In a continuous effort to reduce Emergency Department (ED) wait times, North West Hospital and Health Service (North West HHS) is encouraging the community to utilise the Queensland Virtual Hospital’s (QVH) first service, Virtual Emergency Care Service (VECS) to improve access to emergency medical attention.

In the past, when attending the ED for non-critical care, patients can be subject to long wait times as critical cases are prioritised, meaning patients may be stuck waiting longer than necessary.

The main objective of this new service will be to redirect superficial presentations away from physical EDs, improving their availability for critical cases and emergencies.

The program works similarly to 13HEALTH, people use the online Healthdirect Australia Symptom Checker, and this will direct people to the most appropriate care option for them.

This may include VECS but it may also direct people to a General Practice, Urgent Care Clinic, Pharmacy, or Minor Injury and Illness Clinic depending on the information provided by the patient.

Executive Director of Medical Services, Anthony Bell, says patient health is the number one priority and if there is a way to provide care that is safe, fast, and efficient, North West HHS will extend the service to the community.

“Patients that are directed to VECS will be those injuries or illnesses that require immediate attention but are non-threatening such as sprains, bites, vertigo, minor burns, children with fevers, etc, and the VECS doctor will assess the presentation and either provide emergency advice, care, treatment, or direct callers to a physical ED if they believe it to be an emergency,” Dr Bell said.

“-These services have the potential to reduce congestion in physical ED waiting rooms as well as Ambulance and other transport services, offering greater convenience for patients.”

The system is similar to a physical ED in that a patient will first be asked for basic information, then triaged (meaning a level of urgency is categorised) then the patient will present to the appropriate healthcare service, the difference is patients can use this service from the comfort of their home.

The Symptom Checker is available 24/7, and VECS is available between the hours of 0800-2200, so if a patient is presenting outside of these hours, the symptom checker will either direct to a physical ED or provide the most appropriate course of action based on the information provided.  

This virtual service is ideal for assisting patients in remote locations such as graziers on cattle stations or remote first nations communities and can also be utilised by first responders such as police watch houses to determine a person if interest’s health status and if they need critical care, keeping hospitals safer.

If the patient or support person has a device with internet connectivity, a virtual ED doctor will be able to assist.

The North West HHS will continue to encourage the community and healthcare professionals to utilise this service.