Major recognition for the Virtual Rural Generalist Service

The Virtual Rural Generalist Service is an Australian first virtual care team that are designed to be able to support communities where there is either no local Doctor or when local Doctors require a hand. The Virtual Rural Generalist Service work collaboratively with nurses at the bedside and they utilise a range of technology to be able to deliver care. We can be the eyes are ears for the Doctor at this end while not having to have a Doctor on site. So they can cover multiple sites and provide advice not only for just one Health Service but a lot of Health Services, with one Doctor. It's not there to replace clinicians on the ground. It's there to support those communities where there is no local Doctor, where the local Doctor has gone on leave, or whether they simply require fatigue management. They're able to help Doctors when it's needed, but also when we are unable to get a Doctor on the ground because of workforce gaps or because of a vacant position. We're able to get someone at the bedside virtually with our nursing staff to be able to provide safe high quality care.

Several months ago I had a reaction to a COVID needle. I had the COVID needle on the Friday and then on the Sunday I was just shaking all over from head to foot. I couldn't stop shaking, I couldn't drive a vehicle, I couldn't hold on to the steering wheel. My wife brought me into the hospital, there was no Doctor in town at the time. They came in all suited up and masks and everything and I thought uh oh, this is it. However, they then wheeled a tv screen in and I was able to talk to a Doctor and for the next seven days I had a Doctor wheeled into my room everyday. I was quiet impressed with that, yeah.

So VRGS is a 24 hour seven days a week service so we always have access to high quality medical services and I think that's important for rural and remote communities. It's really reassuring you're not the only person that's laying eyes on the patient. Someone else gets to visualize them and what has brought them into hospital. It's reassuring for the patient for the same reason. It also helps the elderly population who are very used to being able to see their local GP whenever they want to and they get that reassurance of actually seeing a Doctor not just the nurses that they may or may not know. They had the information in front of them. They had the blood test results they had other results of things they had done. They were sort of grasping to say well what are you doing here. They were all on top of it. I was quiet impressed with it. Thank god for technology, you know. I've worked and traveled in very isolated areas and I can see this being a great asset to Western NSW particular.