The here and now
Revolutionary health care
New services and cutting-edge equipment are advancing care for some of our most vulnerable patients.
State-of-the-art imaging system
Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) this year became the first Australian hospital to introduce a new cutting-edge imaging system.
The advanced Siemens ARTIS icono ceiling provides the latest technology for image-guided procedures.
The unit was installed in the RPH Radiology Department’s Interventional Suite in September 2023, after being shipped from Germany.
Procedures conducted in the suite use imaging and guidance techniques to perform minimally invasive procedures.
The equipment has improved precision guidance, reduced radiation for patients and has a faster system of positioning and processing.
“Advanced tools now help guide the medical team to navigate and guide during complex procedures,” Supervising Medical Imaging Technologist – Intervention, Daniel He said.
“For trauma patients, particularly when anatomy has been interrupted and is complex, it is incredibly useful to have such cutting-edge devices available when time is critical to their outcome.
“The added bonus of reducing the radiation dose to our patients is also paramount and our optimal goal in Radiology RPH.”
DID YOU KNOW?
One of the most valued artefacts in the RPH Museum is a wooden case containing Cold Cathode Tubes c1896 imported by WA’s first radiographer William John Hancock a year after the discovery of x-rays. The equipment helps us understand the remarkable achievements in medical imaging and our role in them.
Advanced scanner benefits patients
A new computed tomography (CT) scanner was installed in the RPH Interventional Suite in January 2024.
The Canon Aquilion ONE GENESIS CT Scanner, manufactured in Japan, has advanced technology and software packages.
It allows staff to perform procedures such as biopsies, spine and joint injection and tumour treatments more proficiently and accurately, thereby reducing risks and discomfort for patients.
One of the advanced software packages uses an artificial intelligence program which allows the radiation dose for patients to be reduced while maintaining, and in some scans improving, the quality of images.
The new equipment has also increased the RPH Radiology Department’s capacity, resulting in a reduced wait list.
New medical oncology service
As part of our commitment to enhance care for patients living with cancer, a new Medical Oncology inpatient service opened at RPH in January 2024.
A dedicated Oncology unit with 6 new beds was created in Ward 10C.
The service has a multidisciplinary team experienced in cancer care, including oncology consultants, registrars, nurses, physiotherapists, social workers, pharmacists, dietitians and occupational therapy staff.
The service has helped patients maintain a sense of belonging during a stressful time, expedited the administration of anticancer therapies on the ward and helped avoid treatment delays.
Before the service, patients were admitted to general medical units, or at times had to be transferred to other hospitals for treatment.
Head of Department for Medical Oncology, Dr Ru-Wen Teh, said the new service ensured continuity of care for patients.
“As the service continues to expand, we look forward to incorporating more junior staff teaching and increased coverage of cancer streams at RPH,” she said.
Purpose built haemodialysis unit
Outpatients receiving haemodialysis were able to receive treatment in a new purpose-built unit at RPH from February 2024.
The Haemodialysis Step-down Unit in the refurbished haemodialysis Ward 6A provides patients with a more inviting environment and functional benefits.
“The unit is important for those lower acuity, more stable haemodialysis patients who are ready to step-down from acute haemodialysis, usually while awaiting a place in a community satellite centre or even in regional WA,” Acting Coordinator for Nursing Lara Jackson said.
Each of the 8 dialysis chairs also has a television.
The unit was initially established in December 2022 in Ward 4H where it proved successful in easing demand on the main Dialysis Unit in Ward 6C.
Its new permanent location in 6A is closer to the 16-chair, 16C inpatient haemodialysis service, making for greater efficiencies.
Leading the world in injectable HIV therapy
Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) Department of Immunology has been recognised internationally for its work integrating a new, game-changing injectable Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) treatment into its service.
The department has the biggest cohort of patients in Australia receiving long-acting injectable antiretroviral therapy (LAI ART) with the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)-listed medication Cabenuva.
Cabenuva was added to the PBS in April 2022. The therapy of 2 intramuscular injections every 8 weeks provides an alternative to daily medication.
About 180 people receive LAI ART from an injectables clinic which has operated within RPH Outpatients in Goderich Street since March 2023, in addition to other RPH Immunology clinics. Another 90 people are on a waitlist.
The clinic also helps manage therapy for people who live in rural or remote areas, people who are incarcerated, and supports primary and community healthcare services to be able to administer LAI ART.
LAI ART has been particularly beneficial for hard-to-reach and vulnerable people as adherence is no longer a daily task.
Nurse Practitioner Leah Williams is a leader in the provision of the therapy, and the department has been involved in international, national and local engagements about its roll-out and use.
The current 2-monthly therapy is only the beginning of the injectable treatment era, with 4-monthly injections in the pipeline as well as potential for 6-monthly and subcutaneous injections in the future.
DID YOU KNOW?
The RPH Pathology Department’s Electron Microscopy Unit was the first in the world to detect virus particles, which came to be known as HIV, in human tissues in 1984.
Clinic tackles eating disorders as part of statewide expansion
A new outpatient clinic for people with eating disorders opened in August 2023 as part of a statewide expansion of services.
The establishment of the EMHS Eating Disorders Specialist Service (EMEDSS) followed the WA Government’s announcement in November 2022 that it had secured funding from the Commonwealth for the clinic.
Located on the ground floor of Ainslie House at RPH, the service has a recovery-focused approach for people aged 16 years or older.
It offers specialised eating disorder treatment and aims to help people stay in the community, preventing hospital admissions where possible.
The team includes a consultant psychiatrist, psychiatry registrar, general practitioner, clinical nurses, clinical psychologist, dietitian and peer support worker.
Services include triage and assessment, intensive clinical monitoring and a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic for specialised support. An intensive day program is due to begin in 2025.
In its first 10 months of operation, EMEDSS assessed 45 people, with 28 joining the program.
It also passed through several important phases as it becomes fully operational.
Phase one saw inpatient medical and mental health wards able to refer people to the service from August 2023.
Under phase 2a, referrals were accepted from community mental health settings from November 2023 and for people engaged with the Centre for Clinical Interventions, through general practitioners, from March 2024.
It is set to further expand in July 2024 under phase 2b when referrals will be accepted from primary health care settings.
EMEDSS will move to a permanent location under phase 3 when the intensive day program will also begin, and Telehealth capabilities will be expanded. A date for this phase is yet to be set.
