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Australia: NSW ambulances race online

The NSW government is trailing two projects which will electronically link ambulance officers with hospitals and enable people to request emergency services over the Internet.
Written by Megan McAuliffe, Contributor
The NSW government is trailing two projects which will electronically link ambulance officers with hospitals and enable people to request emergency services over the Internet.

AUSTRALIA (ZDNet Australia) - The first trial will allow ambulance officers to enter critical information on patients in the field through a hand-held electronic data entry device, which will then transmit details directly to hospitals.

"The AU$450,000 project will see ambulance advertisement

officers at the scene of emergencies sending information about patients directly to hospitals electronically, rather than filling out paper case sheets," Minister for Information Technology Kim Yeadon said.

The second project will allow the public to use the Internet to lodge a request for help from the State Emergency Services.

According to Yeadon, "it will be an alternative to phoning in requests for assistance and help improve responses by emergency services."

The state government is trailing both projects in conjunction with 25 new online services funded under grants worth AU$5 million.

Both projects will be completed by the end of the year, Yeadon said.

The projects were announced at the Consumer Electronics Show Australasi, held in Sydney this week.

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