[Michael Donovan - Patient]
My name is Michael Donovan. I'm a Dhungutti man from the north coast of New South Wales. I reside in, um, in Dubbo here in beautiful Wiradjuri country. Virtual care was offered to me when I was feeling unwell, um, looking after me, uh, in my own house.
[Fiona Martin - Nurse Unit Manager Remote in Home Monitoring, Western NSW Local Health District]
We supported Michael at home when he was unwell. He used some equipment, um, to do some measurements. Uh, we also used some symptom surveys as well that he completed each day so that we were able to see if there were any changes in his condition.
[Michael Donovan]
I found virtual care easy to use. It was, um, something that, uh, I didn't think I'd ever get to, to use. Monitoring and doing my own measurements at home and uploading them onto a database.
[Fiona Martin]
There's lots of different types of virtual care. Could be that you are doing a video conference with a doctor. It might be on the phone with your Aboriginal health practitioner. Uh, you might be uploading, um, photos of your wounds from home so that the nurse can assess them. Um, I work in an area called remote patient monitoring, where we use equipment at home to help you safely manage your conditions at home.
[Tony Martin - Executive Director, Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing, Western NSW Local Health District]
Virtual care can improve patient experiences. It can obviously reduce anxiety and stress, and people can be more comfortable in their own environment, whether it's at home or it's in a community health centre, hospital setting.
[Fiona Martin]
I think there's lots of opportunities, um, for using virtual care in Aboriginal communities. Obviously, distance is a big factor and we know that Aboriginal people, um, have a lot of chronic, um, illnesses, so we'd really like to help them access care for, for those and improve their health outcomes. Um, and quality of life.
[Tony Martin]
It's important that you reach out to somebody and have a yarn about virtual care and the impact on, you know, individuals. What it will do for you, what it'll do for somebody else may not be the same.
[Michael Donovan]
I think virtual care is a, a great initiative for Aboriginal people, for them being culturally safe within their own home, and not having to venture out to to see a doctor or see a nurse. It can all be done at home.
