NHS hospitals across Wales are to be given a share of
almost £33m to help them adopttelemedicine technology.
New diagnostic equipment such as MRI scanners, x-rays and
endoscopy machines will be bought with the money, along with
providing teleconferencing equipment to link more hospitals across
Wales to enable patients to benefit from telemedicine.
The money will also be used to enable Trusts to carry out minor
building alterations and introduce further measures to reduce
energy consumption.
Assembly health minister Edwina Hart said, "The £33m will help
begin to achieve the aims of our Delivering Emergency Care
Strategy, by increasing the opportunities for
patients to be diagnosed through the use of telemedicine.
"A patient will be able to present symptoms in one hospital to
be diagnosed by a senior consultant in another hospital, through
the use of technology to share test results, scans and face-to-face
consultation."
The increasing use of telemedicine will reduce the need for
patients to travel, said Hart.
