On 18 December, Western Cape Health and Wellness MEC Dr Nomafrench Mbombo introduced ‘Georgie’ the robot at the George Hospital’s ICU.
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Georgie allows specialists in the Groote Schuur Hospital to interact with clinicians and patients in George in real-time without having to be in the facility physically.
‘With it already costing the Department around R200 000 to fly a patient via Air Medical Services from George to Cape Town, this pilot project is not only proving to be cost-effective but is also allowing greater knowledge transfer between our healthcare professionals,’ says Mbombo.
‘While the impact of this pilot is still to be fully evaluated, it is laying the groundwork for future innovations that exist in the telemedicine sector.’
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Georgie forms part of the TeleICU pilot project that is being conducted between George Regional and Groote Schuur Hospitals for their critical care services.
1/ In the Western Cape, we are using digital health technology to allow our services to be more accessible and equitable.
I introduce you to “Georgie”, our robot in George Hospital’s ICU which allows our specialists in Groote Schuur to interact with clinicians and patients… pic.twitter.com/njaFe1NvMh
— WC Govt Health and Wellness MEC Dr. French Mbombo (@WCHealthMEC) December 18, 2023
As per the Western Cape Government (WCG), critical care outside the metro can be limited and often expensive, resulting in the current referral systems that require specialised services in tertiary health care facilities.
George Regional is the only facility in its region that is capacitated with an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). ‘This means it caters for a large population yet still must rely either on specialists travelling to George or transferring critically ill patients to Cape Town for these life-saving consultations to take place.’
Georgie, a double robotic device, allows for real-time critical care expertise access, improved decision-making, and knowledge transfer with overall improved patient outcomes. The device does not require any subscriptions or additional IT infrastructure.
Due to this, a specialist at Groote Schuur can routinely assist critical care services in George Regional via Georgie, and allow scarce resources to be allocated elsewhere.
Dr Ivan Joubert, the head of the division of Critical Care Medicine at Groote Schuur Hospital, joined the unveiling of Georgie via the robotic device. ‘Telemedicine has proven to be an opportunity [for] not only improving patient care but also in building team relationships across facilities.
‘There are faceless names that you’ve spoken to often over the phone who are now as much a part of the critical care team as the staff here at home.
‘Unique to our project is the fact that we’re using this as a peer-to-peer intervention, rather than a healthcare provider-to-patient approach traditionally used in telemedicine processes.’
Mbombo says it is more important than ever to find new ways to improve the quality of healthcare while cutting costs, considering the current constrained fiscal environment.
‘Even though this device is currently focused on critical care services, it possesses the immense potential of being expanded to other disciplines. Innovations such as these in the telemedicine area could make our healthcare services not only more accessible but importantly more equitable.
‘I look forward to seeing how this pilot project brings the best possible care to patients in the Garden Route.’
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Picture: Natanael Melchor / Unsplash