Paediatric Telemedicine
Paediatric Telemedicine can be defined as the ability to deliver health services, to neonates, children, young people and their carers, ‘remotely’ – by using Information and Communication technologies.
The word ‘remotely’ suggests considerable distance but ‘remote’ can equally mean provision of paediatric care and support across a short distance, in an urban environment, for those ‘hard to reach’ populations .
Following a successful completion and favourable evaluation of a Telemedicine project (2003-6), the Scottish Paediatric Telemedicine Service is now playing a significant role in supporting and complementing paediatric service provision in Scotland. Currently supported by the National Delivery Plan for Specialist Children’s Services in NHS Scotland, the service incorporates innovative use of technological advancements to:
- deliver a service in remote or rural areas which would otherwise be unsustainable for cost or population density reasons
- allow primary care clinicians to consult specialists remotely to avoid unnecessary referrals and travel
- support clinical and educational networks to reduce professional isolation, share best practice amongst peers and enhance continued professional development efforts.
With funding from the National Delviery Plan, video conferencing systems are supporting a range of services within each of the specialist children’s hospitals. The rollout of equipment to paediatric in-patient units is well advanced and will be complete by the end of 2010. Work is also progressing well on the rollout of equipment to support unscheduled care in A&E departments without on –site paediatric support.
Following consultation with service users, Regional Planning Groups and NSD the following service developments were identified:
- Critical Decision Support
- Unscheduled Care
- Care at Home
In addition to developing new used of the equipment, the team continues to support a range of existing services such as clinical networking, education and remote diagnostics.