Thanks to the generosity of the Good Friday Appeal, the hospital is expanding its virtual care offering so more children and families can access expert treatment sooner and closer to home.

Over recent years, Victorian health services have transformed how care is delivered by embedding digital health technologies. Virtual care enables patients to receive efficient, high-quality care while reducing travel, wait times and disruptions to daily life. As demand for specialist services grows and care becomes increasingly complex, strengthening digital health capability is essential to ensuring timely access for families across the state.

This investment will accelerate the hospital’s virtual care transformation, helping more patients benefit from remote consultations, digital tools and online support. Virtual specialist care enables rapid assessment, treatment and follow-up, allowing children to receive expert paediatric care in their communities without distance becoming a barrier.

Over the next 18 months, the hospital will work toward doubling virtual specialist appointments. This expansion will help families access care faster and more conveniently, while supporting continuity of treatment and follow-up.

The initiative also includes optimising the My RCH Portal, a patient website and mobile app that places families at the centre of care. Through the portal, parents and guardians can access medical records, manage appointments, view test results, request prescriptions and communicate with care teams. Enhancing these digital tools will allow families to connect with their healthcare providers and manage care more easily.

Strengthening virtual care also supports collaboration with regional and remote health services, enabling expert consultation, education and workforce development across the state. The hospital will continue to scope and design new virtual care models in partnership with patients, families and industry, ensuring future services are safe, effective and responsive to real-world needs.

Beyond immediate improvements, this initiative represents a long-term investment in sustainable, scalable healthcare. By guiding families before, during and after each episode of care, virtual services will help ensure children receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time – improving access while maintaining strong clinical governance and continuity of care.