Informative videos for patients

Southland Hospital’s radiology department will soon be making videos on diagnostic procedures to further inform patients.

Funding for the video-making was confirmed yesterday when the department secured $9000 through winning a Southern District Health Board award.

The board had five awards in its Southern Innovation Challenge, and Southland Hospital’s radiology department was the only Southland winner.

It won the Community Priority Award for its entry on making informative videos on diagnostic procedures and posting them on the hospital’s website.

Charge nuclear medicine technologist Kirsten Worthington said her colleagues in the radiology department were ‘‘stoked’’ at winning the award.

Their entry suggested $9000 would meet costs of making 10 videos on the radiology department’s five sections – ultrasound, CT (computer tomography), MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), nuclear medicine and fluoroscopy (x-ray).

One of the radiology department’s senior staff made a presentation, including a video, to award judges which were executives of the board.

Worthington said some patients can worry and become anxious before and during appointments but if they viewed a video of what the procedure involved, it could help them.

Patients will continue to receive written information on procedures. Worthington thought the first video could be made in the first six months of 2019.

Afterwards, when appointment information was mailed to patients, it would also include a link to the hospital’s website for video-viewing.

Patients who don’t use the internet, would be welcome to visit the hospital to view videos on Ipads there, Worthington said.

‘‘We want our patients to be well informed before they arrive [for their appointment] . . . they can still ring to clarify anything.’’

A condition of the award is that the making of the videos must be done within 12 months. The radiology department will appoint a working group to oversee the project.

‘‘This is going to benefit a lot of people in the community and it’s going to be really good for our team building,’’ Worthington said.

Southland Hospital’s senior radiology staff display the certificates they received for a winning entry in the Southern District Health Board Awards in Invercargill yesterday, front row, Stephen Jenkins, Kirsten Worthington, Linda Irvine; middle row, Lynda McCutchenon; back row, Andrew Baird, Jill McConachie, Debbie Fahey. KAVINDA HERATH/STUFF