Latest Posts

Now and then: The Children’s Hospital in a half century of development: Dr John Court and the development of Diabetes care, Adolescent health, and Community relationships

Several Grand Rounds in 2020, the 150th year of the Children’s Hospital, will highlight the development of services, some looking back and looking forward.  This opening Grand Round will review the innovations in diabetes, adolescent health, and links between the hospital and the community. Dr John Court was a paediatrician who had a key role in service development at The Royal Children’s Hospital from the late 1950’s to the 1990’s including research and clinical care.

.

Endeavoring to preserve fertility for children undergoing cancer treatment – current evidence, current debate 

Today, 80% of children treated for cancer will survive. However, a significant proportion of survivors are at risk of infertility, due to toxicity of their treatment. The Royal Children’s Hospital is a leader worldwide in promoting discussion of fertility issues at the time of treatment, and offering options that might be able to preserve fertility for the future.

.

Neonatal Seizures: To fit or not to fit?

Seizures are more common in the neonatal period than at any other time of life. Recognition of seizures in the NICU has changed in recent years with the introduction of bedside EEG tools. Increased recognition has raised the sceptre of whether all subclinical seizures need treatment with anticonvulsants.

.

Perioperative Medicine: Across the ages

Perioperative medicine (POM) is the multidisciplinary, integrated care of patients from the moment surgery is contemplated through to recovery. Perioperative Medicine is a key strategic focus of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA).

.

Social media and health promotion: Lessons from the RCH National Child Health Poll

Social media holds considerable potential for health promotion activities, as it addresses some of the barriers in traditional methods of health communication by increasing accessibility, interaction and engagement with the community. Now in its fourth year, the RCH National Child Health Poll has evolved to increasingly use novel and innovative strategies to engage parents and carers via RCH digital channels.

.

Putting the “community” into community child health: 25 years of CCCH

For the last quarter of a century the Centre for Community Child Health has been working with families, communities and government to improve outcomes of all children by focusing on how to provide great care everywhere. This has included clinical services through to place-based service innovation across health and education.

.

Better Together: Improving Mental Health Care for Children and Adolescents in Victoria

The current Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System is providing a focus of attention on mental health service provision. Whilst recognising the shortcomings of current services for people with mental disorders, the Commission will be able to offer deep and wide-ranging recommendations for improvements, and influence profoundly the design and delivery of mental health services into the future. Provision of mental health services for children and adolescents are a key part of their work.

.

Generation Victoria (GenV) Solving complex issues affecting children and adults – a whole-of-state cohort with whole-of-campus implications

GenV’s vision is to help solve complex issues affecting today’s children and adults through an entire Australian state becoming a single platform that enhances research speed, capacity and translation. Led from the Melbourne Children’s Campus, the GenV Cohort will be open to the families of all 170,000 Victorian newborns over 2021-2. At its foundation are consent; existing geospatial, clinical and administrative data; biosamples; GenV-specific data; and melding observational and intervention design

.

Global health, the Australian government aid program and the triple transition

Widening health inequities, emerging disease threats, and shortfalls in financing for health are challenging the gains made in global health over the past 20 years.  Many countries face a ‘triple transition’: Epidemiologically –  from infectious to chronic diseases; Financially – from donor to domestic financing of health, and Structurally – as health systems reorganise to achieve universal health coverage.  Dr Stephanie Williams will provide an overview of Australia’s global health contribution with practical examples of how the aid program is adapting to these changes.

.