August 2012 - Australian Private Hospitals Association

POLICY PATTER 

QUALITY IN 

FOCUS 

LEGAL MATTERS 

PHARMACY 

FOCUS 

THE OFFICIAL 

MAGAZINE OF THE 

AUSTRALIAN 

PRIVATE HOSPITALS 

ASSOCIATION 

August 2012 

TRAINING 

TOMORROW’S 

WORKFORCE 

The San is building a 

new education centre 

PAPERLESS 

LEARNING 

Creating a flexible 

learning environment 

SURGICAL 

GUIDANCE 

Greater accuracy 

in cataract surgery 

Private hospital 

infrastructure

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Australian Private Hospitals Association 

Platinum Associate Members 

Orion Health 

Gold Associate Members 

3M Healthcare 

Active Partners in Health Solutions 

Avant Insurance Limited 

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Major Sponsors: 

Australian Private Hospitals Association 

Chief Executive Offi cer: Michael Ro� 

Director, Policy & Research: Lucy Cheetham 

Director, Communications & 

Marketing & Editor: Lisa Ramshaw 

Communications Offi cer: Rebecca Angove 

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Steve Atkins Healthe Care Australia 

Henry Barclay Cura Day Hospitals Group 

Michael Coglin Healthscope 

Robert Cooke Healthscope 

Alan Cooper Friendly Society Private Hospital 

Anne Crouch Eye-Tech Day Surgeries 

Andrew Currie Healthscope 

Philip Currie Sydney Adventist Hospital 

Robert Cusack St Vincent’s Private Hospital 

Ray Fairweather St Andrew’s Toowoomba Hospital 

Christine Gee Toowong Private Hospital 

Alan Kinkade Epworth HealthCare 

Moira Munro Perth Clinic 

Craig McNally Ramsay Health Care 

Kathy Nagle Western Hospital 

Amanda Quealy Hobart Clinic 

Chris Rex Ramsay Health Care 

Richard Royle UnitingCare Health 

Geoff Sam Healthe Care Australia 

Daniel Sims Ramsay Health Care 

Dr Mark Stephens Chesterville Day Hospital 

Denise Thomas Metropolitan Rehabilitation Hospital 

George Toemoe PHA NSW 

Stephen Walker St Andrew’s Hospital 

POLICY PATTER 

QUALITY IN 

FOCUS 

LEGAL MATTERS 

PHARMACY 

FOCUS 

THE OFFICIAL 

MAGAZINE OF THE 

AUSTRALIAN 

PRIVATE HOSPITALS 

ASSOCIATION 


TRAINING 

TOMORROW’S 

WORKFORCE 

The San is building a 

new education centre 

PAPERLESS 

LEARNING 

Creating a flexible 

learning environment 

SURGICAL 

GUIDANCE 

Greater accuracy 

in cataract surgery 

Private hospital 

infrastructure 

Private Hospital is published six times a year 

(February, April, June, August, October and December) 

as a joint undertaking between the Australian Private 

Hospitals Association Ltd (ACN 008 623 809) and 

Globe Publishing (ACN 116 377 354). 

APHA Office: Level 3, 11 National Circuit, 

Barton ACT 2600 

Postal Address: PO Box 7426, 

Canberra BC ACT 2610 

Phone: (02) 6273 9000 Fax: (02) 6273 7000 

Email: info@apha.org.au 

Website: apha.org.au 

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Ultimo NSW 2007 

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Phone: (02) 8218 3400 Fax: (02) 8218 3488 

Website: globepublishing.com.au 

Advertising Enquiries: Adam Cosgrove 

Phone: (02) 8218 3412 

Email: adam.cosgrove@globepublishing.com.au 

Material in Private Hospital is protected under the 

Commonwealth Copyright Act 1968. No material may be 

reproduced in part or in whole without the written consent 

from the copyright holders (APHA). 

Private Hospital welcomes submissions and a diversity of 

opinion on hospital-related issues and will publish views 

that are not necessarily the policy of the APHA. 

All material must be relevant, cogent, submitted to APHA 

and accompanied by a stamped self-addressed envelope, or 

submitted electronically by emailing 

lisa.ramshaw@apha.org.au. 

Electronic images must be to print standard – 300 dpi or 

higher. Please retain duplicates of all hard copy text and 

illustrative materials. APHA does not accept responsibility 

for damage to, or loss of, material submitted. 

Neither APHA, Globe Publishing or their servants and 

agents accept liability, including liability for negligence, 

arising from the information contained in Private Hospital.

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18 Educating for the future 

The San is building a new 

education centre 

22 World-leading cardiac 

imaging system 

Now at St Andrew’s War 

Memorial Hospital 

25 The Gosford Heart 

Centre opens 

Providing new services for 

the Central Coast 

26 Improving cataract 

surgery 

At Hunter Valley Private 

Hospital 

29 Cairns ready for action 

State-of-the-art theatre 

redevelopment to open 

30 Plan for a stronger 

Epworth HealthCare 

Expanding rehabilitation 

services across Victoria 

32 Growth for Healthscope 

hospitals 

Queensland hospitals 

undergo significant growth 

18 

35 Advanced cardiac 

services for Bundaberg 

The Friendly Society 

Private Hospital expands 

38 Prompt cardiac 

diagnosis 

The Avenue Hospital opens 

new diagnostic services 

41 Paperless learning gets 

high marks 

Training is easier at 

Macquarie University 

Hospital 

45 Sunshine Coast 

University Hospital 

On track for completion in 

late 2013 

46 The hospital of the future 

Building Australia’s first 

digital hospital 

48 Partnership to improve 

Hunter cancer care 

Lake Macquarie Private 

Hospital and GenesisCare 

22 

In focus: Infrastructure Regulars 

Also in this issue 

51 Into the Crystal Cave 

Greenslopes ED’s extreme 

experience 

54 A novel solution for 

lymphoedema 

Using liposuction to help 

breast cancer patients 

41 

35 

51 

06 Editor’s Letter 

With Lisa Ramshaw 

08 President’s Report 

With Chris Rex 

10 As I See It 

With Michael Roff 

12 News 

From APHA and beyond 

56 Policy Patter 

With Lucy Cheetham 

58 Quality in Focus 

With Christine Gee 

60 Pharmacy Focus 

With Michael Ryan 

62 Legal Matters 

With Alison Choy 

Flannigan 

65 Since the Last Issue 

67 Valuing Private 

Hospitals 

Contents 

70 On The Ground 

With Phil Currie 

August 2012

Editor’s Letter 

Building 

for the 

future 

6 August 2012 

Private hospitals are preparing for an 

increase in demand for services 

INFRASTRUCTURE is the backbone 

upon which our health system is built. 

Without new infrastructure and 

facilities, Australia will not be 

prepared for the infl ux of patients 

predicted as the baby boomers get older 

and more reliant on health care. 

Private hospitals are rising to this 

challenge and this issue of Private Hospital 

highlights just some of the important 

projects around the country that are in 

development, fully completed or are 

currently somewhere in between. 

Our lead story on the new education centre 

at the Sydney Adventist Hospital showcases 

an innovative approach to not just the 

shortfall of infrastructure but also the 

shortfall of medical professionals predicted 

that Australia will need by 2025. Read about 

the Sydney Adventist’s collaborative 

approach to provide a unique training facility 

on page 18. 

Many people in Australia still do not 

understand that private hospitals treat 

complex cases and perform serious major 

surgery. But as you leaf through the pages 

of this edition, one thing stands out clearly: 

private hospitals are investing in the 

infrastructure for cardiac services across 

the country. With stories from Bundaberg, 

Gosford, Brisbane and Melbourne, private 

hospitals are leading the way in cardiac 

services. 

All of us at APHA enjoy showcasing the new 

and innovative programs in our private 

hospitals in Australia through the publication 

of this magazine and we hope you enjoy 

reading it. A lot of e� ort goes into the 

production of this magazine but everything 

does not always turn out right. The article on 

a ‘Multi-Modal approach to Complex Pain’ on 

pages 21-23 of the June edition of Private 

Hospital is a case in point. This article was 

written by two doctors at Masada Private 

Hospital. The ‘Neuromodulation’ part of the 

article was authored by Dr Paul Verrills and 

the ‘Partnering with ADAPT’ portion was 

authored by Dr Richard Sullivan. We 

apologise for erroneously attributing the 

entire article to Dr Paul Verrills. 

Our October edition will focus on 

Mental Health as private hospitals around 

the country come together to mark 

Mental Health Week from 7-13 October 

2012. If you have an idea for an article for 

this edition, please get in touch with me at 

the APHA Secretariat. 

Lisa Ramshaw 

Editor 

lisa.ramshaw@apha.org.au 

Twitter: @priv8hospitals 

P.S. Have you checked out 

our Facebook page lately? 

We love to see your hospital 

posts on our page. Check 

it out at facebook.com/ 

valuingprivatehospitals. 

Photography: Chris Canham

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President’s Report with Chris Rex 

The cost of 

a hospital 

stay 

The first national efficient price has been set 

at $4,808 per National Weighted Activity Unit 

IN JUNE, the Independent Hospital 

Pricing Authority (IHPA) released its 

first “national e�cient price”, which 

provides the basis for calculating 884 

categories of hospital procedures 

and services. The price of a hip replacement 

is set at $21,239 and the price of complex 

cardiovascular surgery is $50,052. 

This formula will be notionally applied for 

the first two years, from 1 July 2012, before 

the Commonwealth uses it to set the state’s 

share of Federal hospital funding. 

It is hoped that this newly established price 

drives improved e�ciencies in Australia’s 

public hospitals - giving hospitals the incentive 

to treat more patients, more e�ciently. 

It will be interesting to see how this 

activity-based funding system for public 

hospitals develops and whether it does actually 

lead to improvements in the value of public 

investment in hospital care in Australia. 

One of the principles of the pricing 

arrangement is that there is “public-private 

neutrality” ie ABF pricing should not disrupt 

current incentives for a person to elect to be 

treated as a private or a public patient in a 

public hospital. 


There are currently some financial 

incentives for public hospitals to treat 

private patients in preference to public 

patients, with various schemes currently 

existing within public hospitals around the 

country to encourage this practice, 

particularly in New South Wales and 

Victoria. APHA believes that these 

arrangements do not represent publicprivate 

neutrality. 

APHA’s position has been, and remains, 

that in most conceivable circumstances, 

private patients should be treated in private 

hospitals. Public hospitals should focus on 

treating public patients and not divert their 

resources into attracting private patients to 

shore up their revenue. 

At this stage we believe that the new ABF 

pricing regime lessens the incentive for 

public hospitals to treat private patients for 

revenue raising purposes because the Federal 

Government will provide funding minus any 

other funding (eg health insurance funds) 

received for the episode of care. It is expected 

that in later years funding will also be 

dependent on several performance measures 

like reducing waiting lists. 

APHA is currently in discussion with 

both IHPA and the National Hospital 

Performance Authority in terms of the 

data collection systems and performance 

measures they are establishing. It is 

critical that private hospitals are involved 

in this process in the event that the 

performance regimes established by 

these bodies impacts the private sector in 

any way. To date, APHA has been 

appreciative of the manner the IHPA has 

gone about consulting with the private 

sector and we hope that the Board will 

see fit to support the continuation of data 

collection in a manner which respects 

industry concerns (surrounding 

publication and identification) and 

promotes maximum participation by 

private hospitals and day surgeries. 

Photography: Cli� Kent.

BD PosiFlush TM SP 

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Recommendations for User Applied Labelling of Injectable Medicines, 

Fluids and Lines (2010) 1 now mandated in NSW 2 , SA 3 and WA 4 

BD PosiFlush TM SP Syringe is designed to: 

• provide clinical efficiencies in the flushing process 

• help reduce the risk of catheter-related blood stream infections (patient safety) 

• enable simple and convenient administration 

1. Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare, National Recommendations for User-applied 

Labelling of Injectable Medicines, Fluids and Lines, August 2010. http://www.safetyandquality.gov.au 

Accessed February 10 2012. 

2. New South Wales Government. NSW Health Policy Directive Document Number PD2012_007. 

http://www.health.nsw.gov.au Accessed March 20, 2012. 

3. Government of South Australia. SA Health Objective File Number: eA507858. 

http://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au Accessed March 20, 2012. 

4. Government of Western Australia Department of Health Operational Directive OD 0350/11. 

http://www.health.wa.gov.au Accessed February 10, 2012. 

BD, BD Logo and all other trademarks are the property of Becton, Dickinson and Company. 

© BD 2012. AMED230 INKI 13751 05/12 

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As I See It with Michael Roff 

10 

Financing 

growth 

efficiently 

Private hospitals show far greater financial 

discipline than those in the public sector 

THIS issue of Private Hospital 

focuses on infrastructure and 

there is no doubt the private 

hospital sector continues 

to make a significant 

and growing contribution to health 

infrastructure within Australia. 

The figures speak for themselves. In the 

five years to 2009/10, private hospitals 

invested more than $3 billion in gross capital 

expenditure. The annual contribution grew 

from around $332 million in 2004/05 to 

$738 million in 2009/10. 

Of course, the sector has been growing 

over this period, but it is not just the 

quantum of the contribution that has been 

steadily increasing. Since 2004/05, capital 

expenditure as a proportion of revenue has 

grown from 6 percent to 7.5 percent. 

Given the number of significant hospital 

developments and redevelopments that are 

underway (some of which are featured in this 

issue) it is likely we will see accelerated 

growth in these figures when the ABS 

updates them. 

This growing investment is necessary to 

ensure Australians continue to have fast 


access to hospital services into the future, 

especially when we know that demand for 

these services will increase as our population 

continues to age. 

Over the same period, there has also been a 

significant level of capital expenditure in the 

public sector. State governments love to 

deliver more beds and new hospitals (although 

closing old hospitals can be problematic), but 

the real question is how e�ciently are they 

delivering this infrastructure? 

Anecdotally, we know that where new 

hospitals are being developed, private sector 

operators are able to do so at a cost in the 

range of $500,000 to $700,000 per bed. On the 

other hand, new public hospital developments 

come in at a cost of around $2 million per bed 

for an identical end product. 

In its 2009 report into public and private 

hospitals, the Productivity Commission 

compared the User Cost of Capital (UCC) 

in both sectors. The UCC is the opportunity 

cost of funds tied up in the capital used to 

deliver services. That is, the return that 

could be generated if the funds tied up in 

capital used to provide hospital services 

were employed in their next best use. 

Guess what? They found the UCC per 

separation in public hospitals was $279, 

compared to just $100 in private hospitals. 

There was some di�culty in making these 

calculations, particularly given NSW 

Health told the Commission: “nobody 

really knows exactly how much capital is 

currently used by the public hospitals.” 

Does any of this really matter as long as 

we are getting the health infrastructure 

we need? It does if you consider the case 

of the new 274-bed Royal Children’s 

Hospital in Melbourne, built at a cost of 

$1 billion (or around $3.6 million per 

bed!). Despite having 3,000 kids on the 

waiting list for treatment and sta� 

available to treat them, 45 beds in the 

new hospital remain unused as the state 

government cannot a�ord to fund the 

recurrent running costs at this level. 

So although state bureaucracies do not 

regard capital as “real money” (a State 

Treasury head has told me so), there are 

real costs to the community for the 

wasteful spending that characterises public 

hospital developments. 

Perhaps it’s time they tried to harness 

some of the expertise and financial 

discipline from the private hospitals sector? 

Photography: Lindi Heap

Amino Acids, Glucose, Soya Oil, 

Medium-chain Triglycerides, 

Olive Oil, Fish Oil 

The only 3-chamber 

bag with fi sh oil 

registered in Australia 1 

Ordering Information: For more information 

please contact your local representative or 

Customer Service on 1300 732 001. 

Fresenius Kabi Australia Pty Limited 

964 Pacifi c Highway 

Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia 

Phone: 1300 732 001 

Fax: 1300 304 384 

www.fresenius-kabi.com.au 

Smof Kabiven ® is a registered trademark of Fresenius Kabi . References: 1. Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing Therapeutic Goods Administration. ARTG Medicines. 

Retrieved 30 April 2012 from www.ebs.tga.gov.au 

SMOFKABIVEN ® MINIMUM PRODUCT INFORMATION: Smof Kabiven consists of a three chamber bag system. Each bag contains the following different volumes depending on the 

four pack sizes. SmofKabiven 986mL/ 1477mL/ 1970mL/ 2463mL (per 1000mL). Amino acid solution with electrolytes: 500mL/ 750mL/ 1000mL/ 1250mL (508mL); Glucose: 298mL/ 

446mL/ 595mL/ 744mL (302mL); Lipid emulsion: 188mL/ 281mL/ 375mL/ 469mL (190mL). This corresponds to the following total compositions: Active ingredients: Alanine: 7.0g/ 

10.5g/ 14.0g/ 17.5g (7.1g); Arginine: 6.0g/ 9.0g/ 12.0g/ 15.0g (6.1g); Glycine: 5.5g/ 8.2g/ 11.0g/ 13.8g (5.6g); Histidine: 1.5g/ 2.2g/ 3.0g/ 3.7g (1.5g); Isoleucine: 2.5g/ 3.8g/ 5.0g/ 6.2g (2.5g); 

Leucine: 3.7g/ 5.6g/ 7.4g/ 9.4g (3.8g); Lysine (as acetate): 3.3g/ 5.0g/ 6.6g/ 8.4g (3.4g); Methionine: 2.2g/ 3.2g/ 4.3g/ 5.4g (2.2g); Phenylalanine: 2.6g/ 3.8g/ 5.1g/ 6.4g (2.6g); Proline: 

5.6g/ 8.4g/ 11.2g/ 14.0g (5.7g); Serine: 3.2g/ 4.9g/ 6.5g/ 8.1g (3.3g); Taurine: 0.50g/ 0.75g/ 1.0g/ 1.2g (0.5g); Threonine: 2.2g/ 3.3g/ 4.4g/ 5.4g (2.2g); Tryptophan: 1.0g/ 1.5g/ 2.0g/ 2.5g 

(1.0g); Tyrosine: 0.20g/ 0.30g/ 0.40g/ 0.49g (0.20g); Valine: 3.1g/ 4.6g/ 6.2g/ 7.6g (3.1g); Glucose (as monohydrate): 125g/ 187g/ 250g/ 313g (127g); Soya oil: 11.3g/ 16.9g/ 22.5g/ 28.1g 

(11.4g); Medium chain triglycerides: 11.3g/ 16.9g/ 22.5g/ 28.1g (11.4g); Olive oil: 9.4g/ 14.1g/ 18.8g/ 23.4g (9.5g); Fish oil: 5.6g/ 8.4g/ 11.3g/ 14.0g (5.7g); Corresponding to: Amino acids: 

50g/ 75g/ 100g/ 125g (51g); Nitrogen: 8g/ 12g/ 16g/ 20g (8g); Lipids: 38g/ 56g/ 75g/ 94g (38g); Carbohydrates – Glucose (anhydrous): 125g/ 187g/ 250g/ 313g (127g); Energy: - total 

(approx.) 1100kcal (4600kJ) / 1600kcal (6700kJ) / 2200kcal (9200kJ) / 2700kcal (11300kJ); - non protein (approx.): 900kcal (3800kJ) / 1300kcal (5400kJ) / 1800kcal (7500kJ) 

/ 2200kcal (9200kJ); Electrolytes in SmofKabiven: Calcium chloride (as dihydrate): 0.28g/ 0.42g/ 0.56g/ 0.69g (0.28g); Sodium glycerophosphate (as hydrate): 2.1g/ 3.1g/ 4.2g/ 

5.2g (2.1g); Magnesium sulfate (as heptahydrate): 0.60g/ 0.90g/ 1.2g/ 1.5g (0.61g); Potassium chloride: 2.2g/ 3.4g/ 4.5g/ 5.7g (2.3g); Sodium acetate (as trihydrate): 1.7g/ 2.6g/ 3.4g/ 

4.2g (1.7g); Zinc sulfate (as heptahydrate): 0.0065g/ 0.0097g/ 0.013g/ 0.016g (0.0066g); Corresponding to: Electrolytes: sodium: 40mmol/ 60mmol/ 80mmol/ 100mmol (41mmol); 

potassium: 30mmol/ 45mmol/ 60mmol/ 74mmol (30mmol); magnesium: 5.0mmol/ 7.5mmol/ 10mmol/ 12mmol (5.1mmol); calcium: 2.5mmol/ 3.8mmol/ 5.0mmol/ 6.2mmol (2.5mmol); 

phosphate (contribution from both the lipid emulsion and the amino acid solution): 12mmol/ 19mmol/ 25mmol/ 31mmol (13mmol); zinc: 0.04mmol/ 0.06mmol/ 0.08mmol/ 0.1mmol 

(0.04mmol); sulfate: 5.0mmol/ 7.5mmol/ 10mmol/ 13mmol (5.1mmol); chloride: 35mmol/ 52mmol/ 70mmol/ 89mmol (36mmol); acetate: 104mmol/ 157mmol/ 209mmol/ 261mmol 

(106mmol). Osmolality: approx. 1800mOsm/kg water. Osmolarity: approx. 1500mOsm/L. pH (after mixing): approx. 5.6. Excipients: Glycerol, Egg lecithin, dl-α-Tocopherol, Sodium 

hydroxide, Sodium oleate, Acetic acid – glacial, Hydrochloric acid, Water for Injections. INDICATIONS: Parenteral nutrition for adult patients when oral or enteral nutrition is impossible, 

insuffi cient or contraindicated. CONTRAINDICATIONS: Hypersensitivity to fi sh-, egg-, soya- or peanut protein or corn (maize) and corn products or to any of the active substances or 

excipients, severe hyperlipidaemia, severe liver insuffi ciency, severe blood coagulation disorders, congenital errors of amino acid metabolism, severe renal insuffi ciency without access 

to hemofi ltration or dialysis, acute shock, uncontrolled hyperglycaemia, pathologically elevated serum levels of any of the included electrolytes; general contraindications to infusion 

therapy: acute pulmonary oedema, hyperhydration, and decompensated cardiac insuffi ciency; haemophagocytotic syndrome, unstable conditions (e.g. severe post-traumatic conditions, 

uncompensated diabetes mellitus, acute myocardial infarction, stroke, embolism, metabolic acidosis, severe sepsis, hypotonic dehydration and hyperosmolar coma). PRECAUTIONS: 

Monitor triglyceride levels to prevent overdose, which may lead to fat overload syndrome. Give with caution in conditions of impaired lipid metabolism which may occur in patients with 

renal failure, diabetes mellitus, pancreatitis, impaired liver function, hypothyroidism and sepsis. The medicinal product contains soya oil, fi sh oil, egg phospholipids and corn (maize) 

and corn products which may rarely cause allergic reactions. Cross allergic reaction has been observed between soya-bean and peanut. Disturbances of electrolyte and fl uid balance 

should be corrected before starting the infusion. Give with caution to patients with a tendency towards electrolyte retention. In patients with renal insuffi ciency, the phosphate and 

potassium intake should be carefully controlled to prevent hyperphosphataemia and hyperkalaemia. Parenteral nutrition should be given with caution in lactic acidosis, insuffi cient 

cellular oxygen supply and increased serum osmolarity. Stop infusion immediately at any sign of anaphylactic reaction. In malnourished patients, slow initiation of parenteral nutrition is 

recommended as it may precipitate fl uid shifts resulting in pulmonary oedema and congestive heart failure, and decrease in serum potassium, phosphate, magnesium and water soluble 

vitamins. SmofKabiven is not to be given simultaneously with blood in the same infusion set due to risk of pseudo-agglutination. Monitor laboratory tests regularly including: serum 

glucose, electrolytes and osmolarity, fl uid balance, acid-base status and liver enzymes. Blood cell count and coagulation should be monitored when fat is given for a longer period. 

Special clinical monitoring is required at the beginning of any intravenous infusion. The fat content of SmofKabiven may interfere with certain laboratory measurements (e.g. bilirubin, 

lactate dehydrogenase, oxygen saturation, haemoglobin) if blood is sampled before fat has been adequately cleared from the bloodstream. PREGNANCY AND LACTATION: There 

are no adequate and well controlled studies in pregnant women, therefore the safety is not known. It is not known whether SmofKabiven can enter maternal milk, therefore it should 

only be used during lactation if clearly needed. ADVERSE REACTIONS: Slight increase in body temperature, chills, dizziness, headache, lack of appetite, nausea, vomiting, elevated 

plasma levels of liver enzymes, tachycardia, dyspnoea, hypotension, hypertension, hypersensitivity reactions (e.g. anaphylaxis, skin rash, urticaria, fl ush), heat or cold sensation, 

paleness, cyanosis, pain in the neck, back, bones, chest and loins. DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION: The patient’s ability to eliminate fat and metabolise nitrogen and glucose and 

the nutritional requirements should govern the dosage and infusion rate. The dose should be individualised with regard to the patient’s clinical condition and body weight (bw). SEE 

FULL PRODUCT INFORMATION FOR MORE INFORMATION. Dosage: The dosage range of 13mL-31mL/kg bw/day covers the need of the majority of patients. Obese patients should 

be dosed based on estimated ideal body weight. The recommended maximum daily dose is 35mL/kg bw/day. SmofKabiven is not recommended for use in children. Infusion rate: 

The infusion rate should not exceed 2.0mL/kg bw/h (corresponding to 0.25g glucose, 0.10g amino acids and 0.08g fat/kg bw/h). The recommended infusion period is 14-24 hours. 

Method of and duration of administration: Intravenous infusion into a central vein. The contents of the three separate chambers have to be mixed before use. SmofKabiven should be 

used within 24 hours of preparation. STORAGE CONDITIONS: Store below 25oC. Do not freeze. Store in overpouch. Based on TGA Approved Product Information 20 January 2012. 

PLEASE REVIEW FULL PRODUCT INFORMATION BEFORE PRESCRIBING. 

The full disclosure Product Information is available on request from 

Fresenius Kabi Australia Pty Limited. 

PBS Information: This product is not listed on the PBS. 

PM 2012.193/FR3750

APHA News 

Ramsay 

Health Care’s 

myspecialist app 

RAMSAY Health Care has launched 

a myspecialist app enabling users to search 

quickly and easily through a database of over 

5000 specialists accredited in Ramsay 

hospitals throughout Australia. 

Users can search for specialists across a wide 

range of specialties including orthopaedics, 

cardiology, psychiatry and obstetrics or 

pinpoint the exact type of specialist they are 

after in a range of subspecialty categories or 

special interest areas. 

The myspecialist app uses location-based 

technology that allows a user to fi nd the 

specialist closest to their current location or 

to the location of choice. It also links to the 

online profi le of the specialist if one is 

available on the hospital website. The app can 

also assist users to locate Ramsay Health 

Care hospitals, fi nd out more about the 

company or register for updates from the 

Ramsay Twitter account. 

With hospitals in the UK, France and 

Indonesia as well as Australia, Ramsay Health 

Care intends that the app will have 

international applicability and a version is 

currently under development in the UK. 

For general practitioners (GPs), in addition 

to the myspecialist search facility, the app has 

a special feature that enables a GP to search 

for upcoming GP education activities in 

nearby locations. Ramsay Health Care 

facilities run over 200 RACGP approved 

educational events for GPs across the country 

each year. GPs using the app can read about 

the event and register their interest in 

attending all within a matter of seconds. 

At this stage, the myspecialist app is only 

available to iPhone 4 (and above) and iPad 

users. A version suitable for android phones 

is currently under development. 

12 


One in ten mums diagnosed 

with perinatal depression 

ONE in ten mothers of children aged 

24 months or less have been diagnosed with 

perinatal depression, according to a report 

released by the Australian Institute of Health 

and Welfare (AIHW). 

The report, Perinatal depression: data from the 

2010 Australian National Infant Feeding Survey, 

shows that of an estimated 111,000 mothers 

diagnosed with depression, about 56,000 had 

perinatal depression (that is, the depression was 

diagnosed between the time they were pregnant 

until the child’s fi rst birthday). 

“Certain population groups are more likely 

to experience perinatal depression,” said AIHW 

spokesperson Ann Hunt. “For example, almost 

19 percent of mothers who smoked daily 

experienced perinatal depression, compared to 

about nine percent of those who didn’t smoke. 

And mothers living in the lowest income 

households were more likely to experience 

perinatal depression than those in the highest 

(14 percent compared to seven percent).” 

Other groups more likely to experience 

perinatal depression included younger 

mothers under the age of 25, mothers who 

were overweight or obese, those who spoke 

English as their main language at home and 

mothers who had had an emergency caesarean 

section. The rate of perinatal depression also 

varied by location. For example, mothers 

living in major cities and remote/very remote 

areas reported slightly lower rates of perinatal 

depression than those from other 

geographical areas. 

Perinatal depression was less commonly 

reported among mothers who had higher 

levels of education (bachelor degree or 

higher), were working at the time of the survey 

and primarily spoke a language other than 

English at home. 

“Of those we know about who sought help, 

the majority received help from their general 

practitioner or support from family and 

friends,” Ms Hunt said.

Antidepressants top the list of 

frequently asked medicines questions 

MORE calls answered by NPS 

Medicines Line pharmacists relate to 

questions involving antidepressants than 

any other class of medicine. 

To help people be medicinewise, NPS has 

launched a new online knowledge hub on 

depression and antidepressant medicines, 

which covers many of the questions asked 

via Medicines Line. 

NPS clinical adviser Dr Philippa Binns says 

that depression is second only to high blood 

pressure as the most common chronic problem 

seen by Australian GPs, and two thirds of 

people seeing their doctor for depression are 

given a prescription for antidepressants. 

“Depression a� ects a lot of people in our 

community, but there are e� ective treatments 

for the condition, including both medicine and 

non-medicine options,” says Dr Binns. 

“The use of antidepressants is continuing 

to rise in Australia and calls to Medicines 

Line clearly show that people are being 

medicinewise by asking questions about what 

they are taking.” 

People who called Medicines Line about 

antidepressants most often wanted to know: 

• The potential for interactions with other 

medicines when they taking an 

antidepressant, such as possible 

interactions with cough and cold 

preparations and complementary medicines 

• What side e� ects they are likely to 

experience with antidepressants 

• Whether problems they are experiencing 

may be related to their antidepressant 

medicines, and 

• Safety information about using these 

medicines in pregnancy and breastfeeding. 

“Responses to antidepressants are quite 

individual, so what works well for one person 

may not for another,” says Dr Binns. 

“Under guidance from their health 

professional, some people will need to try 

more than one antidepressant in order to fi nd 

the one that suits them best.” 

NPS also urges people not to stop taking 

an antidepressant without talking to their 

health professional. 

“If you are experiencing side e� ects, talk 

to your doctor as a di� erent antidepressant 

may suit you better, or there may be other 

strategies to reduce the side e� ects,” says 

Dr Binns. 

“When you do need to stop taking 

antidepressants, or change to another one, 

consult your doctor about how to do this. 

With certain antidepressants, you may need 

to gradually reduce the dose to avoid 

unpleasant side e� ects. If this is the case, your 

doctor will work out a plan with you.” 

The new NPS knowledge hub provides: 

• Tips on fi nding the right treatment for you 

and what to do about side e� ects from an 

antidepressant 

• An A-Z listing of di� erent antidepressant 

medicines with information about 

e� ectiveness, side e� ects, interactions, and 

who needs to take extra care with them 

(eg other medical conditions that increase 

the risk of side e� ects) 

• Information on how to avoid side e� ects 

and symptoms when making changes, and 

• An overview of cognitive behavioural 

therapy (CBT), an e� ective alternative to 

antidepressants for some people and a 

useful addition to antidepressant therapy 

for some others, as well as lifestyle changes 

and other supportive treatments that can 

be of benefi t. 

To view the new NPS knowledge hub on 

depression and antidepressants, visit 

www.nps.org.au/conditions/depression 

August 2012 13 

Photography: Thinkstock 

➤

APHA News 

14 

More than one in four 

hospital admissions 

need surgery 

MORE than a quarter of Australia’s 

8.9 million hospitalisations in 2010–11 

included a visit to an operating room for 

surgery, according to a new surgery 

snapshot released by the Australian 

Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). 

The snapshot bulletin, Surgery in 

Australian Hospitals 2010–11, provides an 

overview of Australia’s 2.4 million annual 

hospitalisations for surgery, based on data 

fi rst published by the AIHW in April. 

Around 1 million surgery hospitalisations 

occurred in public hospitals and 1.4 million 

in private hospitals. 

In the fi ve years to 2011, admissions 

involving surgery have been rising 

2.4 percent a year in public hospitals and 

4.1 percent a year in private hospitals. But 

in the last year, annual growth in surgery 

admissions in public hospitals has 

outstripped annual growth in private 

hospitals 2.7 percent to 2.1 percent. 

“This probably refl ects a renewed 

emphasis by all levels of government to 

reduce elective surgery backlogs in public 

hospitals,” said AIHW spokesperson 

Alison Verhoeven. 

Around 12 percent of surgery admissions 

were emergency admissions (requiring 

surgery within 24 hours). About 83 percent 

were elective admissions, with two-thirds 

of these occurring in private hospitals. 

A further four percent of surgery-related 

admissions were childbirth-related and 

one percent were for ‘other planned care’. 

Compared with national rates, 

Indigenous Australians and people living in 

remote areas had higher rates of emergency 

surgery admissions and lower rates of 

elective surgery admissions. The most 

common reasons for emergency surgery 

admission were appendicitis, hip fractures 

and heart attacks, followed closely by leg 

fractures. For elective surgery admissions, 

the most common reasons were cataracts, 

skin cancers, knee disorders and 

procreative management (including IVF). 

Just over 50 percent of surgery 

hospitalisations were same-day 

admissions. For overnight surgery 

admissions, the average length of stay was 

around four days in public hospitals and 

three days in private hospitals. 


Heart Foundation risk classifi cation 

of chest pain patients only a fair 

predictor of heart attack 

THE Heart Foundation’s risk classifi cation 

of emergency department patients with chest 

pain o� ers only fair prediction of myocardial 

infarction (heart attack), and this prediction is 

not su� cient to justify admission to coronary 

care for all patients classifi ed as high risk using 

these criteria. 

This is the fi nding of a study by Professor 

Anne-Maree Kelly, from the Joseph Epstein 

Centre for Emergency Medicine Research at 

Western Health in Melbourne. 

The study is published in the latest issue 

of Emergency Medicine Australasia, the 

journal of the Australasian College for 

Emergency Medicine. 

“The evaluation of chest pain is a growing 

challenge for EDs, in particular ruling out 

acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and 

determining which patients can safely be 

discharged for further investigation and 

management in the community with a low 

risk of adverse cardiac events,” Professor 

Kelly said. 

She studied almost 800 patients with 

chest pain who presented at a hospital 

emergency department, fi nding a high 

proportion of these patients were classifi ed 

as high risk by the Heart Foundation risk 

classifi cation criteria. 

“If all patients classifi ed as high risk 

had been admitted to a ward environment 

for assessment, as recommended by the 

guidelines, there would have been a 

21 percent increase in admission rate 

(161 patients) without any reduction in 

deaths, myocardial infarction during follow 

up, or arrhythmia. 

“These data challenge the Heart 

Foundation classifi cation criteria and their 

associated recommendations as a useful tool 

for the ED chest pain patient group.” 

With specifi city of approximately 

50 percent, the recommendation for 

coronary care admission for all high-risk 

patients is hard to justify, she concluded. 

➤

Skin Injury Is Occurring 

More Often Than You Think 

The problem occurs across units in the health care setting1 and its prevalence is expected to grow as the number of 

patients with fragile skin continues to increase. Use of adhesive 

products such as tape can exacerbate the risk of skin injury. 2 

Konya reported that cumulative incidence of skin injury caused 

by tape removal may be as high as 15.5% 3 . 

Skin tear Tension injury Skin stripping 

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You can be secure in the knowledge that you will have the 

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knowing you can help minimise tape-related pain and skin injury. 

References & Resources 

1. PAPSRS.Skin Tears:the Clinical Challenge. 

www.psa.state.pa.us/psa/advisories. Accessed 

July 2010 

2. Baranoski et al.Wound Care Essentials: Practice 

Principles. New York: 

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2004 

3.Konya, et al.J of Clinical Nursing 2010;19;1236-42 

Comfort 

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any undue pain. 

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APHA News 

Stroke learning 

online gets easier 

AUSTRALIA’S premier online stroke 

education platform, e-Stroke Australia, has 

undergone a radical overhaul. Now owned 

by the Stroke Foundation, e-Stroke has been 

designed to deliver the most relevant 

educational training modules for stroke 

health professionals in an immediate and 

convenient platform. 

e-Stroke provides critical, evidence-based, 

peer-reviewed educational training modules 

for health professionals new to the stroke 

discipline and the site has now been updated 

and enhanced by new and interactive training 

for nursing and allied health professionals. 

Dr Erin Lalor, National Stroke Foundation 

chief executive o� cer said the free, online, 

e-Stroke training programs would provide 

ongoing professional development support 

to people working in the fi eld of stroke, 

particularly those who are new to stroke care 

or who are from rural areas where access to 

stroke specifi c education is limited. The new 

self-paced courses provide entertaining and 

interactive online learning to improve stroke 

education and outcomes. 

“e-Stroke has now nearly doubled the 

number of free, evidence-based online 

learning courses on o� er,” she said. 

In keeping with the fl exible nature of 

online learning, Dr Lalor said health 

professionals could create a personal profi le 

that allowed them to return to their online 

courses at any time after an interruption. 

“We understand health professionals 

are busy and e-Stroke is designed to make 

professional development accessible and 

relevant.” 

The online educational platform was fi rst 

developed by the Victorian Stroke Clinical 

Network in partnership with the Stroke 

Society of Australasia and developers Eye 

Media. In taking over management of the 

site the National Stroke Foundation aims to 

expand the site to provide a ‘one-stop shop’ 

for education and clinical resources for 

stroke clinicians. 

To fi nd out more visit estroke.com.au 

16 


Top honours in innovative practice 

IN JUNE, exceptional private hospitals 

were selected to showcase their innovative 

practices at the 9th annual Private Hospitals 

Association of Queensland Innovative Practice 

in the Private Sector conference. 

Innovative Practice in the Private Sector is 

a one-day conference designed to showcase 

outcomes in the areas of clinical and non 

clinical operational innovations, strategic 

innovations and education and human 

resources management. The annual 

conference gives private hospitals throughout 

Australia the opportunity to submit abstracts 

to showcase and share innovations with 

industry colleagues. This year there were eight 

presentations in Clinical Innovations and six 

in Non-Clinical Innovations categories. 

The Category Award Winners for Clinical 

Innovations were Nataliya Shkuratova from 

Epworth Rehabilitation Brighton (Vic) for the 

C.A.R.E. Multidisciplinary Falls Prevention 

Intervention Program, and Cheryl 

McWilliams and Susan Geyer from Mater 

Private Hospital Redland (Qld) for the Clinical 

Bedside Handover: Shift to Shift Every Shift. 

The Category Award Winners for Non 

TO CELEBRATE the completion 

of a major redevelopment at Gri� th 

Rehabilitation Hospital, members of sta� 

and the local community were invited to 

enter a naming competition. 

Three sta� members and two local residents 

were joint winners of the naming competition. 

The winning names, Kingston, Heysen, 

Mawson and Hindmarsh, were given to the 

four wards at Gri� th Rehabilitation 

Hospital. The names were chosen to honour 

politician Sir Charles Kingston, renowned 

painter Sir Hans Heysen, Antarctic explorer 

Sir Douglas Mawson and fi rst South 

Australian Governor, Sir John Hindmarsh. 

The redevelopment increased bed 

numbers at Healthscope’s Gri� th 

Rehabilitation Hospital to 64, with the 

addition of 10 private rooms. In addition to 

renovating the reception, hydrotherapy pool 

Clinical Innovations were Anna Davey and 

Trish Thomas from John Flynn Private 

Hospital (Qld) for Management Transition: 

Future Proofi ng at John Flynn Private Hospital, 

and Diarmuid (DJ) Cronin from Greenslopes 

Private Hospital (Qld) for Volunteer Innovation 

at Greenslopes Private Hospital. 

The overall winner was Nataliya Shkuratova 

from Epworth Rehabilitation Brighton (Vic) 

for the C.A.R.E. Multidisciplinary Falls 

Prevention Intervention Program. 

“Innovation practice is evident throughout 

the private hospital sector and yet is often not 

publically recognised or rewarded,” Lucy 

Fisher, Executive Director from Private 

Hospitals Association of Queensland said. 

“In addition to recognising outstanding 

innovation, the aim of this award program is to 

also provide a platform where these initiatives 

may be shared among industry colleagues. 

Well done to all the presenters and 

congratulations to the winners.” 

The winners received prize money thanks 

to HESTA Super Fund who sponsored the 

event. For more on the winners and their 

innovative programs go to www.phaq.org 

Griffith Rehabilitation 

Hospital naming comp 

change rooms and expanding the gym, the 

hospital was also given a facelift featuring a 

specially designed garden. 

Belinda Singleton, Acting General 

Manager of Gri� th Rehabilitation Hospital, 

believes the garden will be uplifting for 

patients, their visitors and sta� . 

“We’ve also added a new horticultural 

therapy called MyGarden to give patients 

an opportunity to participate in planting,” 

said Belinda. 

Gri� th Rehabilitation Hospital has a long 

history in coastal Adelaide suburb Hove, 

where it was built as a family residence in 

1914. The home was transformed into a 

12-bed medical hospital in 1959 and 

expanded to 54 beds in 1984. 

Mayor of Holdfast Bay, Dr Ken Rollond, 

o� cially re-launched the refurbished Gri� th 

Rehabilitation Hospital on 22 July 2012.

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Austco

In focus: Infrastructure 

Private sector 

helping national 

workforce issues 

Sydney Adventist Hospital builds a new education centre 

A 

NEW education centre being 

built at Sydney Adventist 

Hospital (the San) aims to help 

redress the Australia-wide 

109,000 nurse and 2,700 doctor 

shortfall predicted by 2025. 

A collaborative project with the Federal 

and NSW governments and private sector 

higher education, the $17 million Sydney 

Adventist Hospital Education Centre will 

provide unique side-by-side training of 


student doctors, nurses and other health 

professionals. It is the fi rst building in a 

precinct that ultimately will provide easy 

access between hospital employment, 

residential accommodation and education 

opportunities. 

Stage 1 of the centre currently under 

construction will be a purpose-built, three 

level 3500sqm facility providing two 

auditoriums, a library, student common 

room, administration areas, tutorial, clinical 

skills, problem based learning and lecture 

rooms. It also features a simulation centre 

with operating theatre simulator, multipurpose 

critical care area, anaesthetic bay, 

control, debrief and meeting rooms. 

The centre will provide a unique training 

model of side-by-side clinical placements for 

medical, nursing, physiotherapy, pharmacy, 

radiography, occupational therapy, orthoptics, 

midwifery, dietetics and other allied health 

profession students.

“It will increase health workforce 

educational outcomes and help the delivery 

of better quality care to patients Australiawide,“ 

said Dr Leon Clark, Sydney Adventist 

Hospital Group Chief Executive O� cer. 

“The SAH Education Centre recognises 

that a growing number of Australians are 

cared for in private hospitals and a growing 

number of clinicians are employed in the 

private sector. Private facilities have long 

been under-utilised for training.” 

“One of the most exciting things about 

this project is that it is a partnership project 

between the private sector and the public 

sector,” said Dr Michael Spence, Vice- 

Chancellor and Principal of The University 

of Sydney. 

Through the Clinical Training Funding 

Program of Health Workforce Australia 

(HWA), the Commonwealth is providing 

$11.83 million – including the largest HWA 

capital grant ($10 million) ever awarded to 

the private sector. Minister for Health, 

Tanya Plibersek applauded the collaborative 

initiative, saying: “Things don’t work, unless 

we work together.” 

The NSW State Government is providing 

$10 million over two years from 2012/13 

towards the costs of building the centre and 

the training by the San of medical interns as 

well as the provision of some health services. 

“Clinical placement of health professionals 

has been limited by capacity issues in the 

public sector,” said Jillian Skinner, the NSW 

Minister for Health and Minister for Medical 

Research. 

The centre will be home to the Sydney 

Adventist Hospital Clinical School of the 

University of Sydney (SAHCS)* and the 

Faculty of Nursing and Health of Avondale 

College. SAHCS was established in 2011 by 

Sydney Medical School of The University of 

Sydney in partnership with the San. The fi rst 

fully-fl edged private hospital clinical school 

in NSW, by 2016 SAHCS will graduate up to 

40 doctors per year. 

Avondale College of Higher Education’s 

School of Nursing is one of the oldest 

continuing nursing schools in Australia and 

was operated by the San from the early 1900s 

until 1982, when it joined Avondale. By 2016 

it expects to graduate over 120 nurses a year. 

“The funds provided by the Federal and 

‘‘ 

THIS CENTRE WILL PROVIDE A 

UNIQUE TRAINING MODEL OF 

SIDE-BY-SIDE CLINICAL PLACEMENTS 

NSW governments gives us a unique 

opportunity to demonstrate what a major 

private hospital, a public university and a 

major private provider can contribute to the 

health workforce of NSW and Australia,” said 

Dr Roennfeldt, Avondale College President. 

The new centre helps to meet the shortfall 

of public sector placements for students by 

providing increased clinical training day 

opportunities. By 2013 it will provide 6,589 

clinical training days for medical students, 

4,987 training days for nurses and 2,760 for 

allied health professionals. By 2016, with 

greater capacity and increased student 

enrolments it will be providing 21,420 

medical student training days, 9,140 nursing 

student training days and 2,760 training 

days for allied health professionals. 

The centre can provide education and 

training programs including undergraduate, 

postgraduate, registrar, fellowship and 

continuing professional education. But 

SAHCS medical student Isabelle Kapterian 

said the SAH Education Centre will provide 

more than theoretical knowledge. 

“The theory of medicine can be learnt out 

of a textbook – what the signs of a disease are, 

why it happens – but medicine is not a 

theoretical career. The art of communication 

underpins this profession and this is why, for 

us, a clinical school is of such signifi cance.” 

Erin Raethel, nursing student at Avondale 

College thinks the centre site is Holy Ground. 

“Training beside a range of health 

professions will develop respect for one 

another at the patient bedside, with the 

potential to mimic real life clinical 

relationships that will benefi t all students 

involved. This is necessary as all continuously 

collaborate during patient care. They are 

partners and they must be for patients to 

receive optimal and holistic care. During 

recent clinical training at the San I realised 

that no textbook could teach me the 

importance of investing time in our patients, 

not as clinical diagnoses but as people with 

genuine needs. I propose that this centre is 

Holy Ground. Great things will happen here, 

because our leadership believe in the 

importance of our professions.” 

The centre will be built to implement 

cutting edge technology to maximise clinical 


➤ 

‘‘


training to graduate more competent and 

experienced health professionals. Plans 

anticipate state-of-the-art innovative and 

purpose-built furniture design and 

information and technology services that 

maximise learning, information sharing, 

inter-institution document access, 

inter-disciplinary teaching and simulation 

opportunities. 

“This centre builds on our long history of 

training as a Registered Training Organisation, 

as a training ground for Stage 3 and Stage 4 

medical undergraduates and our accreditation 

to provide Registrar training in 13 di�erent 

medical specialties,” said Dr Clark. 

“We appreciate the trust that has been 

placed in us for this collaborative partnership 

and we will honour it by ensuring the 

Education Centre helps all its students reach 

their full potential.” 

The centre is scheduled to be completed 

by mid 2013. 

By the Corporate Communications team, 

Sydney Adventist Hospital 

*The establishment of the Clinical School was 

supported by $1.75million in funding from 

the Commonwealth Department of Health 

and Ageing under the Increased Clinical 

Training Capacity Grant Scheme. 


L-R: Professor John Watson (Dean of SAHCS), Mr Mark Cormack (CEO Health Workforce 

Australia), Ms Mary Foley (Director General NSW Health), Dr Michael Spence (Vice 

Chancellor of the University of Sydney), Dr Leon Clark (CEO Sydney Adventist Hospital 

Group) , Minister Tanya Plibersek (Federal Minister for Health), Minister Jillian Skinner 

(State Minister for Health and Minister for Medical Research), Dr Ray Roennfeldt 

(President Avondale College) at the ground breaking in April.

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Cardiac imaging system a 

world leader 

St Andrew’s War 

Memorial Hospital 

welcomes the 

Siemens Artis zee 

Biplane cardiac 

imaging system 


ST ANDREW’S War Memorial 

Hospital has successfully 

installed one of the most 

advanced cardiac imaging 

systems in the world, enabling 

cardiologists at the electrophysiology 

laboratory to treat the most complex heart 

rhythm cases in Australia. 

Queensland Cardiovascular Group 

specialists Dr John Hayes and Dr Wayne 

Sta� ord say they are delighted with the 

successful installation of the Siemens Artis 

zee Biplane cardiac imaging system. 

“We are now using the very latest 

technology incorporating world-leading X-ray 

tube and generator design with advanced 

biplane imaging capability,” said Dr Sta� ord, 

Director of St Andrew’s Cardiology. 

The imaging system generates CT-like 3D 

images that are loaded into the anatomical 

mapping systems used when electrophysiology 

procedures are carried out.

“We can generate 3D models of the heart 

and see electrical measurement all on one 

large screen. The biplane imaging system 

means we can view X-rays in two di� erent 

directions at the same time – this generates 

rich information and much more accurate 

imaging which improves the safety of 

procedures,” said Dr Sta� ord. 

St Andrew’s cardiologists have long been 

leaders in treatment of heart rhythm 

conditions which impact on the lives of tens 

of thousands of Australians each year. 

“The new cardiac imaging system gives us 

the opportunity to treat even more complex 

cases than was previously possible. We 

continue to be positioned as Brisbane’s centre 

of expertise in this fi eld,” Dr Sta� ord said. 

Dr Hayes said this new imaging platform 

enhanced the current 3D imaging and 

mapping technology that had been utilised 

at St Andrew’s for many years. 

“We have been incorporating 3D models 

from CT scans, performed before patients 

enter the electrophysiology laboratory, into 

our cutting edge CARTO 3 and EnSite 

Velocity 3D electroanatomical mapping 

systems in the electrophysiology laboratory 

to help facilitate mapping and ablating the 

most complex cardiac arrhythmias. 

“With this new technology we will be able 

to generate 3D models of the heart chambers 

in real time while the patient is still in the 

electrophysiology laboratory and incorporate 

them into our existing mapping systems. 

“This technology will allow us to improve our 

Dr John Hayes and Cardiac Scientist Lisa Statham with 

the new Siemens Artis zee Biplane cardiac imaging system 

‘‘ 

WE CAN GENERATE 3D 

MODELS OF THE HEART AND 

SEE ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENT 

ALL ON ONE LARGE SCREEN 

success rate at curing common arrhythmias 

that a� ect many people in our community, such 

as atrial fi brillation, while at the same time 

allowing us to help patients with rarer and 

potentially lethal arrhythmias as well. 

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“St Andrew’s has a reputation as a leading 

centre for cardiac arrhythmia management in 

Queensland. We look forward to continuing 

our leading position in research and 

management of cardiac arrhythmias.” 

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Australian Healthcare Industry 

specialist since 1992 

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© Hospira Pty Ltd 2011 ABN 13 107 058 328 120511HOSP 05/2012 

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MEDICATION SAFETY 

SOFTWARE

Gosford Private Hospital launches 

new cardiac care services 

CENTRAL Coast residents 

requiring cardiac treatment 

now have greater access to 

diagnostic and interventional 

cardiac care services following 

the opening of the Gosford Heart Centre 

in early June 2012. The cardiac service 

promises to enhance cardiac care on the 

Central Coast, Lower Hunter region and 

as far as Dubbo with state-of-the-art 

technology, newly constructed facilities 

and leading cardiologists. 

Already acknowledged as a leading local 

health care provider, Gosford Private 

Hospital will deliver emergency response, 

interventional and diagnostic cardiac 

treatment to over 100 patients per month 

through the Heart Centre. 

“Gosford Heart Centre is a new service with 

the simple aim of providing local cardiologists 

with the best technology available to enhance 

the delivery of day-to-day patient care,” said 

Mr Steve Atkins, CEO of Healthe Care, who 

was part of the planning team and lead the 

e� ort to build the new service. 

Gosford Heart Centre includes a cardiac 

catheterization laboratory, a cardiovascular 

procedure room, a dedicated six-bed private 

coronary unit and an eight-bed intensive care 

unit, which have been custom designed to 

e� ectively meet the needs of cardiac patients. 

The Heart Centre will also be supported by a 

chest pain referral service to provide patients 

and their GPs with direct access to 

cardiovascular specialists. This means that 

existing patients will have immediate access 

to emergency care and support. 

“It’s a signifi cant milestone for our hospital 

and we strongly believe that Gosford Heart 

Centre will quickly become recognised as a 


The Gosford 

Heart Centre opens 

leading provider of cardiovascular medicine 

for the central coast,” said Ms Sue Rigney, 

CEO Gosford Private Hospital. 

Cardiologist, Dr Brendan Gunalingam who 

is one of the specialists closely involved with 

the establishment of the service, undertook 

several procedures at the Heart Centre on 

its opening day. 

“I’ve performed a number of procedures 

and am pleased with the level of planning and 

technology that has gone into establishing 

the service,” said Dr Gunalingam who runs a 

successful private practice in North Sydney 

and the Central Coast. “Everything ran 

smoothly and the sta� were attentive and 

responsive.” 

Gosford Heart Centre is one of a number of 

new services that have been introduced over 

the last few years as part of the hospital’s 

multimillion redevelopment project. 

August 2012 25


Improving 

cataract 

surgery 

NSW-fi rst device ensures greater accuracy for 

the world’s most commonly performed surgery 

26 August 2012

CATARACT surgery patients at 

Hunter Valley Private Hospital 

(HVPH) will be among the fi rst 

in Australia to benefi t from a 

new, state-of-the-art surgery 

guidance device to ensure more accurate 

positioning of lenses. 

HVPH is the fi rst hospital in NSW, and the 

second in the southern hemisphere, to use 

the $65,000 German-made SMI Surgical 

Guidance Solution, which only came on to 

the market globally last year. The machine 

takes a detailed photo of the eye. This image 

is then transferred to theatre with real-time 

eye tracking ensuring extremely accurate 

alignment of a lens. 

Consultant surgeon Dr David Manning 

said the machine takes the guesswork out of 

a critical part of a cataract operation, which 

until now has been done by manual marking 

of the eye. After anaesthetic, and once a 

patient lies down, the eye can rotate, causing 

misalignment of the lens. Dr Manning said 

the device improves the accuracy and the 

stability of vision outcomes for patients. 

“For every degree o� axis you are out with 

a toric lens, the lens lose three percent of its 

e� ect. So if you are out by just 10 degrees, 

one-third of the toric e� ect is lost,” 

Dr Manning said. 

“We are seeing a change in lens technology 

and an increasing number of people are 

getting premium lenses. This device is 

particularly benefi cial for people requiring 

toric lenses to correct for astigmatism and 

for multifocal lenses.” 

Dr Manning said everyone eventually gets 

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‘‘ 

THE IMAGE IS TRANSFERRED TO 

THEATRE WITH REAL-TIME EYE 

TRACKING ENSURING EXTREMELY 

ACCURATE ALIGNMENT OF A LENS 

cataracts and they are the leading cause of 

vision loss among people aged 55 and over. 

Cataract surgery is the most performed 

procedure in the world. According to the 

World Health Organisation, more than 

20 million cataract operations are performed 

globally every year, with 200,000 of those 

carried out in Australia and New Zealand. 

HVPH has been o� ering cataract surgery 

to Hunter patients for more than 21 years. 

More than 1200 cataract operations are 

performed at the hospital each year. 

HVPH CEO Lance Wheeldon said the 

hospital continues to invest in leading 

technology to ensure doctors and other 

medical sta� can deliver the very best 

patient care. A $20 million upgrade of the 

hospital completed last year included two 

new integrated Stryker theatres featuring 

the latest in digital technology, including 

high defi nition cameras, high-defi nition fl at 

screen monitors and special LED surgical 

lighting, housed in special pendants 

suspended from the ceiling. The new 

theatres were also a fi rst for the region. 

HVPH is a locally owned and independent 

hospital that specialises in a range of surgery 

and rehabilitation services. A team of more 

than 75 doctors and 230 sta� provide care to 

more than 11,000 people each year. 

Image thanks to SMI Surgery Guidance 


www.lib.monash.edu/ecs/ 

‘‘

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benefi t from 

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HIP works hard to offer members better 

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Improved policy benefi ts include: 

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• a 20% increase in the benefi t of each unit 

of death cover 

• $6,000** per month of income protection 

for four units of cover. 

Health Industry Plan 

HIP is a national industry superannuation 

fund for health and associated industries, 

offering low fees, no commissions, great 

insurance, super pensions, plus much more 

– run for the benefi t of members. 

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This information from Health Industry Plan contains general advice only. It is not specifi c to your personal fi nancial situation, objectives or needs. Get the facts (including a Product Disclosure Statement) from 

www.hipsuper.com.au or talk to a fi nancial advisor before making any super decisions. The Trustee of HIP ABN 50 030 598 247 is Private Hospitals Superannuation Pty Ltd ABN 59 006 792 749, AFSL 247063. 

* This calculation is based on members aged between 16-36 at four units of cover, and only if members apply for an additional three units of cover within 60 days of joining the Fund. Insurance benefi t is reduced 

each subsequent year. Please refer to the HIP Insurance Booklet or PDS for full details. 

** Subject to a maximum monthly benefi t of 75% of the member’s monthly income. Please refer to the HIP Insurance Booklet or PDS for full details.

C 

AIRNS Private Hospital’s 

operating theatre redevelopment 

o� cially opens on 28 August 

and features a new stage one, 

two and three recovery unit, 

sta� change room, dining room, day unit, 

endoscopy suite and pre-op admissions area 

as well as one complete operating theatre and 

one operating room shell. 

The seven-stage project took 10 months 

to complete and will increase the number of 

operating suites to six operational theatres, 

with a seventh to be built-in and 

commissioned at a later stage. Steve 

Thompson, Operating Services Nurse Unit 

Manager, said the project occurred all within 

the walls of the existing hospital. 

“We haven’t extended beyond the walls of the 

building,” Mr Thompson said. “Undertaking the 

redevelopment without any alteration to 

theatre services and sta� ng was the biggest 

challenge for us and a huge achievement. 

“The design of the theatre redevelopment 

has taken into account patient movement, 

the latest technology and sta� accessibility to 

optimise e� ciency and patient care. With this 

new operating theatre we will be able to o� er 

surgeons additional permanent theatre 

sessions to keep up with the demand. Using 

the sixth operating theatre to its full capacity 

will increase output by 20 percent.” 

The theatre equipment is plugged into 

elevated consoles and the images from 

di� erent sources are displayed on the 

screens above, o� ering the surgeons 

accuracy, positioning and ultimately more 

control. The equipment is connected to 

overhead booms, which leaves the fl oor space 


Ready for 

action 

Cairns Private Hospital’s state-of-the art theatre 

redevelopment features a new Stryker Integrated i-Suite 

clear of electrical cords and equipment and 

reduces the need for manual handling of 

equipment in, out and around the room. 

The seventh operating room will be built 

and commissioned when the hospital can 

meet the demands of the increase in patient 

throughput. Until then, the hospital’s new 

integrated suite will cater for endoscopic and 

a variety of specialities with the primary focus 

on arthroscopic and laparoscopic procedures. 

“Completion of the redevelopment is 

exciting for the theatre sta� at Ramsay 

Cairns,” Mr Thompson said. 

“We have a new operating room that will 

provide more e� cient patient fl ows and has 

the latest equipment and technology, which 

will bring Cairns Private Hospital in line with 

other major health facilities.” 

By Alexandra McLaren 



Epworth expands it’s rehabilitation services 

Master Plan 

for a stronger 

Epworth HealthCare 

BUILDING is the current 

buzz word across Epworth, 

with a new teaching hospital 

planned for regional Geelong 

and both Epworth Richmond 

and Epworth Rehabilitation Camberwell in 

the throes of major infrastructure projects. 

Epworth Rehabilitation Camberwell will be 

the fi rst of the three to be fully completed, 

scheduled for the middle of next year. 

With the 2006 acquisition of Cedar Court 


Rehabilitation Hospital in Camberwell, 

Epworth’s position as Victoria’s largest 

private provider of rehab services grew 

exponentially. It was purchased in 

collaboration with ING Healthcare 

Properties Trust, with Epworth acquiring 

full ownership in 2009. 

Current specialties at the centre include 

the clinical management of in-patients and 

out-patients following acquired brain injury 

(ABI); hip and knee joint replacement; 

multi-trauma; orthopaedic surgery; 

neurological events such as stroke; cardiac 

events and pain management issues. 

In 2010, the City of Boroondara approved 

plans for a $35 million redevelopment that 

includes 68 new private patient rooms, as 

well as new consulting suites, therapy rooms 

and educational facilities added to the 

current centre. All up, the new facility will 

improve the site signifi cantly and bring the 

total number of beds to 146 for both

ehabilitation and psychiatry patients. 

Psychiatry services will include in-patient 

and day-patient programs for both adults and 

adolescents, with specifi c needs around 

depression, anxiety disorders, eating 

disorders and mood disorders. 

Moving into the area of mental health 

services has seen Epworth plan a ‘wellness 

precinct’ so that all patients will benefi t from 

other services available on the site. The 

co-location will enable psychiatrists to 

develop a new approach to patient care that 

incorporates improved exercise, dietary and 

healthy living activities alongside a specialist 

psychiatry service. The development 

incorporates an education and research 

centre to facilitate undergraduate and 

post-graduate training for medicine, nursing 

and allied health students and sta� . 

Project managers Aurecon and architects 

Silver Thomas Hanley are overseeing 

progress of the works, in conjunction with 

builders Construction Engineering, to ensure 

that construction causes minimal disruption 

to the operations of the current rehabilitation 

facility, which is located within a busy 

suburban tra� c area. 

Progress to date includes excavation of the 

basement levels and installation of pad 

‘‘ 

MOVING INTO MENTAL HEALTH 

SERVICES HAS SEEN EPWORTH 

PLAN A ‘WELLNESS PRECINCT’ SO 

ALL PATIENTS WILL BENEFIT FROM 

ALL AVAILABLE SERVICES 

footings in preparation for pouring the 

ground slabs. The tower crane was 

commissioned following its recent 

installation and in spite of Melbourne’s 

winter weather stopping work on a few days, 

Construction Engineering helped sta� 

continue providing the very best in 

rehabilitation services to Epworth patients. 

By July 2013, Epworth patients will not 

recognise their old hospital. A new gleaming 

entrance on Burke Road will open its doors. 

The total works include ancillary retail and 

support services as well as 98 extra car spaces, 

taking the capacity on site to 154. 

As for the mother ship back at Epworth 

Richmond, Stage 1 of a four-stage 

redevelopment has recently uncovered the 

stunning new Porte Cochere, which has 

transformed the hospital’s façade to an 

imposing edifi ce and brightened a slice of 

busy Bridge Road at the same time. Everyone 

is enjoying the before and after comparisons. 

As well as adding nearly 400 new car parking 

spaces on site, the major building project at 

Richmond will provide 23 new operating 

theatres, 430 new private rooms, new critical 

care and ICU beds and a new Emergency 

Department. But that is another story… 

By Colleen Coghlan 


‘‘ 

Images: artist’s impression


Growth for 

Healthscope hospitals in 

Queensland 


Healthscope hospitals in Queensland 

have undergone signifi cant growth in 2012 

Sunnybank Private Hospital 

Day Surgery Manager Cathy Ariotti 

Sunnybank Private Hospital 

In March, Sunnybank Private Hospital 

o� cially opened a new integrated operating 

theatre, refurbished intensive care unit and 

recovery rooms. 

“There was demand for another theatre to 

support surgical growth,” said Katrina Ryan, 

Sunnybank Private Hospital General 

Manager. “We’re putting ourselves on the 

map. With our new improved ICU, we’re well 

placed to provide higher acuity services to 

our patients.” 

With the fi rst stage of the development 

project complete, there are now plans to 

refurbish the hospital’s maternity unit, with 

architects already working on designs.

Pine Rivers Private Hospital 

To meet increasing demand for mental 

health services, Pine Rivers Private Hospital 

more than doubled in-patient beds to 79. 

The expansion took place gradually over 

12 months, and was completed in July. 

“Pine Rivers Private Hospital had reached 

full capacity and often had a wait list,” said 

Queensland State Manager, Richard Lizzio. 

“It was clear that more people needed the 

service in the northern corridor from 

Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast.” 

With a growing number of people 

Gold Coast Private Hospital 

Healthscope’s most anticipated new 

development for Queensland is the Gold 

Coast Private Hospital. 

General Manager of Allamanda Private 

Hospital, David Harper is on the planning 

committee for the new private hospital, 

which will sit adjacent to the public Gold 

Coast University Hospital. 

“We are now entering into the design 

development stage,” said David. 

Designs include a Level 2 special care 

nursery with nine cots, 12-bed intensive care 

unit, 11 operating theatres, a hybrid theatre 

and cardiac catheterisation lab. 

seeking Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation 

(TMS) treatment for depression, a second 

machine was added as part of the 

redevelopment. 

“Patients come from as far as Cairns and 

Co�s Harbour because Pine Rivers Private 

Hospital is the only site o�ering TMS in 

Queensland,” Richard said. 

“There are now two TMS machines 

running continuously to keep up with 

demand for this e�ective and non-invasive 

treatment.” 

The Gold Coast Private Hospital will also 

have 180 medical and surgical beds, a six-bed 

paediatric unit, 25 maternity beds and five 

delivery suites. 

“As part of a green strategy, we have 

partnered with Queensland Health to 

Brisbane Private Hospital 

At Brisbane Private Hospital, consultation between 

management and architects resulted in the decision to 

consolidate two smaller operating theatres into one. Since the 

new theatre opened in April, spinal and neurosurgery have 

increased and Brisbane Private Hospital became the first in 

the southern hemisphere to purchase a portable full body CT 

scanner. Known as BodyTom the portable CT allows theatre 

sta� to perform inter-operative and post-operative scans. 

A fully integrated camera monitoring system was also 

installed, allowing visiting medical sta� to view live surgery 

and increasing the hospital’s teaching potential. 

“The growth we’ve already seen will be supported by plans 

to refurbish patient accommodation,” said Mairi McNeill, 

General Manager. 

purchase utility services, emergency 

power and chilled water,” said David. 

With designs expected to be finalised 

this year, construction of the new hospital 

is anticipated to commence mid-2013. 


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for Bundaberg 

Licences to operate an Intensive Care Unit and Cardiac Catheterisation 

Laboratory granted to the Friendly Society Private Hospital 

DELIVERING advanced 

cardiac services to the 

Bundaberg and Wide Bay 

community has reached 

another milestone. The 

Friendly Society Private Hospital has been 

given approval to operate both the Intensive 

Care Unit and the Cardiac Catheterisation 

Laboratory; both constructed as part of the 

recent multi-million dollar development. 

The Friendly Society Private Hospital’s 

Cardiac Investigations Unit will be the only 

private or public facility of this kind between 

the Sunshine Coast and Townsville. It is 

anticipated that the full commissioning of 

this unit will happen later this year and will 

bring a new range of medical specialties to the 

Friendlies and importantly patients in 

regional centres. Traditionally patients had 

a signifi cant delay in access to more invasive 

cardiac procedures due to remoteness and 

at times di� culty in transporting patients 

to tertiary centres based in Brisbane and 

the Sunshine Coast. 

The new services provided will include 

procedures such as angiographies, where 

dye is injected into the heart to see how it is 

working and if there are any blockages. Other 

procedures that will be undertaken in the 

Cardiac Investigations Unit include the 

insertion and revisions of cardiac pacemakers 

and defi brillators, trans-oesophageal 

echocardiograms and cardioversions. 

The equipment itself is state-of-the-art 

and allows cardiologists to undertake 

advanced diagnostic procedures locally. 

“By having the Cardiac Catheterization 

Theatre we will be able to determine a 

defi nitive diagnosis within 24 hours, which 

will have a major impact on the acute 

management of patients with acute coronary 

syndromes,” said Cardiologist, Dr Conradie 

from Bundaberg Cardiology. 

“The theatre will also help attract other 

specialties, including vascular surgeons, 

which will further enhance the delivery of 

extensive cardiovascular care to the Wide 

Bay community. “As cardiologists we are 

looking forward in establishing the services 

as soon as possible and to play a part in 


Advanced cardiac services 

delivering fi rst-rate medicine and fast track 

access to cardiovascular care to all our 

patients in the community.” 

The Friendly Society Private Hospital also 

received notifi cation of approval to operate an 

Intensive Care Unit (ICU). This will allow the 

hospital to establish four intensive care beds to 

complement the current Coronary Care Unit, 

which means that in the event that more 

complex medical and surgical conditions arise, 

the hospital will be well equipped to handle 

this locally. The intensive care services will be 

well supported with many nurses from the 

Coronary Care Unit updating their skills over 

the past 12 months in readiness for the 

soon-to-open ICU. 

The ICU will also enable the comprehensive 

cardiac services to continue to expand with 

the soon-to-be-implemented cardiac 

investigations unit. These approvals 

certainly continue to propel Friendly Society 

Private Hospital along the path of being 

Bundaberg and the Wide Bay’s leading 

healthcare facility. 

By Creina Lister 


FRESENIUS 

KABI 

Caring for life 

Committed to improving the quality of life of critically and chronically ill 

patients through innovative products and a focus on therapy and care. 

When pharmacist Dr Eduard 

Fresenius took over the Fresenius 

family pharmacy in Frankfurt in 

1912 he had big ideas. A skilled pharmacist, 

Dr Eduard Fresenius built a small laboratory 

and started experimenting, developing 

innovative products to meet the needs of 

his customers. 

Yet even Dr Eduard Fresenius could not 

have imagined that the company he started 

would grow to become a world leader that 

it is today. 

Fresenius Kabi’s oncology, anaesthesia 

and IV drugs are indispensible in the 

emergency, intensive care and surgical 

departments of thousands of hospitals 

worldwide. Its comprehensive portfolio of 

infusion solutions provides hospitals with 

products for fluid substitution and blood 

volume replacement. Fresenius Kabi is 

also one of the few companies to offer 

both parenteral and enteral nutrition. 

This range of products ensures patients 

receive comprehensive nutrition to support 

their recovery. 

All these products are supported by 

specialised medical devices that improve 

the convenience and safety of application 

for both medical professionals and their 

patients. 

Innovation for total patient care 

Dr Eduard Fresenius’ focus on developing 

products that make a difference in the lives 

of those who use them remains integral to 

Fresenius Kabi. 

“If there’s one thing that has been a 

hallmark of Fresenius Kabi it is innovation,” 

says Peter Nolan, Fresenius Kabi’s 

Pharmaceutical Division Director. 

“Our range of products, the containers 

they come in and the devices used for 

infusion and transfusion, as well as the 

ways Fresenius Kabi manufactures these 

products, are all highly innovative. It’s a big 

part of the Fresenius Kabi fabric. 

“By developing such a wide range of 

products specifically for people who 

are critically ill, Fresenius Kabi aims to 

provide these vulnerable patients with 

access to state-of-the-art products in all 

areas of treatment; total patient care 

for the critically ill. 

“We can provide a comprehensive 

portfolio of products and services for 

chronically or critically ill patients, 

including administration of the drugs 

through application technology” says Peter. 

“From the needles and lines connected 

through the port to the pump and the 

IV drugs, fluids or nutrition the patient 

requires during surgery or treatment. 

Furthermore our range also covers areas of 

transfusion technology, such as apheresis 

and autotransfusion.” 

Fresenius Kabi is also researching a 

total cancer care concept, which aims to 

ensure patients receive the individualised 

nutritional support they need before, 

during and after treatment. 

“Ideally we would like to see a nutritional 

profile developed for each cancer patient 

as soon as they are diagnosed, even before 

surgery or chemotherapy,” says Peter. “This

Fresenius Kabi aims to provide vulnerable 

patients with access to state-of-the-art 

products in all areas of treatment; total 

patient care for the critically ill 

would allow us to determine what nutrition 

the patient requires during treatment or if 

they should be given particular supplements 

to take home after treatment. 

“There is a lot of research that suggests 

if you provide nutritional support to 

patients during their cancer journey they 

manage their side effects better and 

ultimately recover more quickly. 

“These types of programs have the 

potential to reduce the burden of health 

as they may shorten the length of hospital 

stays as well as lessen the number of 

infections and complications, all of which 

can decrease costs for hospitals. 

“Really that’s our aim for everything we 

do: improve the quality of life of critically 

ill people by providing quality products 

and supporting the health professionals 

who treat them. 

“The quality of the company’s products 

is essential in this aim and quality 

management is taken seriously. All the 

company’s employees are very aware that 

the products they produce are for very 

sick patients. 

“I think our employees feel real pride in 

working for us because the products really 

can make a difference to people’s lives,” 

says Peter. “The staff are also very aware 

that they have a responsibility to those 

patients. A great example is our oncology 

compounding. We produce around 200,000 

individual patient-specific doses each year 

across our three compounding centres. 

“Because our people are so integral 

to our success we are very committed to 

them. We invest quite heavily to ensure 

they enjoy coming to work each day and 

can grow with us.” 

Fresenius Kabi in Australia 

The company’s ability to provide its 

products in a timely manner and at a 

competitive price has been bolstered by 

a commitment to local manufacturing. To 

better service the Australian market, local 

operations were established in 2004. 

Here, Fresenius Kabi is best known for 

its oncology compounding. The centres in 

Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane service 

more than 180 hospitals nationally. The 

local centres mean the majority of orders 

are turned around in under 24 hours. 

Fresenius Kabi has also recently invested 

in robotic automation to support its 

competence in oncology compounding. 

RIVA (Robotic Intravenous Administration) 

is considered the gold standard in 

compounding technology and has the 

capacity to produce up to 45,000 units 

of chemotherapy drugs each year. RIVA 

uses automation technology to compound 

intravenous drug products for syringes and 

IV bags, resulting in a high level of accuracy 

and efficiency. The technology also reduces 

human operator exposure to cytotoxic 

drugs, creating a safer compounding 

environment. These are all important 

factors to both employees and patients in 

the healthcare system. 

“We have TGA licensed facilities in 

Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and 

plan further geographic expansion as the 

business grows. Fresenius Kabi, through a 

subsidiary, holds a pharmacy license 

co-located at the Sydney facility, which 

allows us to provide clinical services at the 

same time as the compounded drugs. We 

are a one-stop-shop in that regard. 

“We’d like to build on our foundations 

by developing an e-health portal where 

patients can go to find more information on 

the treatments they are receiving. We want 

to make the portal accessible and simple. 

It’s another way we can provide support to 

a patient during their journey.” 

To achieve all this, and continue the 

company’s rapid growth, Fresenius Kabi has 

already committed to ongoing investments 

in its products, services and its people in 

locations right across Australia. 

“We’re here to stay,” says Peter. 

Fresenius Kabi Australia Pty Ltd 

964 Pacific Highway Pymble NSW 2073 

Phone: 1300 732 001 

Fax: 1300 304 384 

www.fresenius-kabi.com.au 

PM2012.187


Prompt cardiac 

diagnosis 


The Avenue Hospital has opened its 

new cardiac diagnostic services

EARLIER this year, The Avenue 

Hospital in Melbourne opened 

its new Cardiac Diagnostic 

Services Department to 

complement its existing 

Cardiac Catheter Laboratory. 

According to recent Australian Bureau of 

Statistics data, coronary artery disease 

remains the leading cause of death in this 

country. In Western countries, an increasing 

prevalence of obesity and diabetes is 

contributing to higher risks of coronary 

artery disease. Unfortunately, coronary 

artery disease can remain silent for years 

until sudden disease progression occurs, 

resulting in an acute coronary syndrome, 

or ‘heart attack’. 

The Avenue Hospital’s new cardiac 

diagnostic service has already earned a 

reputation for rapid accessibility for patients 

and prompt reporting turnaround for 

referrers. Augmenting the tertiary cardiac 

treatment services provided at the hospital, 

the cardiac diagnostic service provides a 

dedicated, comprehensive service to meet 

the needs of patients, general practitioners 

and physicians. 

Dr Andris Ellims, a cardiologist at 

The Avenue Hospital, specialises in the 

non-invasive assessment of coronary 

artery disease. 

“It is important that our community is 

aware of the warning symptoms of coronary 

artery disease, particularly newly-recognised 

chest pain or shortness of breath, and seek 

medical assistance promptly should they 

occur,” he said. 

The new cardiac diagnostic services at 

The Avenue Hospital provides a full range 

of non-invasive tests from 12-lead ECG and 

exercise stress tests, through to Stress 

Echocardiograms and Dobutamine Stress 

Echocardiograms. Consultation with a 

Consultant Cardiologist is also available. 

Perhaps the easiest and most dynamic 

test for detecting coronary artery disease 

is the Stress Echocardiogram. Stress 

Echocardiography uses a treadmill and the 

Bruce Exercise Protocol (through increasing 

treadmill speed and inclination) to increase 

heart rate and contractility. Prior to, and 

immediately after exercise, an ultrasound 

‘‘ 

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT OUR 

COMMUNITY IS AWARE OF THE 

WARNING SYMPTOMS OF 

CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE 

transducer is placed on the chest wall in a 

number of imaging positions (windows) to 

evaluate heart function. Pre and post images 

are then compared to determine whether 

myocardial wall contractility has increased 

appropriately with exercise. 

If a region of the heart is slow to, or doesn’t, 

contract, this is suggestive of a coronary artery 

obstruction due to a build up of cholesterol 

laden plaque. With detection, a patient can 

then be managed with medications or referred 

to the Cardiac Catheter Laboratory for 

coronary angiography where stenotic or 

‘narrowed’ plaque can be identifi ed and, if 

necessary, opened by ballooning (angioplasty) 

and coronary stenting. 

Another useful non-invasive cardiac 

imaging test for diagnosing coronary artery 

Cardiologist Dr Andris Ellims 

disease and assessing heart structure and 

function is Transthoracic Echocardiography 

(TTE). In this procedure, a selection of 

ultrasound views are employed to evaluate 

cardiac chamber size, heart valves and the 

great vessels. Doppler ultrasound can 

interrogate blood fl ow and myocardial tissue 

velocities. Ultrasound images are displayed 

on an ultrasound machine, stored digitally 

and are available for review later. 

If you are an adult with high blood 

pressure, elevated cholesterol, diabetes, a 

family history of heart disease and/or a 

current or ex-smoker, see your doctor today 

about the consideration of non-invasive 

testing for coronary artery disease. 

By the Cardiac Diagnostic Services team, 

The Avenue Hospital 


‘‘

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Paperless 

learning 

gets high marks 

MACQUARIE University 

Hospital’s Learning and 

Development Department 

has developed a new 

web-based e-learning 

system for sta� , which has proven to be 

highly successful. The fl exible system is 

designed to accommodate the varying 

shift patterns of work – including those of 

external contractors – as well as the diversity 

of aptitude, literacy and professional 

di� erences among sta� . 


New e-learning modules at 

Macquarie University Hospital 

have engaged staff and made 

training requirements easier 

At their convenience, sta� can login to the 

system via any internet access point, 

including on android and tablet devices. Sta� 

then complete modules that are relevant to 

them by the required due date. Some 

modules, such as ‘emergency procedures’ 

and ‘manual handling’, are compulsory for 

all new employees. Other modules are 

tailored for particular segments of sta� . 

Nurses, for example, complete modules like 

‘basic life support’ and ‘safe medication 

administration’. 

➤ 




“Being a digital and a paperless 

organisation, we opted for the most 

advanced systems that we could,” explained 

Lyn Saul, who led the initiative. “We selected 

a system called Moodle and partnered with 

Access Macquarie, an education-based IT 

department at Macquarie University, to 

implement it.” 

Lyn and Senior Nurse Educator Marcella 

Grech completed a sta� needs analysis to 

determine the diversity of educational needs 

across the organisation. By using this 

consultative approach, the team planned the 

di� erent modules. 

“E-learning packages are usually generic,” 

said Lyn. “But we wanted something 


‘‘ 

THIS HAS STREAMLINED 

ACCESS TO TRAINING 

BECAUSE WE’VE CREATED 

A USER-FRIENDLY SYSTEM 

AND A POSITIVE 

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT 

engaging so we took photos of sta� doing 

their work and used these in the modules. It 

was important that the materials refl ected 

the look and feel of Macquarie University 

Hospital and the value of each individual’s 

role in maintaining our high standards.” 

The team opted for an e-book-style 

interface rather than a traditional power 

point look because it is user-friendly and 

more comprehensive. Modules can be 

updated to integrate new information. Each 

page also has an interactive activity, with the 

system making good use of audio-visual tools. 

“From a data analysis point of view, it’s 

been fantastic,” said Lyn. “We can measure if 

anyone is having di� culties and where we 

may need to mobilise extra resources. This 

allows us to assist sta� individually or to 

tailor-make training for discrete areas. 

“The data is easily retrievable and goes 

straight to an individual sta� member’s 

compliance fi le. Their profi le pages show 

them their results with a graph of their 

performance, so it’s all transparent. 

“Sta� love it! Within a month of launching 

our ‘emergency procedures’ module, we had 

90 percent compliance. This has 

dramatically streamlined access to 

mandatory training because we’ve created a 

user-friendly system and a positive learning 

environment.” 

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THE NEW private hospital at 

Kawana on the Sunshine Coast 

University Hospital site is 

starting to take shape and is now 

one third of the way through 

its building schedule. When it opens in late 

2013, the new $150 million private hospital 

will provide a signifi cant range and volume of 

services to public patients through a service 

purchase agreement with Queensland Health. 

Akalan Project Director David Du� y said 

despite two metres of rainfall this year, 

construction was on track with ground slabs 

completed in May and the level one 

suspended slabs due to be completed by mid 

June. Construction company John Holland 

said 100,000 man-hours have been completed 

by workers on site so far. 

The next stages are the commencement 

of internal trades and the erection of the 

structural steel roof. 

Ramsay’s Queensland State Manager Lloyd 

Hill said Ramsay Health Care was very happy 

with the progress of the development. 

“Planning for fi tting out of the operating 

theatres and the intensive care unit are now 

well underway and we are pleased to report 

that these facilities will be equipped with the 

latest technology,” said Mr Hill. 

“The six theatres will have smart operating 

room technology that can bring patient 

critical information into the operating suite 

during a procedure. The hospital will also 

have a catheter laboratory for cardiac and 

vascular procedures.” 

Mr Hill said the interest from doctors 


Sunshine Coast 

University Private 

Hospital on track 

Construction is on track for completion in late 2013 

locally and Australia-wide was strong. “We 

have had over 1,100 expressions of interest 

from people wanting to work at the facility. 

The majority of the interest is coming from 

the local community but we have had a lot of 

interest from interstate. 

“We are also really happy with the interest 

from doctors to work at this hospital. Many 

of these doctors have expressed interest in 

purchasing suites in the on-site specialist 

centre and already we have had to expand our 

initial planning for this centre to cope with 

the high demand.” 

In June the Queensland O� ce of Fair 

Trading advised that it has approved the name 

Sunshine Coast University Private Hospital. 

Ramsay applied for this name with support of 

the University of the Sunshine Coast. 



The hospital 

future 

of the 

Australia’s fi rst digital hospital will 

showcase the future of healthcare 

AUSTRALIA’S fi rst fullyintegrated 

digital hospital 

will be built at Hervey Bay on 

Queensland’s Fraser Coast by 

UnitingCare Health with the 

support of Federal Government funding. The 

state-of-the-art ‘hospital of the future’ will be 

supported by the Health and Hospitals Fund 

(HHF), which will provide $47 million 

towards the estimated $87.5 million 

construction and e-health costs. 

Scheduled to open in August 2014, the 

96-bed hospital will not only provide vital 

medical and surgical services and an 

unparalleled model of patient care, but also 

will be the fi rst to showcase the future of 

healthcare. According to UnitingCare 

Health’s Executive Director, Mr Richard 


Royle, this project will demonstrate how 

technology can transform the healthcare 

experience for patients and clinicians. 

“UnitingCare Health has always been 

committed to providing fi rst-class treatment 

and care and consistently redevelops and 

refurbishes its facilities both in Brisbane, at 

The Wesley and St Andrew’s War Memorial 

Hospital, and in the regions at The Sunshine 

Coast Private Hospital as well as at St Stephen’s 

in Maryborough. But this project at Hervey Bay 

will be transformational,” said Mr Royle. 

“The advanced wireless technologies will 

generate e� ciencies, improve safety and 

clinical outcomes and create higher levels 

of patient and clinician satisfaction. 

“All medical records, X-ray and pathology 

results will be accessible by doctors and 

nurses anywhere in the hospital, whether at 

the bedside or remotely on tablets, mobile 

phones, laptops or mobile computers on 

wheels, as well as at nurses’ stations. For the 

fi rst time, clinicians will have information at 

their fi ngertips which will enable faster and 

more e� cient decision making.” 

The Acting Minister for Health, Mark 

Butler, said that through the $5 billion Health 

and Hospitals Fund the Gillard Government 

was giving Australians better access to hospital 

services, while at the same time helping to 

create jobs and strengthen local economies. 

“Hervey Bay is one of the fastest growing 

local government areas in Australia,” said 

Mr Butler. “This hospital development will 

deliver world-class patient care, including 

through the latest in e-health technology.

“St Stephen’s is an important local project 

that will deliver the benefi ts of the Federal 

Government’s Health Reform agenda and 

commitment to e-health initiatives.” 

Leanne Tones, General Manager of 

St Stephen’s Hospital, said that the project 

was a unique opportunity to provide a 

fl agship hospital, not only for Hervey Bay, 

but for the whole of Australia. 

“To be the fi rst to build a fully-integrated 

digital hospital in the nation is a privilege and 

an enormous responsibility,” Ms Tones said. 

“We are putting together a prestigious 

e-health project team, sourced from the best 

available in Australia and complemented by 

leaders in the fi eld from the US, including 

Cerner, a major global provider of healthcare 

IT solutions.” 

‘‘ 

ALL MEDICAL RECORDS, 

X-RAY AND PATHOLOGY 

RESULTS WILL BE ACCESSIBLE 

BY DOCTORS AND NURSES 

ANYWHERE IN THE HOSPITAL 

Jill O’Brien, Director of Nursing at 

St Stephen’s Hervey Bay, said that the 

digital system will mean all electronic 

medical records, nurse call system, phone 

systems and patient medical devices such 

as blood pressure machines and infusions 

pumps would be integrated. 

“This will mean the development of an 

entirely new model of care with better 

accessibility to patient records and other 

information enabling improved sharing of 

information and results with patients and 

less time wasted trying to fi nd other sta� 

or equipment,” said Ms O’Brien. 

“The digital capability of St Stephen’s 

Hospital Hervey Bay and the corresponding 

change and innovation in work practices is 

an exciting challenge for our clinicians.” 

Richard Royle, UnitingCare Health 

Executive Director 


‘‘


Improving 

cancer care 

for Hunter residents 

GenesisCare and 

Lake Macquarie 

Private Hospital 

partner to provide 

radiation oncology 

services 


GENESISCARE and Lake 

Macquarie Private Hospital 

have combined in a 

partnership that will see 

essential radiation oncology 

services provided at the Hospital and will 

improve overall care and access for cancer 

patients in the Hunter Valley. 

In a fi rst for the region, Lake Macquarie 

Private Hospital will provide comprehensive, 

private cancer treatment services. This will 

be the fi rst and only private radiation 

oncology service in the Newcastle and Hunter 

region. GenesisCare will deliver radiation 

oncology services to accompany the existing 

medical oncology, day chemotherapy and 

cancer surgery services o� ered by Lake 

Macquarie Private Hospital. 

The benefi ts for those undergoing 

treatment for cancer in Newcastle, Lake 

Macquarie and the broader Hunter Region 

will be signifi cant. 

“This announcement is the culmination 

of extensive consultation and planning 

between GenesisCare, Ramsay Health Care 

and local radiation and medical oncologists,”

said Mr John Pitsonis, Chief Executive 

O� cer of Lake Macquarie Private Hospital 

The Radiation Oncology Unit at Lake 

Macquarie Private Hospital will form part 

of a comprehensive range of private cancer 

services and supplement the hospital’s 

existing range of specialist medical, 

diagnostic and surgical services. 

“The provision of radiation oncology 

services compliments the existing range of 

cancer treatment services provided at Lake 

Macquarie Private Hospital as well as the 

comprehensive range of public cancer 

treatment services available within the 

Hunter New England Area Health Service,” 

said Mr Pitsonis. 

Speaking on behalf of local radiation 

oncologists, Dr Anne Capp said: “The 

development of a new, private radiation 

oncology service will benefi t cancer patients 

in the Hunter region by increasing local 

capacity and o� ering patient choice”. 

‘‘ 

THIS MUCH NEEDED ADDITION TO 

RADIATION ONCOLOGY SERVICES 

WILL PROVIDE THE PEOPLE OF 

NEWCASTLE WITH STATE-OF-THE-ART 

CANCER CARE AND TREATMENT 

Dr Peter O’Brien added: “This much 

needed addition to radiation oncology 

services will provide the people of 

Newcastle with state-of-the-art cancer 

care and treatment as part of a new 

comprehensive service. 

“The new centre will help relieve 

pressure on current radiotherapy services 

and most importantly, will reduce the 

enormous emotional burden for patients 

by improving access.” 

Planning has commenced with the unit 

set to be open late 2013. 

Managing Director of Genesis 

CancerCare, Mr Dan Collins, said: “As a 

result of the introduction of GenesisCare 

cancer services into Lake Macquarie Private 

Hospital, cancer patients in the Hunter 

region will benefi t from some of the most 

advanced Radiation Oncology treatment 

techniques, technology, clinical professionals 

and facilities available in Australia. We are 

pleased to be partnering alongside Ramsay 

in this initiative where the best of both 

organisations combines together for real 

patient benefi ts.” 


‘‘

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Into the 

Director of 

Emergency’s journey 

with 60 Minutes 

AN UNEXPECTED call from 

a 60 Minutes producer 

found Greenslopes Private 

Hospital’s Dr David 

Rosengren, Director of 

Emergency, o� on a spectacular journey to 

the centre of the earth, a magical place known 

as the Crystal Cave, deep in the deadly heart 

of a Mexican lead mine. 

After two years of planning and 

negotiation, the 60 Minutes team received 

two weeks’ notice to mobilise a crew to the 

province of Chihuahua in central Mexico, 

where they would have only four days’ access 

to secure this amazing story. 

As one of Australia’s leading emergency 

medicine specialists with a keen interest in 

Extreme experiences 

adventure medicine, Dr David Rosengren 

jumped at the opportunity to be part of this 

once in a lifetime experience. But this is not 

the fi rst time Dr Rosengren has travelled with 

the 60 Minutes crew having previously been 

at the centre of a story about potential causes 

of illness and recent deaths of trekkers on the 

Kokoda Track several years ago. 

This time 60 Minutes was keen to have 

Dr Rosengren join the crew because of the 

unique environment and conditions they 

would encounter in the Crystal Cave. 

In many caves and mines the temperature 

remains constant and cool, but the Naica 

mine gets hotter with depth because it lies 

above an intrusion of volcanic magma about 

a mile below the surface. Within the cave 

➤ 


Extreme experiences 

itself, the temperature leaps to in excess 

of 45 degrees Celcius with 100 percent 

humidity; an environment that is 

incompatible with human life. 

For hundreds of thousand of years, 

groundwater saturated with calcium sulphate 

fi ltered through the many caves at Naica, 

warmed by heat from the magma below. As 

the magma cooled, water temperature inside 

the cave eventually stabilised and remained 

static at about 52 degrees Celcius. At this 

temperature minerals in the water began 

converting to selenite (a form of gypsum) and 

molecules of which were laid down like tiny 

bricks to form crystals. Inside the Cave of 

Crystals, conditions remained unchanged for 

thousands of years and the crystals steadily 

grew. Only around 1985, when miners using 

massive pumps lowered the water table and 

unknowingly drained the cave, did the growth 

of the crystals stop. 

The limestone cavern and the world’s 

largest crystals were discovered in 2000 by 

two brothers drilling nearly a thousand feet 

below ground in the Naica mine, one of 

Mexico’s most productive, yielding tonnes 

of lead and silver each year. 

“There have been very few people allowed 


‘‘ 

THERE HAVE BEEN VERY FEW 

PEOPLE ALLOWED TO ENTER 

THE CAVE SO I FEEL VERY 

PRIVILEGED TO BE ONE OF THEM 

to enter the cave so I feel very privileged to 

be one of them,” said Dr Rosengren. “It is 

extraordinary – the walls and fl oor of the cave 

are covered in blocks and clusters of the crystal 

formations some of which span 11-12 metres 

and have a cross section of one-and-a-half 

metres. It is estimated that the oldest crystals 

would be in excess of 600,000 years old. 

Nothing on this scale has ever been seen before. 

“The giant gypsum crystals are like frozen 

pillars of ice, similar to Superman’s Fortress 

of Solitude. The di� erence is that the Crystal 

Cave is far from frigid; in fact is quite the 

opposite and can be quite dangerous. The 

catch is that the extreme environment 

needed to produce such massive crystals is 

incompatible with human life.” 

“The experience in the caves can best be 

described as excruciatingly hot, stunningly 

beautiful, and potentially deadly. It was my 

job to make sure the crew stayed outside 

the danger zone. Even with ice suits and 

protective gear the heat and humidity were 

oppressive and each visit inside the cave 

lasted about 10 to 12 minutes before we had to 

get out to avoid our bodies overheating. The 

conditions were tough for the crew who had 

to do several trips to set up camera and sound 

gear before we could even begin to fi lm.” 

The site remains part of a functioning mine 

and is locked to any access to protect the cave 

and the mine. Apart from the geologists and 

scientists who undertook extensive scientifi c 

survey in 2007-08 and stories covered by 

National Geographic in 2008 and BBC in 2010, 

the 60 Minutes crew, including Dr David 

Rosengren and British Geologist Dr Dougal 

Jerram, are among some of the select few that 

have been able to witness this extraordinary 

wonderland fi rst-hand. 

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Treating lymphoedema 

Using liposuction to help breast 

cancer patients with lymphoedema 

54 August 2012

A novel solution for 

A novel solutionfor 

lymphoedema 

WHEN breast cancer 

patient Megan 

Southwell developed 

lymphoedema 

following surgery, 

she put her hand up for a novel procedure 

that had just become available at Macquarie 

University Hospital. 

Diagnosed with breast cancer at the age 

of 36, Megan Southwell underwent a 

lumpectomy and lymph node resection, 

followed by a course of chemotherapy and 

radiation treatment. After her second 

round of chemotherapy, she developed a 

small infection in her right arm, which 

eventually became moderate to severe 

lymphoedema complicated by infection. 

The fatty deposits in the lymphoedematous 

arm prevented recovery by usual massage 

and compression therapy. 

Previously, with neither viable treatment 

nor cure available for lymphedema, patients 

would have had to simply endure the 

inconvenience of swollen limbs. But Megan 

found herself open to a novel solution being 

o� ered to breast cancer patients at Macquarie 

University Hospital. The solution involves 

applying a standard liposuction technique, 

usually used for removing fat from the 

stomach and thighs, to the removal of fat 

from the arm. It was pioneered by Swedish 

plastic and reconstructive surgeon Professor 

Hakan Brorson. 

The application of liposuction for 

lymphoedema in breast cancer patients 

was brought to Australia by Dr Helen 

Mackie, a specialist providing lymphoedema 

management to breast care patients at 

Macquarie University Hospitals Cancer 

Care Institute. 

In 2008, Dr Mackie – at Professor 

Brorson’s invitation – took a team from 

Australia to Malmo in Sweden to train in the 

full program, which includes the assessment, 

surgery and important aftercare of the 

multidisciplinary program. 

“Professor Brorson will not train a 

single person, only a team,” said Dr Mackie. 

“This is because it is the combination of 

elements of the team’s work that is innovative 

in his approach, as well as the selection of 

the patients who will most benefi t in 

improvement in their quality of life and 

physical function. 

“At Macquarie University Hospital, the 

multidisciplinary approach is securely in 

place to enable success of the approach. The 

involvement of the research team and the 

international connection will add further 

value for lymphoedema su� erers in a 

condition that has largely been ignored for 

many years, but is causing a loss of survivor 

quality of life.” 

To perform the procedure, a surgeon makes 

about ten small cuts in the arm. Because the 

fat in the arm is tougher than on the stomach 

and thigh, a sharper cannula is used and more 

sub-cutaneous fat is removed. A torniquet can 

be used – again, as this is possible with the 

arm – so less blood loss results. 

Plastic and reconstructive surgeon 

Dr Thomas Lam, who performed the 

operation in collaboration with Scottish 

surgeon Dr Alex Munnoch, agrees with 

Dr Mackie that it is the integrated team 

approach that plays the pivotal role in the 

success of this approach for patients. 

“The multidisciplinary team structure set 

up by Professor John Boyages in the Cancer 

Care Institute at Macquarie University 

Hospital is precisely what is enabling, and 

will enable, new procedures to come to 

Australia,” commented Dr Lam. 

“For many new procedures to be successful, 

they need follow-up and support. In Megan’s 

case, physiotherapy and occupational 

therapy after her surgery were paramount; 

without them the procedure would not have 

succeeded. 

“While surgeons can train and perform 

‘‘ 

PREVIOUSLY, A PATIENT LIKE 

MEGAN WOULD SUFFER A SORELY 

RESTRICTED QUALITY OF LIFE 

the procedures, they need the support of 

neurologists, rehabilitation specialists, 

radiographers, nurses and allied health 

workers. And this support needs to be close 

at hand and part of a well-established and 

integrated approach. At Macquarie 

University Hospital, we have this 

environment.” 

The benefi ts to patients are not 

insignifi cant. Previously, a patient like 

Megan would su� er not only the 

inconvenience and discomfort of a hugely 

swollen arm, but also a sorely restricted 

quality of life. For her, the procedure was an 

opportunity that would be life-changing. 

“The prospect of the procedure was exciting 

to me,” Megan said. “I gladly put my hand up 

when I heard about it. I found the teamwork 

at Macquarie University Hospital amazing; 

there was such a collaborative approach to my 

operation. The surgeons at the hospital are 

doing fi rst-time procedures in Australia; they 

are bringing new options to us. 

“I was back on my cross-trainer within a 

week and, for the fi rst time in four years, I 

could wear a coat,” said Megan with a smile. 


‘‘

Policy Patter with Barbara Lucy Cheetham Carney 

Future in 

partnerships? 


The focus of public and private 

sector partnerships is shifting 

towards service provision 

THE excitement surrounding the 

announcement of several major 

Public Private Partnerships 

(PPPs) and Privately Financed 

Projects (PFPs) in recent 

months, including the New Royal Adelaide 

Hospital in South Australia, contrasting with 

continuing tensions surrounding the Royal 

North Shore Hospital in Sydney, might well 

prompt deeper thinking on the future of 

public and private sector partnerships. 

National Public Private Partnership Policy 

and Guidelines endorsed by the Council of 

Australian Governments (COAG) in 

November 2008 recognise the role of PPPs 

in providing not only infrastructure but also 

services (although most of the emphasis to 

date has been on built infrastructure). 

Several recent reports highlight that new 

approaches are emerging in Australia and 

internationally that see a greater emphasis 

on service provision and the importance of 

fl exibility in ensuring that these partnerships 

deliver value. 

Katie Wood, Arup’s Australasia Healthcare 

leader, has recently highlighted the 

importance of understanding the need for 

long-term fl exibility when planning and 

contracting for hospital infrastructure. 1 

Two other papers both look to the UK for 

inspiration. In a paper from the Centre for 

Independent Studies, Dr Jeremy Sammut 

argues that PFPs in NSW must be widened 

in scope to include not only building 

projects but the full range of clinical, 

accommodation and related services. 

However, if they are to work, Dr Sammut 

argues they must be grounded in 

management accountability. Local Health 

Districts must have autonomy and 

responsibility for their own budgets and PFP 

arrangements must allow for the introduction 

of fl exible workplace practices including the 

right to hire and fi re clinical sta� . 2 

Gary Sturgess cites several examples in the 

UK of new hybrid business models and supply 

chains through which public, private and 

not-for-profi t providers provide contracted 

services on behalf of government. Some 

models challenge traditional public and 

private sector defi nitions. 3 

In Australia too, collaboration between 

public and private sectors is taking an ever 

increasing variety of forms. Not all 

infrastructure development projects are on 

the mammoth scale of the New Royal 

Adelaide Hospital or the Royal Children’s 

Hospital in Melbourne. The 2012/13 

Commonwealth Budget provides for 

$475 million to support 76 rural and regional 

health infrastructure projects including 

10 involving private hospitals. Not all 

partnerships are infrastructure focused as 

there are also private wards in public 

hospitals and private hospitals providing 

public hospital services. 

COAG funding commitments to improve 

access to elective surgery and sub-acute 

care squarely focus attention on areas 

where the private sector is clearly placed to 

deliver. In future years, direct resourcing 

implications will fl ow from the performance 

of the states. As states and territories 

continue to look for ways to manage their 

fi scal environment and as approaches to 

activity based funding mature, will we see 

increased emphasis on competitive 

tendering? And on what terms? 

While there are some salutary instances 

of failure in the past, it is perhaps too 

early to tell whether the right lessons have 

been learnt. 

APHA is keen to ensure that policy at 

state and Commonwealth level is well 

informed not only by international practice 

but also by Australian industry experience. 

I would like to close my fi rst column by 

thanking those of you who have been so 

welcoming since I joined APHA in June 

and especially Michael Ro� , CEO and 

Dr Barbara Carney, my predecessor. 

Photography: Lindi Heap and Thinkstock

I look forward to hearing from many more of 

you in coming weeks as I work to enable 

APHA to bring your day-to-day issues to the 

attention of governments to e� ect practical 

change. Please feel free to contact me at 

lucy.cheetham@apha.org.au. 

References 

1. Katie Wood, Health / PPP hospitals must 

give value for money, 12 April 2012. http:// 

thoughts.arup.com/post/details/182/ 

ppp-hospitals-must-give-value-for-money 

2. David Gadiel and Jeremy Sammut, How the 

NSW Coalition Should Govern Health: 

Strategies for Microeconomic Reform, CIS 

Policy Monograph 128, The Centre for 

Independent Studies, June 2012. http:// 

www.cis.org.au/images/stories/policymonographs/pm-128.pdf 

3. Gary Sturgess, Diversity and Contestability 

in the Public Service Economy, NSW 

Business Chamber, June 2012. http://www. 

nswbusinesschamber.com.au/News- 

Media/Latest-News/Diversity-andcontestability-report-highlights-sev 

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Quality in Focus with Christine Gee 

Clinical quality 

registries 

IN KEEPING with the theme of this 

edition of Private Hospital, health 

infrastructure, I have enlisted the 

help of Nick Wilcox, Senior Project 

O�cer, Clinical Registries, Australian 

Commission Safety and Quality in Health 

Care to give insight and overview into the 

development of national arrangements for 

clinical quality registries. 

A recent study 1 of 13 disease registries in 

five countries indicates that clinical quality 

registries improve health outcomes, often at 

lower cost. The study suggests that, if the US 

had a hip replacement registry comparable to 

that in Sweden, the US would avoid $2 billion 

of an expected $24 billion in total costs for 

these interventions in 2015. 

The US and UK have a broad range of 

clinical quality registries and more than 

70 registries have been developed in Sweden. 

Over 20 of these registries have greater than 

85 percent patient coverage and the 

conditions or interventions they monitor 

represent approximately 25 percent of total 

national healthcare spending. 

In Australia, however, we can only monitor 

the degree to which health care benefits the 

patient and how closely that care aligns with 

the best available evidence for a small number 

of conditions and interventions. We have 

limited capacity to measure and compare: 

• the appropriateness of Australian health care 

for specific interventions and conditions 

• the e�ectiveness of interventions for patients. 

The paucity of data on the quality of 

healthcare interventions may come as a 

surprise to consumers of health care. It 

mystifies many who work in health as the 

healthcare sector is at the forefront of 


Developing national arrangements 

for clinical quality registries 

developments in medical technologies. 

National and international experience 

shows that clinical quality registries work and 

are cost-e�ective. In November 2010, Health 

Ministers endorsed the Commission’s 

Strategic and Operating Principles for Clinical 

Quality Registries 2 as the basis for a national 

approach to the development of registries. 

Historically, the drive to measure patient 

outcomes and adherence to recommended 

care has come from clinicians and clinical 

groups. In their ‘spare time’ clinicians have 

lead e�orts to build and populate their locally 

developed data collection systems by 

gathering and entering information on the 

patient’s condition, what was done in terms of 

medical or surgical interventions and the 

results of those interventions. The process, 

carried out with varying degrees of success, 

often involves busy clinicians entering data 

close to the point of care. 

Sometimes hospital units, or small groups 

of hospitals, have developed common 

databases. In many instances these systems 

have the ability to provide clinicians and 

hospitals with the capacity to track 

improvements in local outcomes over time. 

The outcomes of clinical teams can be 

compared within a particular hospital or 

across hospital groups. However, often the 

units that have the capacity to create such 

systems are the least likely to fall below a 

clinical standard or outcome benchmark. 

The ability to track outcome 

improvements does not necessarily provide 

an indication of the acceptability of those 

outcomes against minimum standards, and 

the goal of achieving comparisons across 

national peer groups remains unfulfilled. 

E�orts to address such comparisons are 

plagued by data and systems 

incompatibility and a complicated 

legislative environment. 

Some clinical groups in Australia have 

developed standardised data sets and 

sophisticated database systems - clinical 

quality registries - enabling routine 

monitoring and measures of health care 

e�ectiveness for jurisdictions, providers, 

funders, clinical colleges and researchers. 

This information facilitates comparison 

with peers and against benchmarks and the 

identification of significant variance in 

health care quality. Ultimately, the 

information is used by clinicians and 

clinical groups to inform improvements 

in healthcare quality, safety and value. 

Australia has at least 28 identified 

clinical registries which continuously 

collect patient-level data across numerous 

healthcare sites. Many can be classified as 

clinical quality registries because the 

primary purpose of the collection is to 

inform quality assurance or quality 

improvement activities. However, in 2009 

only a handful of registries, including those 

monitoring the management of hip and 

knee joint replacements, end-stage renal 

failure and intensive care, had acceptably 

high levels of participation. While other 

high-quality Australian registries exist, 

Photography: Lindi Heap

Pic credits here 

many lack adequate levels of coverage. A 

registry with low participation rates su� ers 

from ‘selection bias’; the resulting data is 

insu� ciently representative of the eligible 

population, thereby having little credibility 

to provide quality assurance or inform 

improvements in healthcare quality. 

Australian developments 

The principal barriers to the development of 

clinical quality registries in Australia are: 

• Data entry (collection) of source data 

• Poor interoperability between clinical 

information systems 

• Technical systems development and support 

• ‘Data governance’ burdens and constraints 

(restrictions on the disclosure, collection, 

and use of patient-level data) and 

• Funding. 

The Australian Commission on Safety and 

Quality in Health Care is working to address 

the fi rst four of these barriers. 

In November 2010, Health Ministers 

endorsed the Commission’s Strategic and 

Operating Principles for Clinical Quality 

Registries 2 as the basis for a national 

approach to the development of registries. 

Additionally, Ministers accepted that the 

Commission will draft national arrangements 

for clinical quality registries including: 

1. The drafting of costed infrastructure 

options for the establishment of secure 

data hosting and operational services for 

a limited number of high priority clinical 

quality registries, and 

2. The development of health information 

(or ‘data governance’) arrangements. 

In 2011 the Commission, in collaboration with 

the National E-Health Transition Authority, 

developed costed infrastructure options for 

clinical quality registries. In June 2012 the 

Commission published a suite of technical 

resources 3 to guide the development of 

registries including Business and Technical 

Requirements, Infrastructure and Technical 

Standards, Logical Architecture and Design, 

and a Security Certifi cation Framework. 

The Commission, working with expert 

advisory groups including jurisdictional 

representatives and sta� from established 

registries, is working to identify national data 

governance arrangements under which 

patient level data may be routinely disclosed, 

collected and analysed. This will support 

the monitoring and reporting of the 

appropriateness and e� ectiveness of specifi c 

healthcare interventions and conditions. 

This work, along with costed 

infrastructure options, will be presented to 

the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory 

Council in early 2013. 

I welcome your feedback on this column and 

on any matters relating to quality and safety 

and the Australian Commission on Safety and 

Quality in Health Care. I can be contacted via 

the APHA Secretariat, admin@apha.org.au 

References 

1. Larsson S et al Health A� airs Jan 2012 

2. www.safetyandquality.gov.au/our-work/ 

information-strategy/clinical-qualityregistries/strategic-operating-principles-forclinical-quality-registries 

3. www.safetyandquality.gov.au/our-work/ 

information-strategy/clinical-qualityregistries/technical-resources 

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Pharmacy Focus with Michael Ryan 

Medication 

safety 

Like most serious undertakings, 

Standard 4 (medication safety) raises 

as many questions as it answers 

THE ten National Safety 

and Quality Health Service 

(NSQHS) Standards have been 

developed by the Australian 

Commission on Safety and 

Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC). They 

are designed to provide a quality assurance 

mechanism that tests whether relevant 

systems are in place to ensure minimum 

standards of safety and quality are met and 

a quality improvement mechanism that 

allows health services to realise aspirational 

or developmental goals. 

The intention of the Medication Safety 

Standard is to ensure competent clinicians 

safely prescribe, dispense and administer 

appropriate medicines to informed patients 

and carers. The ACSQHC has produced a 

draft guide: 

• To help hospitals meet the requirements 

of the National Safety and Quality Health 

Service (NSQHS) standards 

• Which provides examples of evidence a 

hospital can use to demonstrate how it 

is meeting the NSQHS Standards and 

• Which provides additional information 

and resources and to support the 

implementation of the NSQHS Standards. 


It is important to note that the standards were 

designed by the ACSQHC to be applicable 

across all healthcare settings and to all 

categories of patients within those settings. 

The ACHS will be reviewing compliance with 

these standards from 1 January 2013. 

The five major criteria to achieve the 

standard for medication safety are: 

• Governance and systems 

• Documentation of patient information 

• Medication management processes 

• Continuity of medication management and 

• Communicating with patients and carers. 

The standard describes 15 ways for the 

criteria to be achieved and 37 actions 

required to do this. These 37 actions can be 

categorised into one or more of the following 

types of checking or reviewing: 

• That certain things are in place (eg policies 

and procedures, a governance structure etc) 

• That regular assessment or monitoring is 

occurring (eg medication incidents are 

regularly monitored) 

• That action is being taken (eg to reduce 

the risk of medication incidents) 

• That certain things are documented 

(eg a medication history) 

• That certain things are reported (eg ADRs 

are reported to the hospital and to the 

Therapeutic Goods Administration and 

• That audits where appropriate are 

conducted to provide evidence that the 

criteria are being met and the required 

activity is taking place (eg that a 

medication management plan is available 

in each patient’s clinical record). 

Obvious questions that arise in relation to 

audits (for which to date no guidance has 

been provided by the Commission) are: 

• How is the sample to be created and 

• What is the number of individual 

clinical records that need to be audited 

in order to provide a statistically 

appropriate level of confidence (eg to a 

90 percent or 95 percent level) that the 

sample does not vary by more than 

10 percent from the whole of the 

hospital’s patient population. 

The sampling method and size of the 

sample are critical to providing this level 

of confidence and to allow the audit to be 

conducted again with the confidence that 

Photography: Philip Smith

Pic credits here 

the results of longitudinal audits can be 

compared and changes accurately identifi ed. 

To date the Commission has also not 

provided a tool that will facilitate accurate 

and fast data collection and tabulation. It is 

possible to create such a tool, using MS Excel, 

which allows data from multiple sources 

within the individual clinical record to be 

noted in a way that make this onerous task 

much easier. 

The examples that the ACSQHC uses in the 

(draft) guide provides a good idea as to what 

activities are deemed to provide evidence of 

meeting the various criteria. 

What we need to know 

To be compliant with Standard 4 by 1 January 

2013, hospitals and health services will need 

to decide: 

• Which of the medication-related processes, 

records, documentation and audits best 

demonstrate the hospital’s compliance 

with the criterion listed in Standard 4 

• Which aspects of medication 

management will need to be audited to 

demonstrate compliance 

• Which sampling method should be 

employed (eg random sampling of the 

individual clinical record for every patient 

discharged over a one month period using 

a consecutively numbered discharge 

patient approach) 

• What should the size of the sample be in 

order to provide confi dence that the 

sample varies from the total population 

by less than 10 percent 

• Which tool(s) will enable data to be collected 

and collated accurately and quickly 

• When and who will collect, collate and 

report the audit work and 

• When the audit will be repeated in order to 

demonstrate progress towards meeting the 

requirements of the Standards. 

Although there are many important 

decisions to be made and a lot of work to be 

completed to demonstrate compliance, the 

e� ort will be worth it for what it will reveal of 

a hospital’s systems and practices in ensuring 

medication safety. 

UFBU8384_MBA_HM_Pr i . pdf Page 1 30/ 07/ 12, 10: 31 AM 

Michael Ryan, Director, PharmConsult 

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pharmacy consultancy advising hospitals on 

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service, risk and legislative issues associated 

with hospital pharmacy services. 

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Legal Matters with Alison Choy Flannigan 

Hospital 

infrastructure 

projects 

THE development and 

redevelopment of hospitals raise 

particular contracting issues. 

In the June 2011 edition of 

Private Hospital, I described how 

hospital infrastructure projects can be unique. 

In this article, I will discuss a case involving a 

private hospital project that illustrates some 

of the principles and pitfalls in infrastructure 

contracting: Macquarie International Health 

Clinic Pty Ltd v Sydney South West Area Health 

Service [2010] NSWCA 268. That case involved 

a number of issues, however, we will focus on 

one specifi c issue in this article: the meaning 

of an obligation to act in “utmost good faith”. 

Facts 

On 18 September 1989 the parties signed 

Heads of Agreement for the development by 

Macquarie of a 200-bed private hospital and 

a car park on the campus of Royal Prince 

Alfred Hospital (RPAH). 

After negotiations to proceed with a smaller 

hospital, the parties signed various agreements. 

Under some of these documents, the 

parties were obliged to act with utmost good 

faith in the performance of their respective 

duties, in the exercise of their powers and in 

their respective dealings with one another. 

An important aspect of the project was the 

co-location of RPAH and the proposed private 

hospital, requiring a physical link between 

RPAH and the private hospital. 

In mid 1994, the Sydney South West Area 


Contracting issues: 

the principles and pitfalls 

Health Service (SSWAHS) appointed 

consultants to undertake an asset strategic 

plan. A draft of the plan did not indicate any 

proximity or linkages to the proposed private 

hospital. On or about March 1996 Mayne 

Nickless trading as Health Care of Australia 

(HCoA) began developing a project for a 

Sydney University Private Hospital (SUPH) 

on a site adjoining RPAH. 

A dispute arose as to whether or not 

Macquarie complied with the contractual 

timetable, and by 15 September 1999 SSWAHS 

served on Macquarie notices of default under 

the Lease and the Construction Deed and 

took possession of the land. 

Utmost good faith 

The court held that the promise of utmost 

good faith must be construed having regard 

to the terms of the contract and the 

circumstances known to the parties in which 

it was entered into. “A contractual obligation 

of good faith embraces no less than three 

related notions: 

• an obligation on the parties to co-operate 

in achieving the contractual obligations; 

• compliance with honest standards of 

conduct; and 

• compliance with standards of conduct that 

are reasonable having regard to the 

interests of the parties.” 1 

A contractual obligation of good faith does 

not require a party to act in the interests of 

the other party or to subordinate its own 

legitimate interest to the interests of the 

other party; although it does require it to 

have due regard to the legitimate interests 

of both parties. 2 

The Court held that the obligation of 

utmost good faith required SSWAHS to 

inform Macquarie of SSWAH’s planning 

process concerning the fl ow of persons 

between the hospitals or the creation of the 

campus concept and to at least enable 

Macquarie to take account of it in the 

design and construction of the works as 

contemplated under the Heads of 

Agreement. It also extended to enabling 

Macquarie the opportunity to persuade 

SSWAHS to take a di� erent course and/or 

withdraw from the project and seek 

SSWAH’s consent. 

Further, in contracts such as these in a 

context such as this one, the obligation of 

good faith necessarily requires a degree of 

cooperation between the parties in a 

reasonable way in the furtherance of their 

contractual obligations. 

The court held that it is relevant to 

consider dealings of the parties prior to the 

signing of the HOA, as bearing on 

circumstances known to parties which 

Photography: Sue Ferris

could be relevant to the construction of the 

obligation. Where SSWAHS’s planning 

process would make a substantial di� erence 

to what Macquarie could reasonably expect 

concerning the fl ow of persons or the creation 

of the campus concept, Macquarie was 

required to be informed. SSWAHS was 

required to disclose that planning processes 

were under way, indicating that Macquarie 

could no longer reasonably expect that there 

would be substantial RPAH facilities in the 

proposed location. 

It was a breach of the obligation of utmost 

good faith for SSWAHS to give any support to 

the establishment of a private hospital which 

would make Macquarie’s private hospital 

non-viable. It was common ground that there 

could not be two viable private hospitals in 

the immediate vicinity of RPAH. 

However, Macquarie failed to prove that 

that a signifi cantly di� erent result would have 

been achieved if there had not been a breach 

by SSWAHS and did not prove that it was 

ready, willing and able to substantially 

perform the Heads of Agreement so it’s claim 

for reliance damages was defeated. 

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Commentary 

Not every hospital project will be a hospital 

co-location project. However, hospitals are 

typically co-located with other businesses, 

including medical consulting suites, 

pathology and diagnostic imaging businesses, 

gift shops, cafes and pharmacies. 

When entering into contractual 

negotiations care needs to be taken in using 

legal terms such as “utmost good faith” and 

“good faith” as these terms can impose 

signifi cant obligations on the parties which 

are not otherwise expressly stated. These 

obligations may a� ect the redevelopment of 

a hospital site. Before embarking on hospital 

redevelopments it is important to undertake 

due diligence on existing contractual 

obligations to ensure that the new 

development does not cause an issue and that 

issues are appropriately planned for and 

resolved without recourse to litigation. 

References 

1. Macquarie International Health Clinic Pty 

Limited v Sydney South West Area Health 

Service [2010] NSWCA 268; please also refer 

3 Run only to benefit members 3 No commissions 3 Low fees 

advice 

to other references referred to in the case. 

2. Macquarie International Health Clinic Pty 

Limited v Sydney South West Area Health 

Service [2010] NSWCA 268; Overlook v Foxtel 

[2002] NSWSC 17 referred to. 

Alison Choy Flannigan 

Partner, Health, aged care & life sciences 

Holman Webb, Lawyers 

alison.choyfl annigan@holmanwebb.com.au 

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Raising your 

concerns 

APHA has met with the National Health 

Performance Authority and the Australian 

Commission for Safety and Quality in Health 

Care to ensure private hospitals are heard. 

AT THE beginning of June, 

APHA met with senior 

o�cials and Board members 

of the National Health 

Performance Authority 

(NHPA). The NHPA was established in 

October 2011 and its role is to monitor and 

report on the comparable performance 

of Local Hospital Networks, public and 

private hospitals, and primary healthcare 

organisations. 

The NHPA recently released a Performance 

and Accountability Framework, which can 

be accessed at www.tinyurl.com/cwod6tt 

Discussions with NHPA focussed on 

developing a mechanism and framework for 

the private hospitals sector to provide input 

and assistance to NHPA in relation to: 

• developing a reporting framework for 

private hospitals (this will not be the 

same framework that will apply to public 

hospitals); 

• identifying appropriate indicators to be 

reported by private hospitals; 

• ensuring NHPA processes do not impose 

any additional burden on private hospitals; 

• rationalisation of existing reporting 

requirements. 

NHPA has sought APHA input on its draft 

data plan and has asked to present to APHA’s 

Safety & Quality Taskforce. 

APHA submission on 

classification of MBS 

item 42738 

APHA has made a submission to the 

Department of Health and Ageing in support 

of the current Type B classification of 42738 

(for Intra-vitreal injection) based on clinical 

and safety reasons. This recognises that 

the procedure of intra-vitreal injection is 

appropriate to be performed as hospital 

treatment regardless of anaesthetic type, 

medical condition or any other special 

circumstance as required under Type C. 

To read our submission, please go to: 

www.apha.org.au/advocacy/submissions 

Meeting with ACSQHC 

On 28 June, Michael Roff, APHA CEO and 

Christine Gee, APHA Chair of Council, met 

with Debora Picone, CEO and Mike Wallace, 

COO of the Australian Commission for Safety 

and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC). 

APHA raised concerns about progress 

towards the implementation of the National 

Accreditation regime, due to commence 

on 1 January 2013, and the lack of clear 

communications from the Commission, which 

was causing some confusion within the sector. 

Ms Picone assured APHA that all details 

would be finalised shortly and undertook to 

send a clear communiqué to private hospitals 

following the next meeting of the Board 

Since the Last Issue 

of ACSQHC in early August. This would 

specify the requirements for organisations 

in the transition to the new regime and 

provide details of all information and 

advice available from the ACSQHC. The 

Commission is currently establishing an 

advice line for use by hospitals and will also 

provide assistance and support in the field. 

APHA Council 2012/2013 

elections 

Members are advised that as this is an 

election year for APHA Council positions, 

APHA will shortly be commencing the 

election process by calling for nominations. 

Following the successful trial of the online 

Council election in the “For profit small 

independent” electorate last year, APHA 

will utilise a web-based tool to call for 

nominations and if required to hold ballots 

to fill all Council positions. 

The process will commence on Monday 

13 August 2012 when chief representatives 

of eligible members will receive an email 

inviting them to follow a link to nominate for 

a position on the APHA Council. Nominations 

will close on 27 August. If a ballot is required 

in any of the electorates the ballots will be 

issued electronically on 31 August. 

To confirm who is listed as the chief 

representative of your organisation, or if 

you have any queries in relation to this, 

please contact kathryn.lee@apha.org.au 

AHMAC recognises role of 

private sector in internships 

The Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory 

Council (AHMAC) met on July 19 to 

consider the latest information regarding 

any potential shortfall of internships 

for international fee paying students of 

Australian medical schools in 2013. APHA 

has been advised that measures to increase 

intern capacity will include: 

• considering additional capacity in new 

settings such as the private and nongovernment 

sector; 

• ensuring that accreditation for any new 

places is fast tracked; and 

• identifying any additional capacity for 

intern rotations and places. 

APHA is liaising with HWA and other 

stakeholders in addressing this challenge, 

keen to ensure that strategies agreed by 

AHMAC are implemented smoothly and with 

effective consultation with the private sector. 


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Innovating for life.

Valuing Australia’s 

Private Hospitals 

AUSTRALIA’S private hospitals 

sector is set to test just how 

much Australians really know 

about some of the nation’s most 

prevalent mental disorders 

with the launch of its large-scale campaign: 

‘What do you know… about mental illness?’. 

Targeting depression, anxiety, substance 

abuse and eating disorders, Australia’s 

private mental health hospitals will, over the 

next three months, strive to better educate 

Australians on the lesser-known symptoms 

for these mental disorders and the 

innovative programs available in private 

hospitals to treat them. 

Launching an interactive series of ‘What do 

you know...’ quizzes both online and within 

hospitals, APHA is also aiming to dispel 

negative stereotypes and common 

misconceptions associated with mental illness 

and get the Australian public more actively 

involved in and talking about the disease. 

“While public discussion about mental 

illness in Australia has certainly improved 

over the years, we still have a long way to go 

before we can say that we’ve fully erased 

negative stigmas,” said Michael Ro�, CEO of 

APHA. “Education plays a key part in this 

and our campaign will look to actively 

engage the public in a way that will drive 

home the facts.” 

With almost half of Australians 

experiencing mental illness at some point in 

their lives, most people will know someone 

who is a�ected and Mr Ro� stresses how 

important it is for the public to have a 

comprehensive understanding of the most 

common types of mental illness. 

Private hospitals unite to ask Australians 

what they really know about mental illness 

“The fact is that 45.5 percent of 

Australians experience mental illness at 

some point in their lifetime,” he said. “But 

exactly what classifies as a disorder, how to 

recognise the signs and how to ensure that 

your health insurance will cover you and 

your family if you need it is not as clear. Not 

knowing these crucial facts contributes to 

why people tend to su�er with mental illness 

in silence and why it’s so important that we 

address this issue.” 

Through pocket-sized cards and Facebook 

quizzes, to an enlightening YouTube video, 

the eyes of Australians will now be opened by 

APHA to the range of di�erent symptoms and 

treatments available for mental illness. 

WHAT DO 

YOU KNOW 

ABOUT BEING 

COVERED FOR 

MENTAL ILLNESS? 

There is only a two month waiting 

period for psychiatric hospital cover 

on private health insurance policies. 

Check that your policy includes 

coverage for psychiatric services. 

Test your knowledge about mental illness at 

facebook.com/valuingprivatehospitals 

Mental Health Week 7-13 October 2012 

AUSTRALIA’S PRIVATE HOSPITALS 

Valuing Private Hospitals 

“There’s a common belief that hospitals only 

provide medical treatment for mental illness,” 

said Mr Ro�, “but some of the most successful 

private hospital programmes are actually 

holistic and focus on the bigger picture and 

improving a patient’s lifestyle. This campaign 

is about ensuring more people get the help 

they need and so can better enjoy their life.” 

The APHA’s ‘What do you know… about 

mental illness?’ has been devised to 

culminate in activities during this year’s 

Mental Health Week which will run from 

October 7 to 13. For more information on the 

campaign or to find out how your hospital 

can get involved, please contact the APHA 

Secretariat. 

WHAT DO 

YOU KNOW 

ABOUT ANXIETY? 

1 in 5 Australians will suffer from 

some form of anxiety disorder 

at some point in their lives 

Test your knowledge about anxiety disorders at 

facebook.com/valuingprivatehospitals 

Mental Health Week 7-13 October 2012 

AUSTRALIA’S PRIVATE HOSPITALS 


News from our advertisers 

Industry update 

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Calls may be displayed on pagers, DECT 

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68 


Advanced diagnostic solutions 

Device Technologies o� ers advanced 

diagnostic solutions for healthcare facilities 

of all sizes and complexities. These include: 

• Leading PACS and C-PACS for radiology 

and cardiology to deliver improved 

communication between departments plus 

secure, easy access to patient information, 

from admission to discharge. 

• Horizon Cardiology information solutions 

improve workfl ow and provides a complete 

solution for Cath, Haemodynamic 

Monitoring, Echo, Vascular Ultrasound 

and Nuclear Cardiology by integrating 

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• Esaote cardiac ultrasound systems o� er 

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News from the healthcare 

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cart and portableplatforms. The MyLab 

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• Cardiac and stress diagnostic equipment 

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Device Technologies supports all products 

with a team of professional service and 

training personnel to provide you with the 

information and support you need to make 

the most of your diagnostic investment. 

For more information call 1800 429 551 

or visit www.device.com.au 

3M Kind Removal Silicone Tape 

Care more, compromise less 

Application and removal of medical adhesive 

tapes can be traumatic to the skin. This 

can lead to skin breakdown, especially on 

patients with fragile or at-risk skin, or when 

repeated taping over the same area occurs. 1,2 

Recently a new gentle-to-skin adhesive tape 

with new silicone-based adhesives technology 

has been developed. 3MKind Removal 

Silicone Tape is designed to be a general use 

gentle-to-skin tape which can replace current 

gentle medical tapes and at a reasonable price. 

Less trauma, more comfort 

Research confi rms that upon removal, 

3MKind Removal Silicone Tape causes 

minimal epidural cell stripping and less pulling 

of hair. 3,4 Patients will feel the di� erence the 

moment it goes on… and comes o� . 

Ideal securement 

3MKind Removal Silicone Tape provides the 

same adhesive strength you selected when you 

applied the tape, even after 48 hours of wear. 3 

The consistent adhesion levels means the tape 

stays in place and removes gently every time. 

For a sample and further information, 

please contact lcskauge@mmm.com 

1. Bryant, Ruth A (1998). Saving the skin from tape 

injuries. American Journal of Nursing. 86(2):189-191 

2. ConwayJ, Whettlam J (2002). Adverse reactions to 

wound dressings. Nursing Standard 16(44):55-60 

3. 3M clinical data on fi le (2010/2011) 

4. Grove, et al. J of WORN 2011;38(3S):S78-9

It’s time to switch to paperless auditing 

One of the greatest challenges facing hospital 

executives and management today is the 

ongoing and seemingly ever increasing 

level of internal and external scrutiny of all 

processes, products and services. One of the 

greatest challenges for our modern society is 

the reduction of consumables and waste. 

Paperless auditing and quality 

management tools are Eqstats core business. 

All our systems o�er 

• Cloud based system 

• Fully encrypted and secure 

• Anytime, anywhere data and report access 

• On site or mobile device compatible 

• Internal and external auditing linked 

to standards 

• Clearly visible and understandable 

automated reports 

• Immediate email alerts of 

non-compliance 

• Fully customisable to your hospital needs 

• Empowerment to employees to monitor 

compliance to standards, react to changes 

and drive necessary process change 

• Automated statistical data cleaning, 

NEW! 

Available 

now Introducing 

SmofKabiven ® 

The arrival of Fresenius Kabi Australia’s new 

solution, SmofKabiven® means customers will 

have access to a cost-e�ective, convenient, 

3-chamber parenteral nutrition bag with fish 

oil that can be stored at room temperature. 1 

SmofKabiven® is the only 3-chamber bag with 

fish oil registered in Australia, providing 51 

grams of protein per litre. 1,2 

summaries and graphical output reporting 

• Manage the complete audit lifecycle, from 

audit planning and scheduling, linking audits 

to standards and committees to tracking 

progress and the end quality improvement. 

• From as little as $49 per month 

• Savings on IT costs and increased sta� 

time to focus on core business activites 

At Eqstats, we provide paperless solutions 

not only to your auditing and compliance 

needs, but also for document control and 

Branding, Indicator Performance, Survey 

Solutions and Advanced Incident Reporting. 

Anyone can create a data collection 

system but only Eqstats dynamic compliance 

systems can transform your data into 

meaningful reports to drive process change. 

For more information visit eqstats.com.au 

or contact us on 1300 131 081 for a free 

demonstration. 

1. SmofKabiven® Product Information 20 

January 2012 

2. Australian Government Department of Health 

and Ageing Therapeutic Goods Administration. 

ARTG Medicines. Retrieved 30 April 2012 from 

http://www.ebs.tga.gov.au 

PBS Information: This product is not listed on the PBS 

PLEASE REVIEW FULL PRODUCT 

INFORMATION BEFORE PRESCRIBING. 

In this publication Minimum Product 

Information can be found on page 11. 

Fresenius Kabi Australia Pty Limited, 964 Pacific Highway Pymble, NSW. PM2012.193b 

Further your 

healthcare career 

with UTAS 

Furthering your career is something that’s 

nice to think about, but the realities of life 

can make it almost impossible. 

The University of Tasmania’s MBA 

in Health Management tries to ease the 

pressures of work, family and travel 

commitment with a simple solution – you 

decide when to study. 

Their distance MBA in health 

management, delivered online, gives 

students the business administration 

skills of MBA, but a with a focus on the 

health sector. 

“The flexibility was very important,” 

said Dr Adam Mackie, Senior Registar 

of Obstetrics and Gynecology at RPA 

Women and Babies Hospital in Sydney, 

regarding the University of Tasmania’s 

MBA in Health Management. 

“The main advantage of a distance MBA 

is the flexibility to study when you can, 

and to balance the demands of your role, 

your family and your study.” 

“It means that you can study when you 

want – or when your life allows. 

To find out more, call the University of 

Tasmania on 1300 363 864, or go online 

to utas.edu.au/business 


On The Ground 

...with 

Where do you work, what is your role 

and how long have you been there? 

I am the General Manager/Deputy Chief 

Executive Officer of Sydney Adventist 

Hospital Group (the San). I started here 

25 years ago as a Registered Nurse, working 

for seven years in the Intensive Care 

environment. I have a Master’s Degree in 

Nursing and have completed a Post Graduate 

Certificate in Change Management. I was 

appointed General Manager in April 2011. 

I am also Treasurer of the Private 

Hospitals Association of New South Wales, 

an Australian Private Hospitals Association 

Councillor and Treasurer of the APHA Board. 

The San has recently begun a multi 

million dollar redevelopment. What 

is your role in the redevelopment? 

I oversee Master Planning of the 

Sydney Adventist Hospital site and the 

redevelopment expansion. That growth 


Phil Currie 

General Manager/Deputy Chief Executive 

Officer of Sydney Adventist Hospital Group 

will take place in stages. Stage 1 of the 

redevelopment will include a 25,000sqm 

expansion and cost over $181 million. 

The decision to redevelop was made in 

response to increasing occupancy pressures, 

and 2010 projections that indicated we could 

expect an almost 70 percent increase in 

demand for our services between then and 

2026. The North West corridor of Sydney 

has an increasing, and an increasingly ageing, 

population who want, and are able, to choose 

private health care. 

We have grown from a 60-bed Sanitarium in 

1903, to an over 500-bed hospital (358 licensed 

overnight), just one of three facilities that form 

the Sydney Adventist Hospital Group. 

Our Redevelopment tagline is Building for 

the Future, Caring for our Community which 

recognises that if we are to continue to satisfy 

our mission of ‘Christianity in Action - Caring 

for our community’ then we must continue to 

grow our facilities. 

How has the San managed the 

upgrade, from the beginning stages 

to its current state? What have been 

the biggest challenges? 

We recognised that among the biggest 

challenges of undertaking a development of 

this size over several years was to maintain 

current operational viability: maintaining the 

ability for our 2400 strong staff to continue to 

provide services to the over 220,000 patients 

we treat each year, maintaining good quality 

care and minimising the inconvenience that 

changes to site access, traffic, parking and a 

major building works program could cause if 

not managed well. 

A Redevelopment Executive Steering 

Committee has been established, reporting 

to the Executive Committee, that manages 

all hospital day to day operations. Similarly, 

a Project Working Group Committee 

and regular meeting of individual user 

groups ensures input, consultation and 

communication about what is happening. 

Operational, occupational health and 

safety, human resources, medical liaison, 

business development, fundraising and 

communication issues are all regularly 

assessed and actioned. We held a breaking 

ground ceremony in June last year and are 

well underway and on target. 

How will the San benefit from the 

upgrade of the Hospital? 

The upgrade enables us to meet current and 

future demand, increase the diversity and 

quality of our services and complement local 

public healthcare facilities. Stage 1 includes: 

• An expansion of our Clinical Services 

Building providing up to 200 additional 

beds and 12 new operating theatres 

• A new entry and arrivals building 

• A purpose built Integrated Cancer Centre 

providing one central point of entry for 

cancer patients to screening, diagnostic, 

treatment, and counselling services, and 

• A multi-deck and other car-parks - 

increasing spots by almost 600 resulting in 

total on-site parking for almost 1900 cars. 

At the same time as this redevelopment a new 

Education Centre is also being built on site, 

partly funded by Health Workforce Australia 

(see page 18 for details). 

When do you expect completion? 

Stage 1 of the Redevelopment will be finished 

in 2014 - within approximately a year of 

celebrating the 110th anniversary of the San 

commencing as a place of health and healing. 

It will be a tribute to all the dedicated, 

passionate and committed people who have 

worked at the San since then and will honour 

their altruism, their skills and their vision. 

We are genuinely excited about sharing the 

benefits with our community.

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Visit our website for recipes and our product range at www.groenz.co.nz 

OR CALL FOR MORE INFORMATION 

New Zealand 04 568 2687 Australia 07 3393 5562

August 2012 - Australian Private Hospitals Association

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