2017 is the RCH’s 148th year of caring for Victoria’s sickest and most vulnerable children. So much has changed over that time, and there is no doubt that more opportunity and challenge lies ahead for paediatric medicine, research and our community.
On 22 February RCH Foundation Chief Executive Office Sue Hunt hosted an informal gathering at The Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation to provide people interested in the long term with an extra opportunity to hear news and share our plans for the future, at first-hand.
Garry Warne with Karin Tiedemann and Sue Hunt
Representing the Alumni were Prof Graeme Barnes AM, Ms Anne McCoy, Ms Jan Shield, Dr Karin Tiedemann OAM and Prof Garry Warne AM.
Dr Tom Connell, RCH Director of General Medicine and recipient of the prestigious RCH Chairman’s Medal for 2016, described two quality improvement projects which have been funded by the Foundation. The first is a trial involving 180 families of a fully integrated, patent and family-centred model of care. There has been a dramatic reduction in admissions to hospital and in length of stay. In addition, outpatient visits are coordinated so that families from regional Victoria are away from home for much less time. The second project is what Tom described as a “24/7” approach to the provision of care to inpatients, with much more coordinated care being provided on-site by senior staff during the night time hours, especially for complex and acutely ill patients.
Sue Hunt introducing Dr Tom Connell
Bronwyn Hewitt, RCH Archivist, based her talk on a collection of artefacts from the historical collection. Bronwyn, who retires this March after more than 30 years managing
the RCH archive and museum collections, was recently recognised with a Sir Rupert Hamer Award in 2016. To date, the hospital has not announced a successor for Bronwyn.
Dr Peter Yule, author of “The Royal Children’s Hospital: A History of Faith, Science and Love” described a number of the seminal events in the development of care of children at RCH, including the introduction of insulin for children with diabetes in the 1920s, the first patient to receive penicillin in the 1940s, and the discovery of Rotavirus.
Sue Hunt introducing panel
The Foundation plans to hold 3-4 meetings of this kind in each year leading up to the 150th anniversary in 2020. The Alumni who attended this meeting agreed that it was well worth coming to.
Garry Warne