This initiative is expected to reduce waiting times for local appointments and enable kidney patients to receive healthcare closer to where they live, saving time and avoiding the inconvenience and cost of travelling.
Dr Robert Peel, an NHS Highland renal consultant, said: "The number of people in the Caithness area who need dialysis or who are referred to see a renal specialist at the monthly outpatient clinics continues to grow and these clinics have become very busy." '"This means it takes longer to get a local appointment and some patients are now travelling to attend clinics in Inverness."
Renal consultants from Raigmore will continue to hold monthly clinics at the Caithness General Hospital to serve the increasing number of outpatients in the area and to conduct in person regular reviews for dialysis patients. Every other month, these reviews will take place over the video link, using a state-of-the-art mobile unit that can be positioned alongside the dialysis stations.
The equipment will also enable nurses in Wick to discuss with specialists at Raigmore Hospital, with the assistance of a regular live video link twice a week and whenever else there is a specific medical need. Moreover, the Wick nurses will be able to join in training courses based at Raigmore, while still being available to care patients for dialysis throughout the day. Video conferencing solutions are already widely used by NHS Highland as a way of connecting healthcare staff working in different places. They are also being used for some patient consultations between Inverness and the Western Isles.
The video link has been installed under the Competitive Health Services project which has been established with funding by the European Union's Northern Periphery Programme 2007-2013 (NPP). The Competitive Health Services projects looks at how innovative communications technologies can be used to bridge geographical gaps between patients and health providers in sparsely populated areas. This project aims to promote the transfer of the best eHealth practices and well-established telehealth solutions across Finland, Sweden, Norway and Scotland.
As it develops over the course of 2010, the project team will evaluate the new videoconferencing system, with a focus on the benefits for patients in Caithness.
Further information:
- Original News Article - NHS Highland
- Northern Periphery Programme 2007-2013
- Competitive Health Services project
- Centre for Rural Health
- Centre for Health Science
---
Quelle/Source: epractice, 24.05.2010
Bitte besuchen Sie/Please visit:
