South Australia offers permanent virtual care for children and adults with $89 million endowment
The South Australian Government has earmarked additional funds for new virtual care services for children and adults to make them permanent.
A funding of AU$30.8 million ($21 million) over the next four years has been allocated to the Children and Youth Virtual Emergency Care Service (CAUCS) while 67.8 million Australian dollars ($47 million) has been earmarked for SA Adult Virtual Care Services (SAVCS) over the next 5 years.
Since its launch in August 2021, the virtual care for children has taken on more than 24,000 patients, and 9 out of 10 patients have avoided unnecessary trips to the ED. Offered through the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, the service has also enabled SA Ambulance Service to treat 1,000 children at home.
Meanwhile, KTNN has treated about 18,000 patients since December 2021 with 80% avoid unnecessary ED trips.
WHY IT IMPORTANT
According to a press release, the latest funding for two virtual care services will help alleviate the enormous pressures currently facing the South Australian health system. These services have been shown to free up hospital beds, improve patient flow, and serve as an alternative to healthcare access.
BIGGER BACKGROUND
The South Australian health system is facing its worst congestion problem in years, dealing with overcrowded EDs, bed shortages and thousands of hours of intensive care. Since then, it has leveraged virtual technology to reduce hospital admissions while providing quality care at home.
In addition to virtual care services for adults and children, SA Health is also starting to provide free services 24/7 remote health monitoring service in rural and regional areas. It provides a set of trackers, including medical devices and digital tablets to upload health data.
In SA’s capital, Adelaide, The safe@home project led by Flinders University is providing chronic illness patients with daily primary care access through virtual care and remote monitoring.
Meanwhile, the SA government has given the State Health Control Center A$31.5 million ($22 million) over five years to upgrade its operations. Launched in May, the center is providing 24/7 support and monitoring of SA medical and hospital systems, powered by predictive data and analytics.
ON PROFILE
“We’re making big investments to improve the system, but the main challenge is that the number of patients coming to the emergency department is sicker than others due to a nationwide shortage of GPs. These virtual caregivers have proven they can play an important role in helping people get the help they need without leaving their homes, taking the pressure off the system,” SA Premier Peter said. Malinauskas commented.
