St Vincent's Heart Failure Clinic goes rural
St Vincent's Heart Failure Clinic goes rural
01 Aug 2023
Strengthening St Vincent’s agreement with Murrumbidgee Local Health District, A/Prof Andrew Roy, St Vincent’s Cardiologist is leading a newly established Outreach Heart Failure Diagnostic Clinic.
“The clinics support the early screening and diagnosis of patients at risk of heart conditions, and the management of complex patients where optimal medical management has not yet been achieved”.
Supported by local GPs, the Outreach Heart Failure Diagnostic Clinic works in partnership with Murrumbidgee Local Health District, Collaborative Health, St Vincent’s Griffith and the local Aboriginal Medical Service, and is travelling around region to deliver specialised cardiac care on a monthly rotation - alleviating the stress, time and costs associated with travelling to Sydney to receive specialist care, for people living in rural NSW.
And, with thanks to funding from the St Vincent’s Curran Foundation, the Clinic is using state-of-the-art cloud-based echocardiography imaging systems that allow the team to review ultrasound images in real-time from anywhere in the world, dramatically enhancing telehealth capabilities.
Minister for Regional Health, Ryan Park, said the outreach clinic is an important tool in delivering high-quality healthcare to patients in rural, regional and remote communities.
"Clinics like these are really important to small communities, and it is hoped that as a result of the care they provide to the community, we will reduce preventable emergency department presentations and hospital admissions”, Mr Park said.
The initiative includes clinician support and training, with Murrumbidgee’s first Heart Failure Transitional Nurse Practitioner taking on learning and development opportunities with St Vincent’s heart failure and transplant teams, as well as observing A/Prof Roy’s cardio-interventional surgeries.
“These have been very positive clinical service developments for under resourced regions and we've been very proud and grateful of what we have been able to achieve”, said A/Prof Roy.
