Delivering better patient outcomes

The quality of cardiac services being offered to patients at the Friendly Society Private Hospital continues to go from strength to strength with the addition of two new state-of-the-art machines.

Cardiac Investigations Unit nurse manager Michelle Lohse said the new rotablator was an interventional machine which not only delivered quality outcomes for patients but helped keep some patients local, who would have otherwise had to travel to Brisbane.

“The patients that benefit from this machine are those who wouldn’t have been able to have a stent put in, due to the hard plaque build-up. Before we started using the rotablator, those patients would have had to travel to Brisbane,” Mrs Lohse said.

“When plaque builds up inside an artery, it can be hard or soft, and this machine is used on the hard plaque build-up.

“The machine drills the hard plaque from the artery, turning it into tiny particles, smaller than a red blood cell.

“Because the plaque is then so small, it can be taken through the blood and removed from the body through the liver and the body’s own regular waste removal process.”

Mrs Lohse said the greatest benefit of the machine was that more patients could be treated in Bundaberg.

A new machine has also been added to the diagnostic services offered at the hospital, the St Jude ilumien, which combines the functionality of two diagnostic techniques into the one machine.

“This is a great tool to use during diagnosis and gives us better information to help us determine if a patient really needs a stent,” Mrs Lohse said.

“This can then save patients from having a surgical procedure they may not have needed.

“It can also be used after any procedures to confirm that a patient has had a good result.

Hospital CEO Alan Cooper said the new machines showed the commitment The Friendly Society Private Hospital, in conjunction with Bundaberg Cardiology, had in continuing to deliver top-quality cardiac care and services.

“By continuing to expand the capabilities of the Cardiac Investigations Unit, whether it be through these new machines, or other new technology, procedures and staff development, it shows just how dedicated the hospital is to continuing being a leader in regional healthcare,” Mr Cooper said.