HSL’s Telehealth platform has helped families of children with heart conditions throughout the pandemic, reducing the need for them to go into hospital.
Videoconferencing technology has been an essential part of working life since the pandemic began, with most people in tech now working from home and checking in via regular video meetings. The technology has also become more essential in the healthcare industry, with quarantines and lockdowns preventing people from visiting loved ones in person.
HSL has announced that its Telehealth platform has proven to be a vital lifeline for parents of seriously ill children in Northern Ireland during the pandemic. The system has been installed in the Clark Clinic at The Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, where it's been used to provide care and monitoring for babies and small children with major congenital heart conditions.
RELATED: HSL to launch new NI remote healthcare platform
The Telehealth service has been rapidly scaled up this year and is now available to all of the NHS across Northern Ireland. The platform also enables doctors to perform remote diagnosis quickly without bringing patients into the hospital, which has proven very important during the pandemic for preventing the risk of infection spreading.
HSL’s Director of Telehealth Sam McMaster commented: "The home monitoring programme was previously limited to some extent by time taken to install individual videoconferencing equipment. However, advancements to the Telehealth platform have solved this problem, as it is now accessible to patients via a simple download, making it more widely accessible to the growing number of patients supported by the Clark Clinic and their families."
RELATED: HSL Telehealth video setup can help diagnose strokes faster and save lives
Dr Brian McCrossan, Paediatric Cardiologist at Clark Clinic said: "Telehealth has played a vital role during the Coronavirus pandemic as it has enabled our team to conduct a number of urgent video-consultations for patients at home which have obviated the need for them to come to the emergency department."
Source: Written based on press release
