Trauma app wins national award
- Details
- Written by Robin Osborne
A Trauma App developed by a team including Lismore Base Hospital Emergency Physician Yashvi Wimalasena has won the Public Sector and Government Market Division at the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) National iAwards in Melbourne.
The app provides trauma clinicians with real time clinical guidance and information such as flight and drive times to NSW hospitals, hospital blood stores, and specialty capabilities of NSW Health facilities.
The Trauma App contains specialised medical calculators, guidelines, and checklists from NSW trauma hospitals and speciality services as well as pre-hospital and retrieval providers.
The pre-hospital component of the app was the brainchild of Dr Wimalasena and two fellow Retrieval Specialists in the Greater Sydney Area Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (GSA HEMS).
Free community workshops on good health
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As part of October’s Health Literacy Month, Northern NSW Local Health and North Coast Primary Health Network are holding free community workshops to help people take better care of their health.
Each workshop will be held from 10.00-11.00am followed by a light lunch.
Dates and venues:
- Casino - Tuesday 17 October, Casino RSM
- Ballina - Thursday 19 October, Ballina District Hospital Education Centre
- Grafton- Wednesday 25 October, Grafton District Services Club
- Kingscliff - Friday 27 October, Kingscliff Beach Bowls Club
- Lismore - Tuesday 31 October, Lismore Workers Club
RACGP comes out for marriage equality
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- Written by Robin Osborne
After previously holding a neutral position on what it calls the “prolonged and unnecessary marriage equality debate” the Council of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has expressed support for a ‘Yes’ vote on the same-sex marriage question posed in the national postal ballot.
Noting it could not speak on behalf of all members on the issue, the RACGP President, Dr Bastian Seidel has issued a lengthy position statement to members, saying, “In conclusion, and to be explicit”, that the College “As part of valuing diversity and inclusion… supports marriage equality.”
NSW healthcare is 80% good (unless you’re poor)
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- Written by Robin Osborne
The state’s healthcare system matches or outperforms comparable systems on 80 per cent of measures, however the delivery of services to poorer areas disadvantages residents whose health indicators are already below par.
Further, NSW patients have a higher rate of post-surgical complications, long waiting times for cataract and knee and hip surgery (especially in lower socioeconomic areas). The median wait time for cataract surgery was 222 days, ranking NSW 15th out of 16 countries reviewed, including the US, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Germany.
In terms of value for money, the worst offender was the knee arthroscopy procedure, deemed clinically ineffective for 70 per cent of recipients.
PNG baby boom stretches system to the limits
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- Written by Dr Nathan Kesteven
PNG’s rocketing birthrate and high maternal mortality is making Obstetrics a high priority for this nearby nation’s medical system. Dr Nathan Kesteven visited Port Moresby General Hospital to meet staff and mothers…
Although Papua New Guinea is our nearest neighbour most Australians would have no idea that it has one of the higher maternal and infant mortality rates in the world. In Australia our maternal mortality rate (per 100,000 live births) is 6, in PNG it is 215!
The most common causes are post partum haemorrhage and infection - both related to poor access to birth support structures. In Australia less than 1% of women birth without trained staff present, in PNG that figure is probably around 55% (according to the Pacific Island Regional Development Goals, 2004). This means that most women birth without access to the basic and essential needs that prevent death and serious morbidity, outcomes that we in Australia very rarely see.
Recently I spent 10 days in the Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) observing how obstetrics is practised in PNG, at least in a hospital setting. PNG has a population growth rate of around 3% - this means that within 20 years the population will have doubled. This high level was reflected at PMGH - 40 births a day - that equates to 15,000 a year. By comparison, Lismore Base recorded 1155 births in 2016.
The labour ward is a large room divided in half with 12 cubicles on either side with curtains for privacy. There are 2-3 doctors on per shift, with around 4-5 midwives caring for the women who come in.
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