Telemedicine advances in Wales

NHS Wales could take the lead in telemedicine thanks to a £20m investment in a broadband network and cut-price desktop equipment.

The Welsh National Assembly in partnership with BT has launched Dawn2 - an extended version of the existing Digital All-Wales Network (Dawn) linking the country's hospitals. The new version provides up to 1000 broadband connections linking 550 hospitals, GPs and homeworkers.

A high-bandwidth network makes it easier for clinicians to share information. For example, GPs can receive patient test results straight from the hospital systems, rather than waiting for them to be manually processed. Welsh National Assembly programme director Peter Stansfield said: 'Patients will benefit from the more efficient processes the broadband network will generate, as well as from the clinical applications it will support.

'With access to videoconferencing, consultations can take place at a distance, meaning patients can receive care closer to home.'

GPs will be reimbursed the cost of a broadband connection to Dawn2 as part of the ICT Foundation Programme, funded partly by the National Assembly and partly by health authorities and local health groups. Surgeries will also be able to buy desktop hardware and standardised Windows-based software at a fraction of the usual price.

The new system will save time and enhance the quality of information, says Swansea GP Ian Millington.

'We will be able to move towards paperless patient records - we anticipate in our surgery we will stop writing out notes because we can record directly onto the computer system,' he said.

'It's about time-saving for doctors but also about information - one of the biggest factors in treating patients is having reliable information.