WCH Burns Digital Referral Service – Keeping paediatric burns patients on the land
Lucinda Van de Ven1, Bernard Carney1, Linda Quinn1, 1Women’s And Children’s Hospital, Adelaide, SA, Australia
Abstract
Background
The Paediatric Burns Service at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital is responsible for inpatient and outpatient treatment of children up to 16 years. The service’s catchment area includes metropolitan and country SA, NT and western parts of NSW and Victoria. In 2012, the Burns Digital Referral Service was established. This offered a telehealth service to country practitioners allowing patients to remain locally with input from a specialised burns service without having to travel large distances that would have historically been required.
Methods
An audit of the burns digital referral service over the past ten years was undertaken with a focus on number of referrals, number of services provided and the ethnicity of the patients referred.
Results
Since 2012, the burns digital referral service has been utilised for 614 patients. This resulted in 1292 occasions of service being provided. On average that was 2.1 occasions per patient. Of the 614 patients, it is documented that 15.6% were Aborginal patients though this is likely under estimated due incomplete data. When audited practitioners had overwhelming positive feedback on the Burns Digital Referral Service. They stated it gave them increased confidence in managing these patients and allowed families increased support.
Conclusion
The Women’s and Children’s Burns Digital Referral Service has had a positive impact on caring for burns patients and allowing them to stay close to home. This allows families to have increased support and positive economical implications for the families as well as the hospital. It is predicted this service will continue to grow.
Biography
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Unaccredited Registrar currently the Burns Registrar at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide