HOSPITALS Ramsay Sime Darby Healthcare College Awarded 6 Star Rating by the Ministry of Education Malaysia As a pioneer and leading institution for healthcare programs, Ramsay Sime Darby Healthcare College has been awarded the prestigious '6-Star Outstanding' rating by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in the Malaysian Quality Evaluation System for Private Colleges (MyQUEST) 2015. Shanaz Mawji, CEO of Ramsay Sime Darby Healthcare College receiving the award from YB Dato' Seri Idris Jusof, Minister of Higher Education Malaysia. Joondalup Health Campus leads the way in blood management Hospitals across Australia are adapting Joondalup Health Campus’ (JHC) Patient Blood Management (PBM) program to aid their compliance with the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care Standard 7. 12 The Ramsay Way 2016 | 01 Greenslopes Private announced as first clinical trial site for Melanoma study The Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation (GMRF) Clinical Trials Unit at Greenslopes Private Hospital was announced as the first clinical trial site for a study into melanoma treatment that is led by principal investigator, Dr Victoria Atkinson a Greenslopes Private oncologist. The Phase I study into melanoma treatment with lead compound IMP321 will evaluate safety as the primary endpoint, while antitumour activity and the immune response will be the secondary endpoints. Evidence has suggested that IMP321 can treat cancer by activating antigen-presenting cells (APC) to sustain an anticancer immune response, harnessing the patient’s own immune system to respond to tumour antigenic debris created by chemotherapy. This is a markedly different mechanism of action from checkpoint inhibitors and suggests that the two approaches can be used in combination, thus increasing the clinical and commercial potential of the activator. The multicentre, open-label study will see patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma dosed with IMP321 in combination with an approved inhibitor. According to principal investigator Dr Victoria Atkinson, it will be “the first human study combining IMP321 as an antigen-presenting cell activator together with a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor”. The Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation, based at Queensland’s Greenslopes Private Hospital, has been approved by the TGA to be the first of six sites to take part in the trial. Up to 24 patients will be recruited across the six sites, the first of which are expected to be dosed in the first quarter of 2016. Greenslopes Private oncologist and the site’s Principal Investigator of a new melanoma trial, Dr Victoria Atkinson. Last year JHC was selected as one of 12 hospitals Australia-wide to sit on the National Blood Management Collaborative, which was formed by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. They were also the only Western Australian hospital chosen across both the public and private sector and the only Ramsay site. JHC Collaborative Project Manager and PBM Clinical Nurse Consultant Angie Monk said the Collaborative was formed as a two-year project to collect data and increase the screening and management of patients with iron deficiency. “This is especially focused on patients who are undergoing surgery where large blood loss is anticipated – such as joint replacement surgery, hysterectomies and bowel resections,” she said. “PBM is a new standard of care in medicine and surgery to manage and conserve a patient’s own blood, reducing the reliance on donor blood supply,” she said. “It is already being shown to improve patient outcomes, reduce complications, improve recovery time and result in shorter length of stay in hospital.” JHC has developed a range of tools – including iron infusion forms, pre-operative assessment PBM forms and a PBM information pack for practice managers and doctors. Angie said these have been so well received by the other hospitals in the Collaborative that many are now adapting JHC’s tools for their own sites. JHC has the only established and funded PBM program in the private sector in Western Australia. “We have been at the forefront of PBM in the private sector in Western Australia since 2011, establishing a PBM program that has already significantly reduced the transfusion rate in orthopaedic surgery,” she said. “Undiagnosed preoperative anemia is common in elective surgical patients and is associated with increased complications and a greater likelihood of transfusion.” “Low iron levels commonly cause anaemia – this is why we need to check iron stores before surgery and replenish them so the patient is in optimum condition prior to surgery. Essentially we are helping the body be its own blood bank.” “We know that the best and safest blood for patients is their own circulating blood, which makes PBM preferable to blood transfusions.” JHC is also involved in the WA State PBM Collaborative and has been contributing data that shows a promising and significant trend in the reduction of red cells transfused to surgical patients who have undergone PBM screening. Topping 405 private colleges in the country, Ramsay Sime Darby Healthcare College is one of nine private education institution to be awarded 6 star rating in the College based rating category. This achievement is yet another honour added to the rich heritage of the college, which goes back 20 years. Shanaz Mawji, CEO, Ramsay Sime Darby Healthcare College said “This is a testament to our staff team's relentless efforts towards the highest quality of education. This is what makes our graduates sought-after by the industry in Malaysia, Singapore and Middle East. “We are humbled to have received this award from our Ministry of Education and I am truly proud of the staff team both at the college as well as the staff of Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care”, she added This year (2015) private institutions of higher learning were rated in three broad categories; college-based, cluster-based and international students readiness. MyQUEST is a rating system developed by the MOE, as an instrument to evaluate the overall academic quality of private colleges in Malaysia in terms of quality of students, programs, graduates, student feedback, resources and governance. The evaluation of private colleges is necessary in order to push the education level in Malaysia to a higher standard. It is also a direct contribution to achieve the Key Results Area (KRA) that could drive the quality of education sector in Malaysia. The evaluation provides Malaysian private colleges with the benchmark to improve on the quality of education. This, in turn, augurs well for the nation as it seeks to become an international education hub. MyQUEST also enables private colleges to use the system to perform self-assessment, creating greater awareness of the focus areas for self-improvement. A team of independent auditors appointed by the Ministry of Education made visits to the institutions over the last few months. The classification of the rating outcomes are: 6-Star (Outstanding), 5-Star (Excellent), 4-Star (Very Good), 3-Star (Good), 2-Star (Satisfactory) and 1-Star (Weak). Angie Monk. Ramsay Sime Darby Healthcare College Ramsay Sime Darby Healthcare College, formerly known as Sime Darby Nursing & Health Sciences College is one of the pioneer in healthcare education in Malaysia. The college is registered as a Higher Education Provider with the Ministry of Higher Education. The programs offered by the college are approved by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency, an accrediting body appointed by the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia. Ramsay Sime Darby Healthcare College has successfully embarked its way through 20 years of excellence in education. Students attend industrial placement and acquire hands on expertise in their very own reputable group of hospitals.
The Ramsay Way - Autumn 2016
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