For eight-year-old Blake, telehealth means access to specialist medical care without the stress and disruption of constant travel.
It’s proving vital in helping him and his family get the treatment he needs while staying close to home in Collinsville, about three hours from Mackay.
Blake has faced medical challenges since he was a baby. He lives with a complex congenital condition causing significant developmental delay, epilepsy, visual impairment, limited mobility and severe sensory sensitivities. Blake also has autism and requires constant one-to-one care and assistance with daily activities.
His care involves specialists and allied health professionals across Brisbane, Townsville, Mackay and his local community, with Mackay Base Hospital paediatrician Dr Gopakumar Hariharan (Dr Gopan) helping coordinate his ongoing medical needs.
For his mum, Julia, managing Blake’s care has always been part of family life. However, living in Collinsville adds another layer of complexity, with specialist appointments often involving time away from work and careful planning around the needs of the whole family.
Telehealth has helped ease that burden, allowing Blake to access specialist consultations from the comfort of home and enabling local clinicians to collaborate with specialist teams when urgent medical concerns arise.
“When Blake was a baby, we were travelling regularly to access allied health services across the Whitsundays and going to Mackay every month or so, sometimes more often depending on what was happening,” Julia said.
“Now we might only need to go to Mackay or Townsville a handful of times a year.”
Blake’s experience demonstrates how telehealth can overcome geographical barriers, strengthen connections between healthcare teams and support coordinated care closer to home.
For his family, it means greater flexibility and more opportunities to focus on what matters most: helping Blake stay safe, supported and connected to his community.
Blake’s medical needs can change quickly. His epilepsy requires regular specialist reviews, medication adjustments and monitoring to help keep him safe at home and school. At other times, the family may be managing infections, challenging behaviours or medication changes requiring advice from different members of his care team.
When Blake presented to Collinsville Hospital with acute concerns, including seizures, telehealth enabled Dr Gopan, in Mackay, to collaborate with local clinicians and specialist teams to support timely treatment and reduce the need for further unnecessary transfers.
Julia said telehealth had become particularly valuable as Blake grew older and his sensory sensitivities and anxiety made unfamiliar environments increasingly distressing.
“Telehealth saves me a lot of time. I can arrange appointments on my lunchbreak or on my shorter days, rather than taking two days out to travel,” she said.
“For Blake, he can stay in a familiar environment and reduce the stress for everyone.”
The family has been using telehealth for about seven years. Initially, appointments were arranged through the local hospital but advances in technology now mean Julia can often join a consultation simply by clicking a link sent to her phone or computer.
“Sometimes appointments are unplanned after we present to the local hospital with an emergency. When Blake has a particular issue that needs specialist advice, Dr Gopan or his team will be contacted and it’s not usually long before someone is in front of us on the big screen,” she said.
Telehealth has connected Blake with paediatricians, neurologists, genetics specialists and allied health professionals, including occupational therapists, speech pathologists, behaviour practitioners and physiotherapists.
For Julia, travelling for appointments can mean taking time off work, arranging care for siblings and pulling children out of school.
Telehealth provides greater flexibility, helping the family prioritise Blake’s needs without overwhelming him with appointments and demands.
“There are stages where we need to step back and reduce all demands on Blake. Telehealth helps us do that,” she said.
Julia encouraged other families to ask whether telehealth is an option rather than assuming every specialist appointment requires travel.
“Telehealth is great, and I think I would use it even if I lived in a city,” she said.
“For those with a smartphone, it can be as easy as receiving a text message with a link to click on, and you’re in the waiting room.”