Story: Gary Fry
The Armidale/Uralla and District Branch of the Australian Diabetes Council held its bi-monthly meeting last week in the Community Health building at the Armidale Rural Referral Hospital. The guest speaker was Founder of Chronic Pain Australia, Dr Coralie Wales, who is the Project Team Leader of the NBN Telehealth to the home Chronic Disease Trial. Local diabetics were not only told about how user friendly the technology is and what it can mean, they were also invited to take part.
The Trial is a joint venture between the Hunter New England Local Health District and the Australian Government’s Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. In addition to diabetics, it is open to people living with chronic heart disease, chronic lung disease and hypertension.
“We’re particularly interested in people living with diabetes, helping them to stay out of hospital and manage their diabetes as well as possible,” Dr Wales said.
“I was very pleased to talk to members of the Armidale and Uralla Diabetes support group, to help explain how they can get involved in this trial, if they wish.”
During the trial, participants are given equipment to help monitor their health at home for up to three months.
“There is no cost for participants living with Chronic Diseases because they are helping us to learn how we can build a model of health care in the future,” she said.
“People who want to get involved can contact our team at Armidale Community Health (phone Wendy on 6776 9972). We then speak to Skymesh, an NBN retailer, who connects the participant to the NBN. Meanwhile, our team speaks with the person, learning as much as possible about their condition, their challenges and goals.
“Participants use a device like an iPad (a screen a little smaller than an A4 page). It has three buttons; one will take the user to an interview, customised for their condition, which asks for measurements from the equipment supplied through the trial. We visit homes and ensure participants are confident with the technology.
“Older people enjoy discovering that learning to use these touch-screen devices and so on is not rocket science and is something that they can do,” said Dr Wales.
“We are like ‘health coaches’, rather than wagging fingers and saying ‘what you should be doing is…’ – it’s a different way to help people.”
The aim is to remove the tyranny of distance in the provision of professional Chronic Disease health service support.
“If we can get it right in Armidale (indicators show it is going extremely well to date) then, when the NBN is rolled out to Uralla, Guyra, Glen Innes… we can be here in Armidale delivering services to people at a distance. We have had a client who had a specialist appointment in Tamworth and, through the Trial’s NBN technology, he didn’t need to go to Tamworth. A video conference with his doctor (triggered by the third button on the tablet-like device) meant that he didn’t have to take a day off work. His doctor also loved it.”
The diabetes group has taken a more informal social support approach, with the executive members addressing formal meeting requirements. Secretary, Pat McGrath said that many members are coming to terms with new technologies and modern practices, yet were reassured by what Dr Wales had to say. “It was encouraging to hear that the NBN Telehealth to the home Chronic Disease trial has successfully been undertaken by an 85-year-old lady.”
President. Sue Farmer thanked the community for its support of the local Branch of the Australian Diabetes Council in the lead-up to Christmas. “Our raffle raised over $1600 and these funds will send a child with diabetes to a special camp, where they will have fun, learn and really see that they are not alone in what they are going through, in living with diabetes,” she said.
