Keeping a strong connection

Over the last few years, every Victorian has become accustomed to conducting many everyday tasks with the click of a button. Groceries have been purchased online rather than in store, social gatherings have been held over Zoom rather than in person, and more and more people have embraced telehealth appointments rather than heading into their doctor’s office. However, for many people in Victoria’s rural communities, accessing medical care via telehealth isn’t simply a convenience – it’s an absolute necessity.

Barbara is a resident of Sebastopol, which lies on the fringe of Ballarat – Wadawurrung and Dja Dja Wurrung country. Despite being Victoria’s third largest city by population, Ballarat still lacks easy access to many of the specialist medical services that Melburnians are used to having on their doorstep. Having lived with type 2 diabetes for most of her life, Barbara is all too aware of this complicated reality. 

“I was [diagnosed with diabetes] in my 20s or 30s,” she says, presuming to have inherited the disease from her father. "And then, when I moved up to Ballarat, I found out that quite a few [people] on mum’s side of the family have got diabetes too.”

Until recently, 59-year-old Barbara had never seen a diabetes specialist, and instead would manage her condition on her own, with the help of a GP at Ballarat and District Aboriginal Co-Operative.

“They would just keep a close eye on [my condition]. They'd send me to a diabetic educator and they used to have once a month meetings and talk about what we can and can't do and that sort of thing. And they’d have specialists come in and have a chat.”

In the last few years however, Barbara found her condition was getting harder and harder to manage on her own, and admits that she was very close to giving up and “just letting everything take its course.” Thankfully, she was then made aware of the Flying Doctor Telehealth specialist service, which is 100% bulk billed.

“[My GP] wanted me to go to a specialist and of course they couldn't get a specialist at that particular time,” says Barbara. “And so they [told me about Flying Doctor Telehealth and] asked, am I fine sitting there looking at a screen? I said, ‘Yeah, okay. I'll have a go’.”

Now, after two sessions using Flying Doctor Telehealth, Barbara notes that finally having direct contact with an endocrinologist has been an “enormous” help for her.

“Having that computer link up is just amazing,” says Barbara. “I am able to share my information with [the specialist] at the same time [as the appointment]. It’s incredible.

“I've got Libre sensors on my arm and the app on my phone, so I could link my phone to her computer and she's now got all my information. It was so easy.”

By allowing people like Barbara to connect with an endocrinologist remotely and with the support of their GP or local health service, Flying Doctor Telehealth specialist service ensures that Victorians are no longer burdened with long and expensive journeys to reach their nearest specialist. Where once patients would need to take a day off work, drive hundreds of kilometres and perhaps pay for a night’s accommodation, they can now simply log on to a secure video link to receive first rate health care. Flying Doctor Telehealth therefore enables all Victorians to prioritise their health and wellbeing, no matter where they live.

Barbara has long been a supporter of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and is one of our very generous donors here in Victoria. However, like many of our supporters, she never thought she would need to use our services herself.

“I was surprised that this type of service was from the Flying Doctor,” says Barbara. “And to find out that you had a lot of other specialists [accessible through your telehealth service] was incredible. I was so intrigued.”