General News
17 September, 2021
Hospital Election Promised Delivered
PRIOR to the 2020 Queensland election the Queensland government committed $1.5 million to create a permanent facility for the Cairns Hospital Pre-Admission Clinic.
Last Friday Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Arth officially opened the Cairns Hinterland Hospital Health Service (CHHHS) Pre-Admission Clinic.
The Pre-Admission Clinic serves a vital role in the preparation and education of patients prior to their surgery.
Clinical trials conducted in recent years revealed a shorter hospital stay is possible for knee or hip replacement patients. The average patient stay after surgery has been reduced by 1.5 days on average per procedure as a direct result of the work performed through the CHHHS Pre-Admission Clinic.
CHHHS Director of Anaesthesia and Peri-Operative Medicine, James Sartain is a strong supporter of this new Pre-Admission Clinic.
“The greatest benefit we find is that patients, prior to surgery will be better informed and involved within the surgery preparation and recovery.
Patients presenting for surgery receive more comprehensive education and are better prepared, more in control, and with a reduced level of fear associated with their pending surgery. That is the desired outcome for the Pre-Admission Clinic.
“The outcome is a faster and better recovery with less surgical complications with a better result for the patients,” he said.
Surgical patients are triaged by the Pre-Admission nurses, following strict guidelines, to identify what additional appointments are required prior to surgery; Anaesthetics, Occupational Therapists, Physios as well as Pharmacy, reducing appointment times, as well as eliminating unnecessary tests and hospital visits prior to receiving their surgery.
Queensland Health Minister, Yvette D’Arth commended the staff of the Pre-Admission Clinic for their commitment and dedication to the highest quality patient care.
“In the end it’s not just about did they get the surgery? It’s more about the quality of the preparation and recovery that makes the surgery truly successful.
“The fact that this is a nurse-led clinic is exciting. We encourage our nurses and want them to work to their fullest capacity and this is a great example of this,” the Minister said.
Each year the Pre-Admission Clinic schedules over 15,000 appointments for elective surgical patients from Torres Straits to Cairns. In addition to the face-to-face appointments the Pre-Admission Clinic conducts thousands of telephone consultations with patients prior to surgery along with a growing number of Tele-Health video appointment.
