Country life not interrupted for specialist's appointment

Life in quiet Mingenew is lovely for Wayne Kipps.

However, Mr Kipps has a sustained brain injury which has resulted in frequent epileptic seizures, and so he has had to often leave town to see his neurologist, 300kms away in Perth.

But these days Mr Kipps only has to travel to near-by Three Springs Hospital to speak to his doctor via videoconference.

The week has been organised by the WA Country Health Service to highlight that healthcare appointments delivered by telehealth are now widely available to country patients, without the stress and cost of travel.

As well as the cost of travel, Mr Kipps said that stress was another issue caused by having to travel for medical appointments.

Mr Kipp’s wife Shiralee always attends the appointments – partly because her knowledge of his symptoms is vital in Dr Lawn’s assessments, and partly because she needs to drive her husband.

“I have a very supportive wife, but I always feel guilty when I have a specialist appointment in Perth because I can’t drive and so she has to take several days off work to drive me there and back,” he said.

“Telehealth is very much a relief.”

Mr Kipps’ neurologist Dr Nick Lawn is a big believer in telehealth.

He said telehealth also allowed him to more easily speak with carers like Mrs Kipps, as well as patients’ local GPs – which was important because these were the people caring for epilepsy patients on a regular basis.

“Carers are the mainstay of my assessment as a neurologist, not close physical assessment, and so there is often no need for patients to travel all the way to Perth to see me,” he said.

“Most of my patients are not able to drive so getting to their local health centre is a big enough challenge for them.”

“What matters is that we are in contact with our patients, and that distance doesn’t get in the way.”

People in most rural and remote towns across WA can access healthcare appointments using telehealth for more than 30 specialities including cancer services, surgical follow-up, respiratory medicine, blood-related disorders, orthopaedics as well as education for chronic conditions like diabetes and asthma.

More than 18,000 country outpatient appointments were conducted via the WA telehealth network in 2017 as well as more than 7000 mental health services.

Telehealth Awareness Week includes the launch of a 1300 number for telehealth inquiries, a statewide regional advertising and social media campaign, new information materials for patients and healthcare professionals, and displays in hospitals and health centres across the State.

People can enquire about having an appointment by telehealth by asking their health professional or calling 1300 367 166.

More information about telehealth is available at www.healthywa.wa.gov.au/telehealth.

Healthcare professionals can join in the conversation during Telehealth Awareness Week 2018 by sharing stories about how appointments via telehealth have helped their patients save time, money and stress. On social media, use the hashtag #telehealthwa

Fact File

• Telehealth saved WA country patients from travelling 27.3 million kilometres in 2017 – that’s about 12,500 return trips across the Nullarbor, or 35 trips to the moon and back.
• About 350 outpatient appointments are delivered every week by telehealth at more than 150 telehealth-enabled sites across WA.
• In 2017, there were more than 18,000 outpatient consultations by telehealth across country WA, a one-third increase on 2016. 
• More than 7000 mental health services were delivered via telehealth across country WA in 2017.
• More than 30 outpatient specialties delivered via telehealth are now available closer to home for country people. The top five in 2017 were plastic surgery, respiratory medicine, haematology, orthopaedics and gastroenterology.
• Health services delivered by telehealth include emergency care, cancer treatment, palliative care, mental health, stroke emergency treatment and rehabilitation, surgical follow-up and education for chronic conditions such as diabetes and asthma.

Media enquiries: WACHS Communications - wachs.comms@health.wa.gov.au