Latest Posts

Let no pandemic go to waste: How the COVID crisis could lead to better health care delivery

The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing us to re-organize and re-conceptualize many aspects of our lives.  In this Grand Round, I will start with some general thoughts about these changes.  Then, I will focus specifically on the challenges that the pandemic creates for the way that we oversee and regulate clinical research.   I will speculate about whether some of these changes represent a better way of doing things and thus ought to change the way we practice after the pandemic. 

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CAR T Cell Therapy for acute leukaemia: The RCH experience as the national paediatric referral centre

Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cells have revolutionised treatment for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) where standard therapies have failed.  We reflect on our first 12 months as the first national paediatric referral centre providing CAR T cell treatment to children with relapsed or refractory ALL from Australia and New Zealand, and highlight the collective efforts and lessons for the hospital-wide CAR T cell team. 

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How can a 10 year old be sent to prison in Australia?

Currently in Australia, children as young as 10 years old can be arrested, held in police cells, taken before a magistrate and incarcerated in prison-like settings.  Most children who are incarcerated are never convicted of a crime. 

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From scarlet fever to polio: epidemics and pandemics in the history of the Royal Children’s Hospital

In the early decades of European settlement, Australia was free of some infectious diseases such as measles, scarlet fever and diphtheria which could not survive the long voyage to Australia. When these infections did arrive, as shipping times reduced, resistance was low and severe epidemics occurred, especially among children in the crowded slums of the cities, and among indigenous populations who were previously free of these infections.

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COVID-19: Spotlight on Schools and Kids in Melbourne

It is well established that kids get less sick from COVID-19 than adults. However, what do we know about the extent infected children contribute to spreading the virus?
With some areas of Melbourne approaching their third week of lockdown and widespread community transmission, how do we make decisions about when it’s safe to reopen schools and what can we do to prevent kids from transmitting the virus? At Melbourne’s largest children’s hospital, we will hear what the commonest conditions are that are causing kids to get sick during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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COVID-19: Mums and Bubs

The effect of epidemics on pregnant women and newborns has often been neglected, so what do we know about the effects of COVID-19 in pregnancy and newborns? 
As vaccines and other treatments are developed, should pregnant women also be included in clinical trials?
In low- and middle-income countries, disruption of essential maternity and newborn services may erode many of the gains made in maternal and child health over the past two decades.

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Journey towards Leadership

Jill will reflect on her journey towards leadership over her career, in the context of the changing understanding about effective leadership, gender issues in leadership, and her experiences of the Homeward Bound Women in STEMM leadership program during 2019

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Choosing Wisely – Improving value of care following Covid19

In the era of Covid-19, the imperative to manage our finite healthcare resources has become greater than ever. RCH became a Choosing Wisely Champion Hospital in 2019 and is committed to providing the safest, high-quality, high-value care for our patients.  Through Choosing Wisely, the RCH is part of a worldwide campaign challenging clinicians to think differently about the way we provide care, and to challenge the status quo when what we might normally do is no longer adding value to patient outcomes.

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COVID-19: Vaccines in development and getting them to where they are needed

The exit strategy for COVID-19 is a vaccine. To stop this pandemic we may need to vaccinate a significant proportion of the entire global population of 7 billion people. Where are we up to with vaccine development? Who gets vaccinated? How to communicate the benefits of a novel, fast tracked vaccine when misinformation is already spreading.

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