Not-for-profit aeromedical services provider Royal Flying Doctor Service has introduced what could be the first unmanned virtual medical emergency centre in Australia's outback. 

The new RFDS William Creek Community Health Service in the outback tourism town of William Creek in South Australia features a 24/7 virtual emergency centre with a telehealth unit that members of the community and tourists can access to connect with on-call RFDS doctors. 

The facility has a range of interchangeable diagnostic devices, such as oxygen monitors, blood pressure monitors, and ECG leads, that first responders can use to help with the remote diagnosis. Meanwhile, the patient can wait in a secure treatment room before an RFDS aeromedical crew arrives.

First responders also have access to on-site AED and the RFDS medical chest which they can use to provide immediate physician-guided medication and care. There is also imaging equipment that can transmit high-quality images, including wound assessments, dermatology imaging, and throat and dental examinations. 

Built with modular and prefabricated construction, the emergency facility has direct access to the William Creek Airstrip where the RFDS crew can land; a community space with a waiting area and toilet; and two multifunctional patient care spaces for RFDS's fortnightly fly-in consultations. 

Additionally, the centre is connected to high-speed internet provided by Starlink and secured by Fortinet.

The SA Outback Communities Authority initiated this project with an A$1 million funding ($650,000) that the RFDS matched through fundraising. 

WHY IT MATTERS

According to SA Local Government Minister Geoff Brock, the 24/7 virtual emergency care clinic provides a lifeline in the outback that increasingly attracts visitors each year. A gateway to the Simpson Desert, William Creek town welcomes over 26,000 tourists who travel the Oodnadatta Track annually. "With the nearest towns some 200 kilometres away in either direction along the track, having this dedicated facility will provide comfort to locals and surrounding pastoralists."

Previously, the RFDS had consulted with town patients at the William Creek Hotel or in the attached tourist accommodation. "We now have a fit-for-purpose space where our doctors, nurses and even our oral health team, physiotherapist and other allied health clinicians can set up full-scale clinics," remarked RFDS South Australia/Northern Territory chair Peter de Cure. 

The RFDS William Creek Community Health Service will be operational from April, based on a media release. 

THE LARGER TREND

In other related news, RFDS, one of the largest aeromedical organisations in the world, recently established its EHR system in the cloud, moving away from paper-based recording. The RFDS EHR, based on the Oracle Autonomous Database, allows the RFDS team to digitally record and share in near real-time critical patient information, whether they are on air or ground.