Belfast strikes health links with Boston

02-01-2007

by Maxim Kelly

Belfast medics will soon be able to avail of healthcare information and support from Boston doctors thanks to a new telemedicine video link-up.

Northern Ireland's Health Minister Paul Goggins announced a STG1 million investment in telehealth and telemedicine initiatives across the province at a technology seminar organised by the Belfast Boston Connection networking group in December.

The main aim of the event was to build on existing relations between Boston's and Belfast's health and technology sectors, and explore areas of further co-operation between the two cities and their surrounding regions.

Minister Goggins said: "We live in remarkable times and we have technologies that have the potential to bring expertise closer to patients and allow us to target our resources more effectively so we can help more people live independent lives.

It is a tremendous advance when very ill patients with rare conditions can be seen and diagnosed by a key specialist half a world away. What a relief to those patients from not having to make sometimes long and difficult journeys to specialist centres."

The latest STG1 million investment is a small part of the health department's plans to allocate its STG2.3 billion budget for the 2006/07 financial year.

"We must continue to develop new ways of working to make services accessible to our entire population. The STG1 million I have announced will be used to stimulate new thinking about how technology can be used to further the reform and modernisation of acute and community services. Northern Ireland is not as far advanced as we need to be in the use of telecare, and we need to catch up. It makes sense for users, and it makes sense for the Health and Personal Social Services," said Minister Goggins.