❓ Dr. Jacobs inquires about the progress and impact of the emergency telehealth program in regional and remote WA. The Minister responds with updates on funding, rollout, appointments, and future plans, highlighting its potential to improve healthcare access and reduce travel costs.
AnsweredQoN 189Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
EMERGENCY TELEHEALTH SERVICE
189. Dr G.G. JACOBS to the Minister for
Health:
We have heard many times in this
chamber about the great improvements being provided to healthcare services in
regional and remote Western Australia, particularly the innovative emergency
telehealth program. Could the minister please update the house on how many
consultations have been provided through the telehealth program and how the
continued rollout is going?
189. Dr G.G. JACOBS to the Minister for
Health:
We have heard many times in this
chamber about the great improvements being provided to healthcare services in
regional and remote Western Australia, particularly the innovative emergency
telehealth program. Could the minister please update the house on how many
consultations have been provided through the telehealth program and how the
continued rollout is going?
AnswerView source ↗
That is a good question. There
already is great support for telehealth in the member for Eyre's
electorate, and will be in future years. The rollout of the telehealth program
has been fantastic. In December, I announced funding of just over $18 million
for the 2014–15 and 2015–16 financial years. The rollout of
telehealth in those regions through the royalties for regions program is a big
component of the budgets of the Southern Inland Health Initiative and North
West Health Initiative. I am very proud to announce today our first medical
director, Dr Bob Graydon, whose direct responsibility is to direct our
emergency telehealth service in this state. He is an experienced emergency
medicine consultant and has an extensive history of working in emergency departments
in Western Australia. He has already done about a thousand consultations in
telehealth out of the total of 5 800 consultations across 32 sites in Western
Australia since its inception in 2012.
A lot is still to be done and there is a great future for
telehealth in this state. We have looked at overseas models, particularly the
Ontario model, which involves the use of telehealth throughout a country that
is about the same size as Western Australia. We think there are huge
possibilities to develop telehealth further. Members recently heard in this
house that since we came to government, we have increased enormously the
patient assisted travel scheme funding, which brings people to Perth or to the
regional centres where medical help is available. If we can significantly
improve telehealth consultations, we will be able to save significantly on PATS
and reduce the inconvenience caused to people from the country who have to
travel all the way to the city. Telehealth is progressing enormously and the
government is very proud of the rollout so far. We are looking forward to the
work that Dr Graydon is doing and to being able to expand the service further
in this state.
already is great support for telehealth in the member for Eyre's
electorate, and will be in future years. The rollout of the telehealth program
has been fantastic. In December, I announced funding of just over $18 million
for the 2014–15 and 2015–16 financial years. The rollout of
telehealth in those regions through the royalties for regions program is a big
component of the budgets of the Southern Inland Health Initiative and North
West Health Initiative. I am very proud to announce today our first medical
director, Dr Bob Graydon, whose direct responsibility is to direct our
emergency telehealth service in this state. He is an experienced emergency
medicine consultant and has an extensive history of working in emergency departments
in Western Australia. He has already done about a thousand consultations in
telehealth out of the total of 5 800 consultations across 32 sites in Western
Australia since its inception in 2012.
A lot is still to be done and there is a great future for
telehealth in this state. We have looked at overseas models, particularly the
Ontario model, which involves the use of telehealth throughout a country that
is about the same size as Western Australia. We think there are huge
possibilities to develop telehealth further. Members recently heard in this
house that since we came to government, we have increased enormously the
patient assisted travel scheme funding, which brings people to Perth or to the
regional centres where medical help is available. If we can significantly
improve telehealth consultations, we will be able to save significantly on PATS
and reduce the inconvenience caused to people from the country who have to
travel all the way to the city. Telehealth is progressing enormously and the
government is very proud of the rollout so far. We are looking forward to the
work that Dr Graydon is doing and to being able to expand the service further
in this state.
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