There are thoughts given in the online Law Society Gazette about using Skype or Face Time for meetings with elderly clients and those with a disability.
This mode of communication will not be right for all situations but can, in appropriate cases, be useful to professional trustees and court appointed deputies in addition to their face to face contact. This arrangement might, for example, assist where a client living some distance away is in crisis and requires very regular advice and support from their professional adviser.
The groups that found the Skype service particularly beneficial included elderly or disabled clients supported by a carer as it was possible for both the carer and client to appear together, without leaving the house. One carer explained how much easier it was without the ‘backwards and forwards thing over the phone, of speaking on behalf of the person we care for but proving who you are’.
