Dr Frank Casey (Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist, Clark Clinic) said: “This Suite allows us to utilise high definition video conferencing to support our patients and consult with families and parents in their own homes. It also improves our links with colleagues across the province, enabling us to provide diagnoses for patients in other hospitals.”
The project has received invaluable support from the videoconferencing provider, Questmark who worked closely with clinicians from Clark Clinic since the pilot programme in 2005, and from their partners NIAVAC who installed the state of the art equipment.
Questmark and NIAVAC have partnered on a number of innovative Video Conference installations within the health care industry, including a similar suite for the South Eastern Trust for Cancer Care. In addition, they have recently installed a video conferencing suite for the Western Trust which is used for a wide range of clinical disciplines.
James Conlon of NIAVAC says: “We are proud to be able to support changing practices in modern medicine through technology. This kind of video conferencing facility brings significant efficiencies to treatment. From a management point of view this provides huge savings in time and resources. More importantly, it increases the immediacy of a diagnosis or treatment plan which can be crucial in treating major illnesses and offers significant reassurance to parents.”
The outcome of these partnerships between clinicians and industry, charity and the health service is a world-class centre that utilises creative video conferencing technology to provide the highest standard of care possible for children with heart disease in Northern Ireland.
