Telehealth link connects kids treatment in Toronto and Trinidad.

Toronto -- The telehealth link between the Hospital for Sick Children and the University of the West Indies was launched. It will use videoconferencing technology to conduct real-time patient consultations between the two centres. Health-care paediatric professionals from Mount Hope Hospital in Trinidad will use the UWI telehealth site to access specialists at the Toronto hospital for patient consultations, education and research in order to strengthen paediatric health-care services in Trinidad and Tobago.

The telehealth project is a joint collaboration between Sick Kids, the Herbie Fund, the University of the West Indies, Mount Hope Hospital, Atlantic LNG Company, and the Ministry of Health, Government of Trinidad and Tobago.

Ongoing funding will be provided by the Mount Hope Hospital, and the Herbie Fund has provided funding to purchase telehealth equipment for the site in Trinidad. Atlantic for Children, an Atlantic LNG-Sponsored program in Trinidad, is providing operational funding for three years.

The Hospital for Sick Children has a long-standing relationship with Trinidad and Tobago's health-care sector. Paediatric fellows and residents from the region have trained at the Toronto hospital paediatric care program.

The Herbie Fund supports specialized care for children from Trinidad and has assisted over 50 children from the island to receive specialized surgical treatment in areas of cardiology, neurosurgery, plastic surgery and urology. It was established in 1979, assists children from around the world to come to the Hospital for Sick Children to receive medical treatment that is not available in their home country.

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