New virtual care swallowing assessment goes down well with Kimberley communities

Kimberley patients can now access specialised swallowing assessments closer to home through a new telehealth pilot being delivered in Broome.

The Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES) is used to assess swallowing and voice function – supporting diagnosis and management of conditions that impact a person’s ability to swallow safely.

Traditionally, accessing a FEES required Kimberley patients to travel to Perth, but thanks to a partnership between WA Country Health Service and Royal Perth Hospital to develop the TeleFEES pilot model, patients can now undergo the procedure in Broome.

Director Allied Health Suzanne Spitz said the pilot was an example of how collaboration was a key element in advancing allied health telehealth options for WA country communities.

“By working together local speech pathologists and medical specialists are enabled to perform the assessment with FEES trained speech pathologists, who join the appointment virtually,” Suzanne said.

“It is country-metro collaboration at its most efficient and feedback from patients such as Sarah demonstrate how virtual care helps to improve access, reduce travel time and costs, and ensure patients receive timely, high-quality care no matter where they live.”

“I would particularly like to acknowledge our Broome Health Campus Allied Health Manager, Speech Pathology Team and General Practitioner Anaesthetists, our Clinical Telehealth Development Program and Speech Pathology Professional Lead and the Royal Perth Hospital Speech Pathology team for leading this innovative practice”.

Sarah, one of the first patients to access the service, emphasised the benefit of being able to have the procedure locally.

"Having it done here [in Broome] actually made it possible,” Sarah said.

“Trying to go back down to Perth for another assessment – there's no way I would have been able to go down in a certain time frame, especially being a single mum and having no one to have the kids.”

Sarah and her treating team also highlighted how timely, local access to the assessment has supported and improved the management of her condition.