{"id":191697,"date":"2017-10-04T15:53:45","date_gmt":"2017-10-04T05:53:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=191697"},"modified":"2020-08-12T17:00:10","modified_gmt":"2020-08-12T07:00:10","slug":"record-year-for-local-hospitals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2017\/10\/04\/record-year-for-local-hospitals\/","title":{"rendered":"Record Year For Local Hospitals"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
At the opening of Cherbourg Hospital’s new palliative care unit … Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service Chief Executive Dr Peter Gillies, back row, at left, with Darling Downs Hospital and Health Board members … top row, Dr Ruth Terwijn, Trish Leddington-Hill and Cheryl Dalton; middle row,\u00a0Prof Julie Cotter,\u00a0Marie Pietsch and\u00a0Dr Ross Hetherington; and bottom row, Chairman Mike Horan,\u00a0Megan O’Shannessy and Deputy Chairman Dr Dennis Campbell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mike<\/a>
Darling Downs Regional Health Service Board Chairman Mike Horan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

October 4, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

The number of patients being treated in the Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service has hit an all-time high, according to the annual report tabled in State Parliament on Friday.<\/p>\n

But despite this, Board chairman Mike Horan said it was the second year in a row that the service – which is responsible for all South Burnett hospitals – had almost 100 per cent of all specialist outpatients and 100 per cent of elective patients seen within clinically recommended timeframes.<\/p>\n

And all while maintaining a balanced budget.<\/p>\n

Across the health region 82,054 people were admitted to hospital, up 5957 from 2015-16.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a tribute to the hard work of our staff to cope with these increases in demand while also maintaining safe standards and achieving national benchmarks for elective surgery and emergency care waiting times,\u201d Mr Horan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBreastScreen Queensland\u2019s Toowoomba Service had a record year with 19,037 women screened over the year, and it celebrated its 350,000th screen since the service started almost 25 years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother area of growth was the number of telehealth consultations where patients access specialist clinical advice through a video conference session, with 36 per cent more consultations provided than last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have also had a third consecutive year of 100 per cent of oral health patients seen in less than two years for treatment.<\/p>\n

“We are also very proud of the achievements in Indigenous health, including obtaining $1.79 million in funding under the Making Tracks Investment Strategy for nine projects to help close the health gap in our Indigenous communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Horan said almost $2 million a day was being spent in delivering public healthcare across the region, and more than 5000 staff were employed, making the DDHHS an important economic driver across southern Queensland.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThere has also been a comprehensive infrastructure investment program to ensure our facilities are equipped to continue to provide top-class care,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll in all it has been a very positive year for local healthcare.\u201d<\/p>\n

* * *<\/h2>\n

DDHHS achievements in the South Burnett during 2016-17 (from the Annual Report) included:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Emergency Department Improvements<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Nearly $1 million of improvements to the Kingaroy Hospital Emergency Department are planned to be completed in 2017-18\u00a0to improve patient flow and safety, as well as provide additional space for consultations and two extra\u00a0examination bays. The improvements will ensure that Kingaroy Hospital Emergency Department continues to maintain a high\u00a0standard of care whilst the hospital redevelopment is completed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Closing The Gap<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    • South Burnett Indigenous Hospital Liaison Service<\/strong> –\u00a0\u00a0In 2016-17 the rate of Indigenous admissions\u00a0at Kingaroy Hospital was 22 per cent. To ensure\u00a0culturally appropriate services are provided, two\u00a0Indigenous Liaison Officers see every patient\u00a0on admission and are involved in their inpatient\u00a0stay and follow up care. This service improves\u00a0the patient journey and continuity of care by\u00a0implementing comprehensive gender-specific,\u00a0culturally safe and co-ordinated case management\u00a0and referral pathways across all entry and exit\u00a0points into and out of the Kingaroy Hospital,\u00a0including liaison with the Cherbourg\u00a0(ATODS) Youth Program.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
        \n
      • South Burnett Renal Services Expansion –<\/strong> The objective of the expansion is to increase access to specialist renal services and delay the onset of end-stage renal disease by increasing the number of dialysis chairs available at Kingaroy and Cherbourg hospitals and implementing a nurse practitioner model of care to improve the early detection, treatment and management of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with chronic kidney disease. Achievements include a plan for the commencement of services from two renal chairs at Cherbourg Hospital, and an increased capacity for self-dialysis at Kingaroy Hospital from 12 to 18 clients.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
          \n
        • Cherbourg Young Parent Support Service –<\/strong>\u00a0The service delivered comprehensive, culturally appropriate\u00a0and responsive community-based support<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
            \n
          • Early\u00a0parenting care to improve infant and child health outcomes\u00a0– <\/strong> Achievements include services provided to 129 clients for antenatal\u00a0and postnatal services. From January 1 to June 30, 2017, 92 per cent\u00a0of babies born to mothers attending the service\u00a0were above the standard 2500g at birth (in the previous six months this was 77 per cent)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Aged Care – Community Engagement (Forest View, Wondai)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

              \n
            • Annual fete run by the Hospital Auxiliary\u00a0with all members of the community invited to\u00a0attend. The fete this year was opened by the South Burnett Regional Council Mayor and councillors,\u00a0DDHHS Board Member (Cheryl Dalton) and the\u00a0Wondai Director of Nursing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                \n
              • Mutual exchange of invitations with the local\u00a0childcare centre to shared functions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                  \n
                • Providing opportunities for school students and TAFE students to have work experience including “a project” to complete<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                    \n
                  • Inviting the local Kingaroy bike club to visit twice to have morning tea with the residents<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                    Backlog Maintenance Remediation Program<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

                      \n
                    • Demolition or removal of empty buildings no longer cost effective to maintain or repair included Farr Home at Kingaroy Hospital, the Community Health building at Murgon and the Community Health buildings at Nanango Hospital<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                        \n
                      • Repair of Kingaroy Hospital roads<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                          \n
                        • Refurbishment of eight bathroom ensuites at Kingaroy Hospital<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                            \n
                          • Internal painting of Kingaroy Hospital<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                            Capital Works<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

                            The DDHHS has continued to reinvest accrued surplus funds\u00a0this year to provide vital clinical infrastructure and equipment. Projects completed in 2016-17 included:<\/p>\n

                              \n
                            • Cherbourg Hospital \u2013 An area was refurbished within the hospital to create a new palliative care room at a cost of $150,000 to deliver more comfortable facilities for patients and families at difficult time when loved ones are receiving end-of-life care<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                              Donations<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

                                \n
                              • The Kingaroy Hospital Auxiliary donated a monitor for endoscopy procedures at a total cost of $30,184<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                                  \n
                                • The Lions Club of Nanango donated a $3600 patient monitor (pulse oximeter) to Kingaroy Hospital<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                                    \n
                                  • Murgon Hospital Auxiliary provided $18,169 to upgrade blinds in palliative care and to provide privacy frosting to the palliative care room. The funds also provided for items to improve the Emergency Department storage capacity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                                    The number of patients being treated in the Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service has hit an all-time high, according to the annual report tabled in State Parliament on Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":182539,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[172,3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nRecord Year For Local Hospitals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The number of patients being treated in the Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service has hit an all-time high, according to the annual report tabled in State Parliament on Friday.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2017\/10\/04\/record-year-for-local-hospitals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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