A partnership between the WA Country Health Service (WACHS) and the Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services (KAMS) has been entered to ensure the patients in Bidyadanga, Western Australia’s largest remote Aboriginal community, enjoy access to medical specialists in the metropolitan area.
The partnership, which involves a 12-month trial connecting the KAMS-run Bidyadanga Health Clinic to the WACHS Command Centre, has already seen specialist emergency care accessed 28 times in its first five months.
KAMS clinicians can connect with Perth-based medical specialists almost instantly via video-conferencing equipment, assisting significantly with the diagnosis and treatment of patients.
Minister for Health, Roger Cook said the 12-month trial was expected to provide a better understanding of the logistics, benefits and costs of delivering digital health services into more remote WA communities.
“With medical specialists on high-definition speed dial, local frontline clinicians can deliver healthcare when and where it is needed, keeping patients within their communities and closer to family and support,” Mr Cook said.
“This initiative is all about putting patients first by using technology to help keep people on country.”
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Ben Wyatt said the new service delivered first-class medical expertise to people living in Bidyadanga and helped to save lives.
Located 180 kilometres south of Broome, Bidyadanga is home to a 750-strong population that often swells to more than 1,000 with transient visitors.
