General interest

Paediatric patient safety in Switzerland

It was during his fellowship at RCH PICU in the mid-90s, that Bernhard Frey first encountered patient safety initiatives such as critical incident reporting and evidence based medicine. Back home, he tried to implement these concepts in Switzerland and complemented them in the following years by issues such as allocation of care, organizing PICU, technical measures, avoiding overtreatment and the importance of the prevailing culture. In this Grand Round, Bernhard Frey will discuss a practical approach for safe medicine, based on his experience and the current literature.

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“The times they are a-changin” Paediatrics in Geelong and reflections on the role of RCH in children’s health in Victoria

This Grand Round will present the evolution of Paediatrics in Geelong and the Barwon Region, as well as discussing the evolution of General Paediatrics as a specialty. We will discuss the importance of the relationship between The Royal Children’s Hospital and Barwon Health and its role in helping to deliver high quality medical and health care to children of our region. We will also discuss ways in which the relationship will continue to be important as Paediatrics in Geelong develops further in the years ahead. This relationship is a good case study of the role that RCH can take throughout Victoria.

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Child Deaths in Victoria: Lessons learned from the Victorian Consultative Council on Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and Morbidity

The Consultative Council on Obstetric and Paediatric Morbidity and Mortality (CCOPMM) reviews every obstetric, neonatal, child and adolescent death in Victoria. This Grand Round will describe the functions and history of CCOPMM, together with a review of the epidemiology of child deaths in Victoria over the last 30 years reviewed by the committees.

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How sustainable is your hospital?

“Tackling climate change could be the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century” according to The Lancet in 2015. Research shows that health professionals are generally aware of the threats of climate change to health. But what is the role of the medical professional? This talk will highlight possible avenues for both individual and collective action.

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From Syria to Safed: Treatment of Syrian war victims in Israel

In March 2011 the civil war in Syria broke out. To date, there have been over 250,000 deaths and over half the country has been internally or externally displaced. Since Feb 2013 over 2000 severely wounded Syrians have crossed the border into Israel. Most of the children have come to Ziv Hospital in Tzfat in Israel’s far north, where Michael Harari works as a paediatrician. They have posed unique medical, social, emotional and political challenges. Michael will talk of his experience in dealing with these issues, and some of the medical lessons learnt along the way.

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50 Years of Newborn Screening

Newborn screening is one of the most successful public health programs in Australia. Every year, Victoria’s newborn screening program prevents serious childhood disability or death in about 80 Victorian children. The program is run on behalf of the Victorian government by Victorian Clinical Genetics Services in the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute. 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the program and today’s Grand Round is part of a one day symposium celebrating the history and achievements of the program. A panel of speakers will reflect on what newborn screening has meant for them, how Victoria’s program developed and is currently run and what the future may hold.

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Priorities and challenges in global child health in the era of the Sustainable Development Goals

While there was tremendous improvement in global child health during the Millennium Development Goal era, huge gaps remain in access to healthcare, nutrition and sanitation etc. A number of lessons from the MDGs and key demographic and epidemiologic trends in the last decade have increased our understanding of the role of health in development and the priorities in global child health. Priorities in health and development were recently articulated in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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Ethical issues in caring for asylum seeker children

David went to Nauru in December to see children referred to him. He will present a case related to this visit and will discuss what are our ethical responsibilities to asylum seekers and the role of advocacy

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New Developments in Organ Donation

Since the 1950s organ donation has been available as a benevolent opportunity. The legal, ethical and moral framework has evolved since to establish its optimal conduct. Worldwide, efforts have been made to enhance organ donation rates by the establishment of organ procurement agencies.

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Diversity in the Health Context – Bridging the Divide to Culturally Appropriate Care

Australian patients with low English proficiency are considerably disadvantaged compared to patients who are fluent in English; they stay in hospital longer, have higher readmission rates, and undergo more diagnostic tests. When these patients also have a disability or a mental health condition, the divide is even greater. ‘Diversity’ in the health context mainly translates to ‘disadvantage’ and inequality; this Grand Round will argue that we need to change the perception of ‘diversity’ as a problem, and embrace it as a solution.

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