Hannah Calcino, pictured with photos in the Pindara Maternity Unit of her time in the Special Care Nursery and her first day of school. 2017 A Special Patient for Pindara Private Hospital Turns 21 Turning 21 is a big milestone in anyone’s life but for Hannah Calcino she gets to share this momentous occasion with a special milestone in the life of Pindara’s Special Care Nursery, where she spent some of her first days. One of Pindara’s youngest ever patients, Hannah Calcino, was born ten-and-a-half-weeks prematurely at Brisbane’s Mater Hospital in February 1996. After two weeks in Brisbane, Hannah was transferred to the Special Care Nursery in Pindara’s Maternity Unit to be closer to her family home in Nerang. Recently, Hannah turned 21. In 1996, Hannah shared the Special Care Nursery with two sets of premature twins and another premature baby. This was a first for the hospital. Midwife Sandra Logue was working at Pindara at the time and remembers Hannah in the nursery. “I was working here then, and have been here since 1991. At the time Hannah was born there were two sets of premature twins born and another single premature baby also, which made it six premature babies in our. This was the most babies that we’d ever had at any one time in the nursery,” said Ms Logue. There was growing demand for the service on the Gold Coast with Midwife Megan Archer-Jones saying that, “at the time, staff including myself were obtaining higher qualifications so we could care for more premature babies.” A photo of Hannah, along with the other five children, has been displayed on the wall in the Pindara Maternity Unit ever since. This is accompanied by a photo of the same six children on their first day of school. Transforming Surgery at Pindara NEWS Pindara Private Hospital is revolutionising arthroplasty surgery at the hospital with the introduction of the latest Mako robotic-arm assisted technology. The Mako robotic-arm assisted technology is used in total hip replacements and partial knee replacements to provide a personalised surgical plan for each patient based on their unique anatomy and assist surgeons to perform these procedures. A total hip replacement is a procedure designed for patients who suffer from noninflammatory or inflammatory degenerative joint disease of the hip while a partial knee replacement is a procedure designed for patients who suffer from degeneration due to osteoarthritis in one or two compartments of the knee. Using Mako technology, a 3D model of a patient’s hip or knee is created based on the CT and MRI scans for an individual, which is then used to assist the surgeon in pre-planning and performing the procedure. Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr Andrew Letchford is fully qualified to use the new technology and said that the Mako is a tool used to increase the accuracy of surgery, specifically in positioning the relevant implant. “Information from a patient’s CT and MRI scans are entered into computer software which is tethered to the robot and increases accuracy of navigation during surgery for the most optimised position,” said Dr Letchford. During surgery, the orthopaedic surgeon can use the Mako to selectively target the damaged part of the knee or hip and replace the diseased part while helping to spare the healthy bone and ligaments surrounding it. The surgeon then guides the robotic arm based on the surgical plan to size and position the implant. “Using a patient’s individual anatomy and morphology increases a patient’s long-term results for joint arthroplasty,” said Dr Letchford. Trials are currently underway to use Mako for total knee replacements. The Special Care Nursery has undergone several upgrades in the last 21 years and can now allow leading Gold Coast obstetricians and paediatricians to care for up to 16 babies at a time in a large, comfortable environment with the very latest in equipment and technology. Currently studying a post-graduate degree, the Gold Coast local said she has led a fulfilling life with no residual health issues. “At 5’9”, having played representative netball for the past nine years and travelled overseas on mission programs with my school (Emmanuel College), I like to think that I’m a little reminder to all those parents with tiny, sick babies that from little things, big things grow,” she said. The Ramsay Rule Pindara Private Hospital recently implemented The Ramsay Rule as part of an Australia-wide initiative by Ramsay Health Care. This excellent patient safety policy provides patients and families in hospital with the steps to call for clinical assistance or review when they are concerned with the clinical condition of the patient. The Ramsay Rule is a three-step process where the patient, their family or carer can escalate their concerns and call for rapid assistance when they believe that something is ‘not right’ with the clinical condition of the patient. Initially, concerns are raised with the nursing staff and the nurse in charge. If the patient or family is still concerned about the patient’s clinical condition, the final step is to ring a dedicated hospital phone number which alerts a senior clinical staff member. This call initiates a clinical review of the patient. The aim of this process is to provide the patient with a timely clinical review by an experienced clinician. In addition, the objective of the program is to acknowledge the patient’s and family’s concerns and take appropriate action. The Ramsay Rule is about keeping our patients safe. The Ramsay Rule is based on the REACH program developed by the Clinical Excellence Commission and Ryan’s Rule developed by Queensland Health. pindaramagazine.com.au Pindara Magazine 11
Pindara Private Hospital Magazine - Issue Ten
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