18 November 2008

State-of-the-art theatre upgrade completed at Fairfield Hospital

NSW Minister for Health, John Della Bosca, and the Member for Smithfield, Ninos Khoshaba, today officially opened the $1 million upgrade to the operating theatres and Recovery Unit at Fairfield Hospital.

Mr Della Bosca said that as part of the refurbishment the hospital had received the latest in theatre technology.

"In the 2007/2008 financial year, Fairfield Hospital performed almost 5,000 operations," the Minister said.

"South-Western Sydney is one of the fastest growing areas in the State - this upgrade will enable the hospital to meet the community's expanding health services needs.

"The refurbishment includes the purchase of four specialised operating theatre tables that have a weight capacity of 454 kilograms, allowing surgery to be performed safely on heavier patients without delay and without additional hire costs.

"The tables are electronically controlled to minimise manual handling risks to staff," Mr Della Bosca said.

Other equipment purchased as part of the upgrade includes:

• Four sets of dual theatre lights to improved illumination in each of the four operating rooms.
• Vascular ultrasound machine so doctors can see nerves and blood vessels when performing regional anaesthetic blocks and for inserting intravenous lines.
• Four bispectral anaesthetic monitors to measure the patient's level of unconsciousness during entire procedures.
• An additional camera tower to assist with laparoscopic procedures. Print facilities are also available so images of the operation can be included in medical notes.
• Four video colonoscopes and gastroscopes to help in endoscopy procedures.
• A new disinfecting machine which enables four scopes to be cleaned and disinfected at once rather than one at a time as was previously the case.
• An autoclave to sterilise instruments.
• Four arthoscopes for knee and shoulder surgery.
• A portable vital signs monitoring machine to safely transport patients from the operating suite to the high dependency unit.

Member for Smithfield, Ninos Khoshaba said clinicians played an important role in the trial and selection process of the new equipment and had been very positive in their feedback.

"Our local community is fortunate to benefit from the professionalism and dedication of the nurses, doctors and other health staff at Fairfield Hospital," Mr Khoshaba said.

"The hospital is a Centre of Excellence in Orthopaedic Joint Replacement Surgery," Mr Khoshaba said.

"Its innovation in orthopaedic research and treatment through the Whitlam Joint Replacement Centre provides superior joint replacement surgery for the people of South West Sydney.

"The elective orthopaedic joint replacement surgery has been expanded to include shoulder and ankle reconstructions.

"As one of the major metropolitan public hospitals in Sydney South West the hospital's performance is outstanding.

"Ambulance presentations totalled 7,271 an increase of 6.6 percent over the past 12 months, while Emergency Department performance has improved with off stretcher time improving from 77 per cent in 2005/2006 to 88 per cent in 2007/08.

"This upgrade will help the hospital to continue to improve its high quality services," Mr Khoshaba added.

Latest NSW Department of Health data for Fairfield Hospital is below.

FAIRFIELD HOSPITAL PERFORMANCE - SEPTEMBER 2008

ADMISSIONS VIA THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT

September 2008 - 447
September 2007 - 390

A 15 per cent increase compared to September 2007

SURGICAL LONG WAITS (greater than 12 months)

September 2008 - 0 patient
September 2007 - 0 patients

Good performance

MEDICAL AND SURGICAL OVERDUE (within 30 days)

September 2008 - 0
September 2007 - 0

Good performance

TRIAGE PERFORMANCE

September 08

Triage 1 (Target is 100%) 100%

Triage 2 (Target is 80%) 83%
Triage 3 (Target is 75%) 78%
Triage 4 (Target is 70%) 82%
Triage 5 (Target is 70%) 93%

September 07

Triage 1 (Target is 100%) 100%

Triage 2 (Target is 80%) 76%
Triage 3 (Target is 75%) 62%
Triage 4 (Target is 70%) 71%
Triage 5 (Target is 70%) 88% 

All 5 triage benchmarks met and significant improvements in each category.

OFF STRETCHER TIME (Target is 90%)

September 2008 - 88%
September 2007 - 83%

Five per cent improvement compared to last September.

For a range of health information, go online to www.health.nsw.gov.au