Australia sees GP helpline go live

Many patients will now have the peace of mind that they can get medical advice out of hours without having to head to the hospital in order to get attention.

For many people in Australia, heading out to hospitals and out of hours clinics to get medical advice and attention after hours can be a real inconvenience. For many it is very difficult because they have children or elderly relations to look after, which can make things very difficult and awkward.

However, things have now changed for the better with the GP Helpline going live in Australia. This helpline aims to cut down hospital waiting times and congestions, and it enables patients to get advice out of hours from qualified doctors and nurses who have signed up to the scheme. More than one hundred GPs and around two hundred and forty nurses have signed up so far.

Many officials believe that this is just the start of things to come, with many having high hopes for further development in this area once the National Broadband Network is widely rolled out. It is hoped that with the NBN in place GPs will be able to hold standard consultations with patients online by 2014, which will provide increased convenience and ease for both medical staff and patients.

One woman explained that already she was seeing a difference with the new helpline, stating: “With an elderly mother, having a helpline like this available will make a huge difference should we need to use it. I can call up a nurse who can put me through to a GP if I need it, and not have to spend hours waiting at the hospital for an opinion.”

Source – Where I Live