(L-R): ARACY CEO Dr Lance Emerson, Minister Wendy Lovell, RCH Deputy CEO John Stanway, RCH paediatrician A/Professor Sharon Goldfeld, MCRI Director Professor Kathryn North and City of Whittlesea Maternal and Child Health team leader Alex Yianni at the RCH launch of right@home.

The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) is contributing to a new home nursing trial aimed at promoting positive parenting and childhood development, launched today by Minister for Children and Early Childhood Development Wendy Lovell.

‘Right@home’ is a nationwide study that will provide intensive home nursing visits to expectant mums.

In Victoria, approximately 300 expectant mums in the Dandenong, Frankston, Ballarat and Whittlesea areas will participate.

The mothers will receive regular home visits from the same local maternal and child health nurse from when they are 16 weeks pregnant until their children turn two.

Minister Lovell said the Victorian Government had contributed $6.8 million to the study because of overwhelming international evidence of its potential benefits.

“All the evidence from similar trials overseas shows that sustained home visits from nurses can be an effective way to minimise the impact of disadvantage on the development of young children,” Ms Lovell said.

Similar nurse home visit trials in the US showed:

• 67% reduction in behavioural and intellectual problems in six-year-olds
• 56% decrease in emergency department visits for accidents
• 50% reduction in language delays in 21-month-olds.

The RCH Centre for Community Child Health will lead the evaluation of the trial together with campus partner the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute (MCRI).  Other project partners include Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) and the Centre for Health Equity Training Research and Evaluation.

“Providing new mums with regular support from a familiar person they trust can strengthen parent-child relationships and ensure children have a positive start in life,” Ms Lovell said.

“It’s important for Victoria to be involved so we can see if what worked overseas can work just as well locally.”

ARACY chief executive officer Dr Lance Emerson agreed.

“This prevention-focused trial will provide critical information on how we can enhance developmental and educational outcomes for children,” Dr Emerson said.

“It also provides vital training to participating nurses – equipping them with the skills they need to provide intensive and sustained support to families with complex needs.”

Associate Professor Sharon Goldfeld will lead the trial’s evaluation at the RCH and MCRI.

“Ensuring this trial has a rigorous evaluation will be vital to establishing the true effectiveness, cost effectiveness and benefit of home nursing visits,” A/Professor Goldfeld said.

The new Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) has been declared the big winner at the 2012 Victorian Architecture Awards, taking out three of the top awards.

The hospital was awarded the Victorian Architecture Medal, the Melbourne Prize and the William Wardell Award for Public Architecture.

Since opening in late 2011, the new RCH has won multiple awards for design and architecture on the local and world stage, including:

Australian Interior Design Awards 2012

• Premier Award for Interior Design Excellence & Innovation 
• Award for Public Design 
• Best of State Commercial Design 
• Award for Colour in Commercial Design

AIA Victorian Architecture Awards 2012

• Victorian Architecture Medal
• Melbourne Prize 
• William Wardell Award for Public Architecture – New 
•  Interior Architecture Commendation

Design & Health International Academy Awards 2012 

• International Health Project (over 40,000 sqm) – Winner
• Interior Design – Winner 
•  Sustainable Design – Winner 
•  Use of Art in the Patient Environment – Highly Commended

National Infrastructure Awards 2012

• Project of the Year

Dulux Colour Awards 2012

• Grand Prix Winner
• Commercial Interior Winner

LEAF International Interior Design Award (announced in London)

• Interior Design

The new hospital campus brings together six levels of clinical, research and education facilities over 200,000 square metres within the 4.1 hectare site. Inspired by the quality of light, the textures and forms of its parkland setting, the new RCH delivers a patient and family focused healing environment based on the latest evidence and research-based design principles.

Plastic surgeon Dr Tony Holmes has announced that the conjoined twins’ surgery is going smoothly and to plan.

Dr Holmes said Krishna and Trishna were put to sleep last night to have their anaesthetic lines put in.  An angiogram was also performed for a final look at the blood vessels.  Krishna and Trishna remained sedated for the duration of the night.

The girls arrived in theatre on schedule today at around 8.30am.  Theatre staff spent time positioning the girls and equipment before plastic surgeons made the first incision at 10am.

A major flap of skin has been pulled back to expose the tissue expanders and half of the bone.  A layer of excess skin, produced by the expanders, has been removed and will be preserved for use after the separation to cover the girls’ scalps.

Neurosurgeons Dr Wirginia Maixner and Dr Alison Wray and now starting to remove the bone at the back half of the girls’ heads.

Dr Holmes says Krishna and Trishna were prepared as well as possible for this surgery.  “I am cautiously optimistic,” he said.

Fellow plastic surgeon Dr Andrew Greensmith shared Dr Holmes’s sentiment, saying he is experiencing “a nervousness of a positive type”.

He said the team is applying techniques used everyday on other patients, but their application this time is obviously unique.

“It’s a great privilege to be involved as part of this team,” Dr Greensmith said.  “It’s an extremely good team that has been working well for the past two years with the twins.”