Local car club the Cudgegong Cruisers are always keen to get behind the wheel for enjoyment, but their recent contribution to the Mudgee Hospital is about keeping patients from needing to make arduous road journeys.
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The visualisation equipment they've donated means patients - some among the most vulnerable in the local community - won't have to travel to Dubbo or Orange for procedures as simple as a wound review.
With an occasion as momentous as the town getting a new hospital, the Cruisers wanted to put something towards it that will benefit the community and decided on the camera.
What they've donated is a Visionflex GEIS - General Examination Imaging System - that captures medical-grade quality images and high-definition video for examinations, so healthcare professionals can connect remotely with a patient regardless of where they are located.
Prior to its implementation, patients were often sent to the hospital emergency department to use its critical care camera for detailed wound examinations.
However, if the hospital is busy they could require transportation over 120 kilometres away to Dubbo Base Hospital.
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Cudgegong Cruisers treasurer, John Stuart - who is also a member of Mudgee's Health Council - said that the committee believed the equipment would make a difference for residents.
"We raised the money through our general fundraising," he said.
"We have a strong sense of community and we decided that we wanted to help the new hospital and buy them the camera."
The club have also organised for their annual Can Cruise fundraising event to go ahead on November 14.
Health Service manager, Caren Harrison, said, "we have a very generous community" and "for a small, local town, it's nice for people to be involved in the local hospital".
And added that not only is not ideal to be moving patients around excessively at the best of times, but the pandemic and travel precautions are also examples of where this equipment proves its worth.
"Importantly, this camera will have a massive impact on health outcomes for our patients," she said.
"It is difficult on the patients to physically move them for a wound review. If we can keep people closer to home, that's a fantastic win for them.
"Sometimes, that would involve a three-and-a-half-hour trip to Sydney, but during COVID-19 lockdown, we couldn't travel out of area, or people didn't want to travel to hotspots.
"I am a mother of three and I don't want to have to go to Sydney to see a paediatrician; so, using telehealth to access healthcare has made a really big difference."
Another GEIS Camera is on order for the Gulgong Multi-Purpose Service.
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