Telemedicine centre to help save lives

A new telemedicine centre in Cork University Hospital (CUH) will help save lives and offer a better level of care to people in accident situations, especially at sea.

The benefits of telemedicine, through which consultants and doctors get involved in decision-making in emergencies far from hospitals, were highlighted at an Emergency Medical Services conference yesterday.

For instance, if a fisherman is injured in a trawler accident, contact can be made through the Coast Guard with special phones at CUH and additional specialist advice can be availed of.