“Once you’ve seen the child via video conference, you can usually decide very quickly whether or not that child needs to come back into hospital. Parents appreciate this because it’s a point of contact – a physical image of the consultant right there in their home. We always advise parents to come in immediately if they feel it is urgent, but many issues can be dealt with remotely… …For children with heart problems, this is a very important development because making a diagnosis within the first 24 to 48 hours is often crucial to the outcome. Those who really need to come to Clark Clinic can come to us much earlier and those who don’t need to come can have the diagnoses excluded at a very early stage. There’s no doubt in my mind this has saved lives. Overall cost savings have definitely outweighed the expenditure of buying the system, but there’s more to it than that. It gives us a chance to share our expertise outside our own hospital. The value we can add by offering patients and colleagues support like this is incalculable”
Dr Frank Casey, Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist, Clark Clinic, Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children.