A new virtual urgent care service at the Women's and Children's Hospital (WCH) launches today, helping to reduce wait times and ease pressure on the hospital's Paediatric Emergency Department (PED).
Minister for Health and Wellbeing Stephen Wade said the new Child and Adolescent Virtual Urgent Care Service will provide families with medical assessment and advice from their home, helping reduce unnecessary trips to the emergency department.
"By reducing the number of unnecessary presentations to the WCH Paediatric Emergency Department, children will receive the care they need faster and from the comfort of their own home," said Minister Wade.
"Providing care for children and families away from the PED, if they are not experiencing an emergency, will ensure they receive quicker and more appropriate care whilst also freeing up the department for children in crisis.
"The Marshall Liberal Government is putting in place a range of initiatives to provide people with more appropriate care away from emergency departments, closer to home - and in this case, in the home."
Women's and Children's Health Network CEO, Lindsey Gough, said the video link service will allow concerned parents to connect with highly skilled emergency nurses and doctors to receive personal medical advice for their child.
"Our hospital's new service provides access to timely medical care in the home for children with non-life-threatening conditions," Ms Gough said.
"A visit to the emergency department can be daunting for children and their parents, and this virtual care will allow children who are well enough to avoid a trip to the hospital while still receiving expert healthcare virtually."
"We also expect the service will decrease the demand on our PED staff and ensure care is available to those who need it most."
The service can be accessed online, and parents will be asked a series of questions to determine the urgency of the medical condition.
Project lead, Kerry McKeough, said the service will operate during peak demand time for the hospital's emergency department.
"Patients will be able to speak directly to a skilled doctor or nurse via video-link from their own home or community," Ms McKeough said.
"The clinician will then provide specific advice, and may refer patients to a general practitioner, local pharmacy, or an emergency department, depending on the child's condition."
"We have a highly skilled team of consultants, nurses and administration staff working on this initiative to ensure it's a valuable resource for our consumers."
The initial phase of service will engage with the hospital's PED, Priority Care Centres, the Urgent Mental Health Care Centres and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Clinicians.
The service will then extend to involve referrals from healthcare providers such as medi-hotels, GPs and HealthDirect.
The Children and Adolescent Virtual Urgent Care Service will be available seven days a week from 1pm to 8:30pm.
