Born, raised and trained in rural NSW, Chris started her Critical Care career in 1987 in Sydney. Following a short stint as a student midwife, she moved to Saudi Arabia in 1990 and specialised in burns.

She joined the CRGH Burns Unit team mid 90’s. After a second stint in Saudi Arabia, experience working on the Bank of a District Hospital and Haematology/Oncology ward at CRGH, she rejoined the burns team. She obtained her BScN and spent the next 20 years as part of this team, the last 17 years as the Nursing Unit Manager. She also gained after hours experience as Clinical Nurse Consultant and Director of Nursing (ADON).

She was a member of the Australia New Zealand Burns Association (ANZBA) and taught on Burns Courses across Australia, the Asia Pacific, Bangladesh and Nepal. She assisted in review of course content, was part of various comittees and presented at conferences.The team was a Pride of NSW Award finalist and she was a finalist as a NSW Nursing Leader, a SLHD employee of the year, a Paul Harris Fellow recipient and received a scholarship to work in a Dublin BU during this time.

In 2021, she joined NHS Lothian and currently works as part of the Community Vaccination Team.

Presentation at The Society of Tissue Viability 2022 Conference

Home and away: providing assessment, intervention and consultation to burns patients in NSW, Australia, using telehealth

Objectives

After attending this session, persons will:

• Consider using telehealth to enhance healthcare delivery

• Gain knowledge on managing burns care via telehealth – the NSW experience

• Develop an understanding of the capability and challenges of utilising telehealth in this setting

Abstract

New South Wales is the largest state in Australia by population and covers an area of 800,642 square kilometers. NSW is home to more than 8 million people with an annual population growth rate of over 106,000. A third of the population was born overseas and more than 275 languages are spoken.

The NSW State-wide Burn Injury Service (SBIS) is comprised of 3 campuses,,providing burns care and education to the people of NSW. The Concord Hospital Burns Service includes a 10 bedded inpatient ward, dedicated operating theatre and Skin Lab, an Ambulatory Care Clinic and Telehealth Service. The catchment area covers 2/3 of the poulation of NSW, as well as the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and supports colleagues across 14 Local Health Districts.

Over 40% of the BU admissions come from rural and remote parts of the state requiring telehealth follow up post discharge and many patients are entirely managed via telehealth. This presentation will focus on current burns patient management and future opportunities