100% Locally Owned, Independent and Free

100% Locally Owned, Independent and Free

Telehealth expansion allows for cochlear implants to be adjusted remotely

Do you have a news tip? Click here to send to our news team.

Controversial ‘eyesore’ set to be demolished

A former bowls club that has become a point of contention among the community – and now subject of a court appeal – is More

Population boom could trigger boundary changes

Rapid growth is expected to prompt substantial boundary changes to at least one Sunshine Coast electorate. Caloundra is among a handful of seats in the More

Year-long program to monitor 135 dangerous dogs

Sunshine Coast Council has approved a year-long inspection program targeting the region’s regulated dogs, with officers to check compliance of more than 130 animals. The More

Airline prepares to welcome pets on Coast flights

A major airline is set to allow small pets in its cabins on some flights, including to the Sunshine Coast. Virgin Australia will become the More

Sami Muirhead: Finding love is no pie in the sky

Paris truly is the ‘City of Love’. I just came home after a rare solo sojourn to celebrate the end of my radio show More

‘Breathtaking views’: sub-penthouse offers rare beachfront perch

A renovated beachfront sub-penthouse with “outstanding” views has hit the market. Located on Mooloolaba’s sought-after Parkyn Parade, the property makes the most of its elevated More

Sunshine Coast Health teams are expanding telehealth services, now remotely fine-tuning implants for patients at their homes.

Bill Wiltshire said that before receiving his cochlear implant, his hearing problems had become so severe he couldn’t even effectively speak with his family on the phone.

“I got to a stage in my life where it was pretty lonely because of my hearing, I couldn’t converse with people very well,” he said.

Telehealth clinical nurse Amie O’Sullivan said cochlear implants had given the 94-year-old an opportunity to regain his quality of life.

“The first time I actually met Bill, we had to use a tablet screen with speech to text, because he couldn’t understand what we were saying verbally at the time,” she said.

However, the implants need regular checks and adjustments, and the ongoing service he needs operates from Brisbane.

Bill Wiltshire talks to a Brisbane-based clinician.

“He lives in a residential aged care facility so he would have to rely on someone else for transport – it’s a really big day out, and he does have certain health conditions that affect his travel as well,” Ms O’Sullivan said.

The telehealth service means he can now have his appointment with the audiologist from the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, all from the comfort of his home.

The audiologist can even remotely adjust the volume and settings on his implants.

“The clinician in Brisbane actually connects remotely to the laptop and we plug his cochlear implant into the laptop and they’re able to program it from Brisbane with us there,” Ms O’Sullivan said.

Mr Wiltshire said it took the stress out of his appointments.

“At 94, you don’t need stress,” he said.

“That blows me away, the fact that I can sit here and talk to (clinician) Barbara (Plath): she’s in Brisbane and we can sit here and exchange things.”

Want more free local news? Follow Sunshine Coast News on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Ms O’Sullivan said telehealth was continuing to expand to new specialties, to make appointments more accessible to those who have barriers, such as medical conditions, holding them back from travel.

“It’s great working together as a state to get people the care that they need to where they are, we’re such a big area in Queensland that telehealth enables us to offer people care that they may not otherwise be able to access,” she said.

Sunshine Coast Health facilitates telehealth appointments from people’s homes, as well as from Sunshine Coast University Hospital, Nambour General Hospital and Gympie Hospital.

If patients are interested in telehealth appointments, they should ask their clinician if it would be suitable for them at their next appointment.

Subscribe to SCN’s free daily news email

This field is hidden when viewing the form
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
[scn_go_back_button] Return Home
Share