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UNRIVALLED HEALTH CARE AND SERVICE DELIVERY
South West Healthcare’s strong leadership has led to the
development and implementation of a number of
history-making initiatives this year. Productive
collaborative partnerships have allowed us to continue to
address the very unique needs of the 100,000 people in
our catchment area.
South West Healthcare opened an
exciting initiative in February when
Warrnambool’s three paediatricians
moved into a purpose-designed building
on the grounds of our Warrnambool
campus to provide the region with a
paediatric one-stop specialist shop.
This innovative arrangement means families are now
reaping the benefits of 60 collective years of paediatric
experience because Dr Nick Thies, Dr Greg Pallas and
Dr Christian Fiedler are under the one roof.
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The unique development also means improved
continuity of care because of the accessibility to on-thespot
second opinions and shared-access to files; quicker
attendance when called to an emergency by virtue of the
fact the three specialists are based just 50 metres from
South West Healthcare’s Warrnambool Emergency
Department; and time for conference leave, ensuring
South West Victoria isn’t left behind when it comes to
latest medical knowledge and best-practice developments.
It ends professional and social isolation that comes with
being a sole practitioner; marks the beginning of new
research opportunities (Dr Fiedler’s developing new
policies for community health); increases opportunities to
incorporate video conferencing in the daily management
of their young patients (the building next door to them
houses the award-winning South West Alliance of Rural
Health team and its state-of-the-art IT equipment); and
has the ability to provide paediatric outreach services to
Camperdown, Portland, Hamilton and Horsham.
Dr Pallas says it’s exceptional to have three paediatricians
in the one rural location, let alone under the one roof,
because so many paediatricians don’t want to work in the
country. ‘That’s why we believe the hospital has been so
creative to have come up with such an innovative
solution,’ he explains.
South West Healthcare Medical Services Director, Dr Peter
O’Brien, is thrilled to have three paediatricians ‘of such
superb calibre’ practicing on-campus. He says the initiative
will provide specialist paediatric care for hundreds of rural
children.
This is not the first time Dr Pallas and Dr Thies have
been involved in such a groundbreaking development.
Having practiced as paediatricians for the past 18 and 30
years respectively, their commitment to looking at clever
ways to address unique rural needs has been proven many
times over. Nearly two decades ago, for example, the pair
established what today is still a thriving Paediatric
Diabetes Clinic at South West Healthcare, after realising
local children were having to travel to Melbourne for
diabetes education.
An amazing year’s work has been
consolidated and celebrated with
the signing off of a unique protocol
to improve the coordination of emergency
services for people experiencing mental
health issues who are in crisis.
Led by South West Healthcare’s Residential Services
Manager, Chris Healey, Warrnambool-based psychiatric
and emergency services organisations have shared their
knowledge and expertise to develop a rural-specific
coordinated response.
The 2005 Psychiatric and Emergency Services Protocol is a
collaborative plan between South West Healthcare, Rural
Ambulance Victoria and Victoria Police. It defines each
organisation’s roles and responsibilities and comes with
three objectives: to effectively manage service delivery to