The University of Queensland Health-e-Regions project, led by the Centre for Online Health (COH) has reached a significant milestone this week. 5000 telehealth consultations have been delivered to school children living in five regional towns – over five years.
COH Director and project lead Professor Anthony Smith says that the Health-e-Regions project is making a huge difference for children and families living in the Western Downs region of Queensland, thanks to Shell's QGC business, supported by its joint venture partners Tokyo Gas and CNOOC.
“The Westerns Downs community are so passionate about the Health-e-Regions program”, said Professor Smith.
“Health-e-Regions is delivering valuable audiology, speech and occupational therapy services to kids into the classroom (by video link), and also helping to train our next generation of allied health professionals. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved”, said Professor Smith
Health-e-Regions has resulted in allied health therapy sessions being made available for more than 150 families. According to Professor Smith, “Services delivered by telehealth, result in less time travelling to an appointment, reduced out of pocket expenses for families, and easier access to specialist care.”
Health-e-regions project manager from the COH, Ms Lisa Garner spends considerable time engaging with all the schools and services involved in the program.
Ms Garner acknowledges “The feedback from everyone involved has always been very positive from both staff and parents, and the students find the program to be really engaging”.
School principals all throughout the region have embraced Health-e-Regions. One principal shared that “Telehealth makes a great impact on student oral language and learning. We appreciate the program and its benefits and really would never want to be without it.”
This year, the Health-e-Regions program has expanded its reach by collaborating with the Goondir Health Service. “This is a wonderful opportunity to deliver a broad range of amazing allied health services for First Nations' children in a culturally supportive environment”, said Ms Garner.
Professor Smith said, “the Health-e-Regions program continues to benefit children and families living in the Western Downs region of Queensland. We are excited to think about the future of this program and the opportunities to increase the use of telehealth to help people living in regional areas. We look forward to ongoing collaboration with Shell’s QGC business, and welcome partnerships with other corporate and community organisations.
