The Exploitation of Switch Lightpaths for e-Science Applications (ESLEA) project is evaluating the feasibility of using switched lightpath networks to support various e-Science applications, with this feasibility being being investigated through a number of case studies. In this paper we report on progress to date with respect to determining how such networks might be utilised to support distributed healthcare applications. In particular, we consider the context of the work undertaken, introduce our use cases, and discuss some of the challenges faced.