Video-link between penrith and alston community hospitals

Rory will switch on the new video-link between Penrith and Alston community hospitals this Friday at Penrith Hospital. These state-of-the-art video-conferencing facilities will transform the way in which local patients obtain diagnoses and interact with their GP.

Rory will join Dr Chris Hallewell, Medical Director for Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (responsible for all community hospitals in Cumbria) Dr Craig Melrose, Medical Director for Cumbria Health on Call (CHOC), and members of Alston’s Cybermoor, who have been instrumental delivering the project. Representatives from Cybermoor and CHOC will demonstrate how the video link works with a video diagnosis between CHOC and Alston Hospital.

Rory said: “This video-link is the beginning of a revolution. It’s a brilliant example of why superfast broadband is so important to our rural communities. The video link will drastically reduce the time that patients and doctors spend travelling, giving patients and their families a much better quality of life and helping doctors to cut costs and improve care at the same time. I’m really excited to be involved but this wouldn’t have happened without Daniel Herry of Alston Healthcare and I would like to pay a special tribute to him.”

Meanwhile, Virgin Media Business announced that fifteen stroke specialist doctors across the North West will begin using video conferencing technology to assess out-of-hours patients directly from their homes. In addition to huge patient benefits, the project is expected to save the NHS over £8 million a year.

Rory said: “Over 4,000 people suffer a stroke in Cumbria and Lancashire each year. The Virgin Media Business network will give stroke victims even quicker access to the very best specialists at all times of day and night. Superfast broadband is revolutionising the delivery of healthcare and I’m really keen to see Cumbria make the most of these technologies.”

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