Inpatient Telehealth Service allows Wheatbelt local to pass away peacefully with loved ones

When Lake Grace mother Mary Naisbitt traded city life for the farm, she found her new home and thanks to telehealth services, she was able to spend her last days in her community, surrounded by her family.

The WA Country Health Service’s (WACHS) Inpatient Telehealth Service aims to provide care and support via telehealth to ensure country WA families can access high quality care from the beginning to end of life.

Mary Naisbitt moved to Lake Grace in 1971 and spent 50 years devoting her life to her community, her farm and her family.

So, when it came to end-of-life decisions, being home was a priority that WACHS was able to fulfil.

Mary passed away in December 2021 in her beloved Lake Grace, surrounded by her family and cared for by a team of local and Perth-based clinicians who, thanks to telehealth, were able to provide continuity of care for Mary.

Working alongside Lake Grace’s local GP Dr Abiola Olowu and local nursing staff led by Acting Director of Nursing, Lisa Pearce, the Inpatient Telehealth Service (ITS) team consulted at Mary’s bedside along with her family via high quality videoconferencing technology.

ITS clinical lead, Dr Amanda Villis, explained that the service enabled Mary to stay in Lake Grace to receive clinical and then palliative care close to home and loved ones.

“ITS means we can step in to provide seamless clinical care on weekends and overnight, in partnership with local doctors,” Dr Villis said.

“For patients like Mary, who have given a lifetime of service to their communities, it’s more important than ever, particularly when patients and families are dealing with difficult decisions around end-of-life care.

“We were privileged to care for Mary in her final weeks alongside her trusted local clinical team and her family.”

In the four years since its inception, ITS has grown from 12 sites and now provides seven-day coverage to patients at 59 hospitals.

“Our experience with the service was wonderful and very reassuring for the family as well as for Mum,” Mary’s daughter Trish said.

“I would definitely recommend it to regional families.