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The Ramsay Way - Autumn 2014

New Sunshine Coast hospital helps to cut surgery waiting times PATIENTS WAITING FOR URGENT ELECTIVE SURGERY ON THE SUNSHINE COAST ARE BEING TREATED SOONER AS THE PUBLIC REFERRAL PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NEW PRIVATE HOSPITAL GAINS MOMENTUM. Figures released by the Queensland Government recently show the number of patients waiting for and undergoing urgent and semi-urgent surgeries in December. Including non-surgical procedures, 369 public cases were treated at Ramsay’s new private hospital at Kawana which is treating public patients for five years under an agreement with Queensland Health. Speaking to the local media after the release of these figures, Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service director of surgery, Dr Ratna Aseervatham said he expected the number of public patients undergoing surgery at the private hospital to increase in the coming months, as they refined the referral process. “The ability to send patients to the Sunshine Coast University Private Hospital increases the total capacity of the Health Service, therefore enabling us to better utilise all existing resources,” he told the Sunshine Coast Daily newspaper. The service is also referring general medicine and some acute surgery to the hospital. Hospital CEO Oli Steele said the arrangement with Queensland Health was working extremely well and the private business at the hospital was also growing. The Ramsay Way - 2014 | 01 13 Couple receive cochlear implant on same day at Westmead FOR TIM & NATALIE NOBES TO HEAR THE WORDS “I LOVE YOU” FOR THE FIRST TIME, BECAME A REALITY AFTER 21 YEARS OF MARRIAGE IN FEBRUARY 2014. A/Prof Melville DaCruz, ENT Surgeon at Westmead Private Hospital performed cochlear implant surgery on the couple, the first time he had undertaken the operation on a married couple on the same day. For Tim, 44 who was born prematurely and is profoundly deaf and Natalie, 44 who is profoundly deaf from Rubella, the decision to have the implants has been a long time coming. Some 5 years ago Natalie’s mother gave them some information on cochlear implants, but it wasn’t until recently when they saw the successes from friends and the advancement in technology they decided to undertake the procedure together. With the recent release of the MED-EL RONDO® system, which combines the traditional audio processor components such as the coil, control unit and battery pack into one single unit, and making it the world’s first single-unit processor for cochlear implants, the Nobes thought it was time for action. The RONDO® is a breakthrough in hearing implant technology being a compact all-in-one unit and can therefore be worn discretely under the hair. For Tim and Natalie’s three children Laura (18), Ryan (17) and Emily (12) it meant that the dinner time conversation would be whole lot better when the implants were switched on approximately 3-4 weeks after the implant surgery. Westmead Private CEO Tim Daniel said this story had touched the heart strings of all involved at the hospital. “When this story aired on Channel 7’s Sunday Night recently I am sure there wasn’t a dry eye in any household watching on. We are so very happy for this lovely couple and their family and were just glad to play a small part.” Local care for local needs in Orange DUDLEY PRIVATE HOSPITAL CAN NOW OFFER BLADDER CANCER PATIENTS HIGH-TECH CARE CLOSE TO HOME, THANKS TO THE HOSPITAL’S UROLOGY TEAM OFFERING A NEW TREATMENT AT THE HOSPITAL. Urologist Dr Clair Whelan says that the new Intravesical Therapy, provides the “gold standard” of care for early-stage bladder cancer patients – and that Dudley Private last month performed the procedure on its first patient. Previously patients from the region have had to travel to Sydney for the treatment which has not been available in Orange either at the public or private hospital. “This treatment regime means that cancer-fighting drugs (chemotherapy or immunotherapy drugs) are injected directly into the bladder through a catheter, affecting only the cells of the bladder but not cells elsewhere,” says Dr Whelan. “It means we can target cancers better and earlier and hopefully avoid the tumour progressing and the side effects of systemic chemotherapy down track - such as hair loss and fatigue. “The treatment also significantly reduces the chance of recurrence by delivering chemotherapy at the time the tumour is identified and removed – rather than watching and waiting to see if and how fast the cancer progresses.” For semi-retired Bathurst special educator Pamela Jacobs, the first patient to receive the procedure at Dudley Private, the treatment provided peace of mind. “The staff at the hospital were fantastic; the procedure was painless; I went home the same day and didn’t have to travel to the city for care.” Trevor Matheson, CEO of the Hospital said that Dudley was always supportive of new services that provide “local care for local needs” - and reduce the burden of patients having to travel away for treatment. “Patients and their families can now be assured that they are receiving world’s best practice in management of their bladder cancers.” Urologist Dr Clair Whelan.


The Ramsay Way - Autumn 2014
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