMHS appointments or activities on MS Teams from a range of devices, including laptops or desktop computers and smartphones, tablets or iPads. It then looks at how to use various settings during a videocall on MS Teams while using these different devices, such as:
- managing microphone and camera settings
- turning on closed captions
- leaving a videocall.
A number of troubleshooting or support issues are also included in the guide. These cover some steps to take if:
- a videocall times out
- MS Teams doesn’t respond when you try to join a videocall
- you can hear audio feedback (a high-pitched noise or echo)
- you can’t hear anyone on the call
- you have trouble joining or using features in breakout rooms.
How to use the guide
The guide is interactive when used in electronic form, so that you can click on a topic in the table of contents to bring you to more information on that topic. Alternatively, you can press the ‘Ctrl’ and ‘F’ buttons on your keyboard at the same time and enter a search term in the box that appears to search the guide for the information you need.
A link is also available at the top of the guide with information on how to hear the contents of the guide being read aloud by a screen reader if you use one; this applies when you are using the guide in electronic form, rather than a printed version.
Where to find other supports for remote access
If you have any queries or need further support with MS Teams, SUITS is available to help. This includes when you are preparing for your first appointment using MS Teams: the SUITS teams can arrange and set up a test call on MS Teams with you on the day before your first appointments.
You can contact SUITS by phoning 01 249 3629, emailing suits@stpatricks.ie or using an online form to make an appointment with the team.
From Monday to Friday (except bank holidays), SUITS also runs a daily walk-in service for inpatient service users in St Patrick’s University Hospital and St Patrick’s Hospital Lucan. This allows you to have a short session with the SUITS team without the need for an appointment. You can find out more about the walk-in sessions here.
A number of other resources are also available to support you in accessing remote services, including using MS Teams, such as:
