Page 2

The Ramsay Way Spring 2013

Over the last year Ramsay Health Care has continued to grow and improve in all areas. Personally, I am particularly proud of our achievements in patient care and staff safety with consistent improvements being recorded in both areas. In the last financial year, Ramsay’s Australian facilities admitted over 850,000 patients and rated well within national benchmarks across all 13 clinical indicators including infection rates, patient falls, medication safety and unplanned readmissions. In addition to publishing our results in these areas on our Ramsay internet site for the group as a whole, we now publish all hospital level patient quality and safety data on New treatment for hypertension takes the ‘pressure down’ Cardiology team at Peninsula Private 2 TRW SPRING 2013 CEO’s message our hospital internet sites. This provides clear open and public disclosure of our performance to all our patients and the wider community. It is also pleasing to see that 35 Ramsay hospitals have successfully completed the new National Standards - which represents a very high proportion of private hospitals that have completed these standards since they were introduced at the start of this year. Three of these hospitals which have completed the Standards, achieved a perfect score of 10/10 with no recommendations. Congratulations to Pindara, Lake Macquarie and Berkeley Vale Private Hospitals for this excellent result. In terms of staff safety, Ramsay’s safety philosophy to send our employees home at the end of every shift as fit and healthy as they were at the start of their shift, is extremely high on my agenda. Across the world we employ over 30,000 staff and it is critical that we ensure their well-being. To this end, I am very pleased that year on year we are continuing to see a reduction in the number of injuries to employees right across the Company and congratulations to the National Safety Team for their focus on this important area. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the quality and safety managers, who work tirelessly in our hospitals right across the company, for these excellent results and for your focus on ensuring patient and staff safety remains a high priority in Ramsay facilities. Chris Rex Heart specialists at Peninsula Private Hospital in Frankston are introducing a new, minimally invasive procedure, for people living with resistant hypertension (high blood pressure), a potentially life-threatening condition which currently affects thousands of Australians. Known as renal denervation (RDN), Australian physicians have pioneered the procedure and are amongst world leaders in adopting this cutting-edge technology. The new procedure being undertaken at Peninsula Private, uses the Medtronic Symplicity™ renal denervation system and promises exciting opportunities for patients whose blood pressure remains uncontrolled as they face increased risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure and chronic kidney disease. In a procedure, similar to an angioplasty, the physician inserts the small, flexible Symplicity™ catheter into the femoral artery in the upper thigh and threads it into the renal artery. The cardiologists leading the way at Peninsula on the new treatment include Drs Robert Lew, Greg Szto and Rodney Teperman. More than 6 million Australians have hypertension. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a common disorder where blood pressure remains abnormally elevated for a sustained period of time. Although there are often no symptoms, it is the number one risk factor for premature death worldwide and accounts for more than half of all cardiovascular problems managed in primary care. There has been no significant improvement in community control of hypertension since 2005. Resistant hypertension is defined as high blood pressure despite treatment with three or more antihypertensive medications. Approximately 62 per cent of cerebrovascular and 49 per cent of ischemic heart disease cases are attributed to poor blood pressure control. New Day Surgery welcomed at Shepparton The shift from a small room with six trolley beds and no discharge area to a spacious new building has made a world of difference for the staff and patients of Shepparton Private Hospital. After 15 years of planning, the hospital’s Day Procedure Unit was finally completed at the end of June and is now fully operational. It is located at the rear of the hospital and includes a 12-bed procedure room and a 10-chair departure lounge. Chief Executive Officer Sheryl Keir said the response to the unit had been overwhelmingly positive. “It’s better for the staff and the patients because we now have private consulting rooms so people can talk in a closed space,” Ms Keir said. “Staff can also make phone calls without everybody hearing.” Ms Keir said the most significant improvement was the hospital was able to take more admissions. “Prior to the DPU, patients who underwent day surgery used to occupy inpatient beds,” Ms Keir said. “Now we have freed up those beds for other patients.” Ms Keir said the completed unit did not signal the end of redevelopment at the hospital. “Next, we’re looking at the major operating theatre refurbishment and additional private rooms,” she said. Story courtesy Shepparton News. Ramsay’s Danny Sims (left) & Sheryl Keir (right at the official opening of the new Day Procedure Unit by Dr Sharman Stone- Federal Member for Murray (middle)


The Ramsay Way Spring 2013
To see the actual publication please follow the link above