Bringing specialist care closer to home: Telehealth transforms overnight urgent care in Wānaka.

at a glance

Challenge

Central Otago Health Services needed a way to provide urgent overnight care locally in Wānaka, giving patients access to care closer to home while ensuring nurses working alone had access to clinical support if needed.

Solution

Central Otago Health Services established the Wānaka Overnight Acute Care Clinic, with virtual care technology from Spark Health and Visionflex enabling real-time consultations between on-site nurses and doctors at Dunstan Hospital.

Results

The solution improved access to urgent care within the Wānaka community and enabled faster specialist-supported treatment. Now 80% of patients are able to be managed locally, without requiring an overnight ambulance transfer to hospital.

A town in need of specialist care

Wānaka is a rapidly growing rural town in the lower South Island with approximately 18,000 residents and, until recently, no overnight urgent medical care clinic.

Prior to the establishment of the new Wānaka Acute Overnight Care Clinic, patients requiring urgent medical care between the hours of 11pm and 8:30am were supported by on-call GPs.

However, as callouts increased, this model became increasingly unsustainable, with overnight demands affecting the GP’s ability to work safely the following day.

“Historically, the town had on-call overnight GP care, but as the town grew, that became unsustainable.”

– Dr Jonathon Wills, Co-Clinical Specialist Lead, Dunstan Hospital

Communication between on-call GPs in Wānaka and doctors in Dunstan relied mainly on phone calls and limited video conferencing.

This often meant doctors did not have enough clinical visibility to confidently assess patients remotely. As a result, patients were frequently transported by ambulance to Dunstan Hospital in Central Otago, more than an hour’s drive away.

These transfers were not only inconvenient for patients, taking them further from their home and community, but they also placed additional pressure on the limited ambulance and hospital resources available. Each transfer would remove an ambulance from the local community for more than two hours, reducing local availability for other emergencies.

On average, three to four patients per week were being transferred to Dunstan Hospital unnecessarily due to the lack of overnight specialist care available locally.

Improving access to care for the Wānaka community

Central Otago Health Services recognised that there was no need to have both a doctor and nurse physically based at the overnight clinic. However, there did need to be a safe and sustainable model that supported nurses working independently overnight, with specialist clinical input available when required.

To support the growing demand for 24-hour acute medical care for the rural Wānaka community, telehealth was identified as a practical solution that could bring specialist oversight into the region without requiring a doctor on site overnight.

Central Otago Health Services partnered with Spark Health and Visionflex to deliver the virtual care technology required to make this possible. At its centre is the Visionflex All-in-One Virtual Care Cart, a purpose-built virtual care unit that connects on-site nurses in Wānaka directly with doctors at Dunstan Hospital in Clyde.

How it all works

When a patient presents overnight, the on-site Clinical Nurse Specialist conducts an initial assessment and, where clinically appropriate, initiates a live video consultation with the on-call doctor at Dunstan.

The cart provides integrated diagnostic tools, including a high-definition general examination camera and clinical peripherals.

These allow the remote doctor to visually assess the patient, review vital signs, and evaluate clinical information in real time, much like an in-person consultation.

This shared view of the patient gives both clinicians the information they need to collaborate confidently on a care plan. The doctor can assess treatment decisions, support the nurse’s diagnostic reasoning, and determine whether a hospital transfer is genuinely necessary, all without either party losing valuable time to travel.

The result is a model where specialist oversight is available when needed, patients receive faster and more informed care locally, and clinical decisions are made with full visibility rather than over a phone call alone.

Proven results for patients, nurses and the wider health system

What started as a pilot of the technology provided by Spark Health and Visionflex has now been successfully implemented as part of the ongoing Wānaka Overnight Acute Care Service.

Initially measured by its ability to safely support overnight patient assessments in Wānaka and reduce unnecessary hospital transfers, the broader benefits of the Visionflex Virtual Care Cart have proven extensive.

Doctors can now monitor and diagnose patients remotely with greater visibility, allowing more patients to remain under local care, while still receiving specialist-supported assessment and treatment.

“Being able to review the patient in Wānaka without that hour travel time does allow us to initiate some treatment a lot sooner, up to 60-90 minutes prior to if they were coming down to see us.”

– Dr Jonathon Wills, Co-Clinical Specialist Lead, Dunstan Hospital

The additional layer of clinical support has also strengthened decision-making and helped nurses feel confident in delivering the appropriate care plan for each patient.

As a result, patients in rural Wānaka now have improved access to urgent overnight care with high-quality, specialist-supported decision-making available in their local community.

3 key benefits of the Visionflex virtual care platform

1. Better patient experiences

Patients benefit from receiving care closer to home, avoiding long travel times and the disruption associated with overnight hospital transfers. This contributes to a more convenient and patient-centred healthcare experience.

2. Stronger clinical support for rural nurses

The Visionflex virtual care solution gives nurses working overnight access to direct clinical collaboration with doctors when required. Doctors can visually assess patients, review clinical information, and support decision-making in real time, helping nurses feel more confident managing acute presentations overnight.

3. Better use of ambulance and hospital resources

The Visionflex cart has reduced overnight ambulance journeys. Now 80% of patients presenting to Wānaka Overnight Acute Care are able to be managed locally without an overnight ambulance transfer to hospital.

By reducing avoidable transfers, the service has also helped preserve ambulance availability for emergencies while reducing unnecessary pressure on hospital resources.

Better patient outcomes for a rural community

“For the patient, they can be seen sooner and closer to home and be seen by a specialist rural doctor and a clinical nurse specialist. Overall, the Visionflex All-in-One Care Cart enables us to provide better patient outcomes for our rural community.”

– Joanna Spence, Clinical Nurse Specialist.

Get in touch

Could a digital health solution help you improve access to care in your community?

If you’re facing a similar challenge, get in contact and one of our team will be happy to discuss how virtual care technology could support your healthcare service.

In Australia? Email: sales@visionflex.com or submit our contact form today

In New Zealand? Email Spark Health: hello@sparkhealth.nz