Any parent will know the stress of having an unwell child. In regions like the Western Plains this can be exacerbated by the distance to and availability of health professionals.

The statewide rollout of the free virtualKIDS Urgent Care Service aims to provide peace of mind to worried caregivers.

virtualKIDS uses video conferencing technology to connect families with a clinical nurse to determine the best care pathway based on each child’s needs.

The aim of the program is to help families avoid unnecessary trips to the emergency department which in turn puts pressure on hospitals and means truly urgent cases are delayed in seeing a doctor.

 All you need to access the service is a medicare card.

The successful virtualKIDS pilot began in August 2021 during the height of the pandemic and saw more than 20,000 COVID-positive children receive specialist care in the comfort of their own home.

At the time of lockdowns, this made perfect sense but until now, the service was only for families within three local health districts that were home to specialist paediatric hospitals – South Eastern Sydney, Western Sydney and Hunter New England Local Health Districts. Of course, this was of little use to regional families.

So, while the service continues to be delivered by the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network (SCHN) and Hunter New England Local Health District (HNELHD) in partnership with healthdirect, the statewide expansion if expected to support at least 500 children and their families each month.

Parents and children calling healthdirect are assessed and, if appropriate, connected to the virtualKIDS service, where a clinical nurse consultant will review the child’s symptoms and medical history to determine the best course of action.

virtualKIDS Urgent Care Service is for children up to 16 with non-life-threatening health concerns.

Dr Joanne Ging, Director of Clinical Operations at Sydney Children Hospitals Network said the service has meant many children whose caregivers accessed the service ended up receiving the care they needed without requiring an emergency department visit.

"“The service has been well received by patients and their families, with more than two thirds of children accessing the service receiving the care they needed without requiring an emergency department visit," Dr Ging said.

“The service commenced as a pilot in December 2022 and has since benefited almost 3,700 patients, 85 per cent of whom are under five years of age, with eight per cent identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.”

Premier Chris Minns chipped in with his opinion and urged parents to take advantage of the new service.

“This program is free and can help you and your child avoid a stressful trip to an emergency department," Mr Minns said. “It allows families to be seen faster while reducing pressure on already stretched emergency departments and our frontline healthcare workers.

“If you’re thinking about taking your child to emergency as a precaution, and it’s not life-threatening, just call healthdirect first and ask for a referral to virtualKIDS.”

Of course there are times when parents and carers do need to call Triple Zero (000) or go to a hospital emergency instead of calling healthdirect.

Examples of life-threatening emergencies include sudden collapse, chest pressure or pain lasting more than 10 minutes, breathing difficulties, uncontrollable bleeding, overdose and severe mental health concerns.

Families from the Western Plains can access virtualKIDS via referral from healthdirect on 1800 022 222.