A Remote Medical Consultation Program
North Coast Area Health Service
This project was entered in the 2007 NSW Health Awards, Building a Sustainable Health Workforce category.
Contact: Vicki Rose
Abstract
“One of the most critical issues facing rural communities is attracting and keeping health professionals working in NSW.”
- NSW Rural Health Plan
The Remote Medical Consultation Program (RMCP) was established to address GP workload issues and fatigue in a rural district hospital. A new model of care was established for patients attending the emergency department of Wauchope District Memorial Hospital (WDMH) at night. It involves networking with the emergency department of a nearby rural base hospital. Night time call-out of GPs reduced from an average of 2.5 per night to a total of only 15 call-outs in the 3½ month evaluation period whilst maintaining appropriate access and quality of emergency medicine services. Added benefits have been achieved from the routine networking of the emergency medicine services and building a culture where all healthcare professions support new care delivery models to meet the future changing needs of our community.
The full entry document can be downloaded in the formats listed below:
Download the Presentation 
(324K) from the 2007 NSW Health Expo
