The Scottish Centre for Telehealth
The Scottish Centre for Telehealth (SCT) was established in 2006 to support and guide the development of telehealth for clinical, managerial and educational purposes across Scotland. This involves working across boundaries with industry, academia, local authorities and NHS Boards to develop recognised models for redesigning care.
The Centre’s role is to provide support and advice to NHS Boards and help evaluate the potential benefits of new technologies, with the aim of making Scotland a recognised global leader in telehealth. Specifically the Centre was tasked with -
- Disseminating best practice
- Providing practical support, both clinical and technical
- Co-ordinating the evaluation of projects
- Evaluating the impact of telehealth on service redesign
- Developing inter-operable standards and protocols
In August 2009, the Scottish Government Health Department (SGHD) published a review of the work of Scottish Centre for Telehealth covering the first three years of its existence. The authors consulted with users (and potential users) of the SCT on the value of Telehealth and the future of the SCT as an organisation. The review made a number of observations and recommendations. Among them was recognition of –
- Clear evidence that the SCT has had significant successes in various discrete areas of healthcare.
- Support for the continued exploitation of Telehealth across NHS Scotland.
- Support for the concept of a ‘centre of expertise’ accessible by NHS Boards, as they plan the introduction of Telehealth solutions.
- The need for SCT to focus on a small number of clinical areas, moving them from ‘pilot’ to national implementation.
- The opportunity to integrate Telehealth and Telecare initiatives.
In terms of governance, the SGHD Review made recommendations on repositioning the Scottish Centre for Telehealth within NHS24. This move offers SCT the opportunity to be part of a national delivery organisation and enhances the opportunities for national adoption of telehealth.