Video kiosks allow residents virtual meetings with council advisors
Video kiosks allowing Wirral residents to have online virtual appointments with council advisors are currently available at locations across Wirral.
Following a successful trial at Birkenhead Central Library the kiosks are also available at Eastham Library, Moreton Library and Heswall Library.
Although most council services can be accessed online at wirral.gov.uk using a MyWirral account, or over the phone to the council’s customer services advisors sometimes a face-to-face meeting is required.
If an issue can’t be resolved online, or over the telephone, residents will be offered the option of a face-to-face meeting or a meeting using one of the video kiosks.
The video kiosks allow people to make an appointment at even more locations where they can get the help they need from an advisor using a video call via a touch-screen device.
All meetings with council advisors – whether by video call or in person – still require an appointment to be made and are not available as “drop ins”. Appointments can be made by phoning 0151 606 2005. Anyone using the kiosks will be supported by library staff, who can also scan any documents and take payments if required.
The video kiosks were initially proposed as a solution to allow residents who are “digitally excluded” or have trouble accessing online services, to have face-to-face video calls with customer services officers. Following the changes in the post-COVID working environment and as part of ongoing efforts to keep council costs down where possible, these advisors could be working remotely from any location.
Chair of Wirral Council’s Tourism, Communities, Culture and Leisure Committee, Cllr Helen Cameron, said:
Most of our services can be accessed online but sometimes meeting someone face to face is the best way to sort something out.
By providing video kiosks residents now have a greater choice in how they access face to face support and get the help and advice they need.
Appointments for in-person face to face meetings can still be arranged and these take place at council offices in Bebington, West Kirby, Wallasey and Europa Pools in Birkenhead.
Following the trial run in Birkenhead the feedback received from users was very positive, rating the kiosks highly on their overall experience, level of privacy, accessibility and ease of use. There are plans to extend this offer of support to additional locations in the coming months.
A MyWirral account is a quick and easy way to contact council services online at any time and registering for an account takes just a couple of minutes – all you need to get started is an email address. To find out more about MyWirral and what services are available log on to the council website.
