One of the positive outcomes of the current clinical review process at Tenterfield Health Service has been the introduction of emergency Telehealth support.

Telehealth is n not new technology, has been available at Tenterfield Health Service for a number of years providing support to primary and community health services. It’s just like a video conference link, with the capacity for detailed images and clinical information to be transferred between healthcare professionals in real-time.

Acting Tenterfield Health Service Manager, Ken Hampson, said Telehealth has mostly been used in the past to facilitate consultations between patients and specialists in major centres in areas such as chronic illnesses or mental illness, and is also widely used for staff education and meetings.

"But this clinical application of the technology has been brilliant," he said.

According to Anne Galloway, Hunter New England Health’s Telehealth manager, Telehealth can support services across the whole spectrum of healthcare including diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease and this clinical application is now being used in Tenterfield in the Emergency Department.

"Doctors have always had access to support by telephone from specialist emergency staff, so this Telehealth link is an extension of that service.

"It’s a service that has been used in other hospitals and has proven its worth in circumstances where doctors want a second opinion and other pair of ‘virtual hands’.

"Last week a critically ill patient was brought to the hospital, and with the support from Emergency physicians at the other end of the Telehealth camera, the patient was resuscitated and prepared for transfer to Tamworth Hospital for intensive care.

"Telehealth provided additional expert back up to our local clinicians, and everyone worked as a team," she said.

She said the doctor at the other end, whether that doctor is in Tamworth, Armidale or Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital, is all the patient and staff can see on the television receiver in Tenterfield.

"It’s like having a specialist at your bedside.

"These doctors are well-versed in the remote use of Telehealth technology, so they can do all the technical stuff from their end, and leave the local doctor and nursing staff to get on with the treatment of the patient," she said.

Acting Tenterfield Health Service Manager, Ken Hampson, said the doctors using the Telehealth facilities so far have found it invaluable.

"They have been very, very pleased with it – impressed with the degree of support it can offer," he said.