Almost 25 years separate the arrival of Ryan Fraser and Isaac Williams to The Royal Children’s Hospital, but they have one important thing in common, they both owe their lives to The Royal Children’s Hospital’s Paediatric Emergency Transport Service (PETS).

Ryan and Isaac were reunited with the PETS team when they returned to the hospital to celebrate the 25th anniversary of PETS on Monday 15 November.

Since 1979, PETS has retrieved over 4,000 critically ill children from hospitals in Victoria, Tasmania, and southern New South Wales by road ambulance, plane and helicopter, as well as providing a telephone advice service to doctors, nurses, and ambulance staff on the resuscitation of critically ill children.

Ryan Fraser who is now 28 years old, holds the auspicious position of being the first PETS patient.  In November 1979, 3 year old Ryan was at a Christmas party near Sale when a branch from an old gum tree fell on him.  After undergoing surgery at Sale Hospital where doctors removed a rib, kidney and spleen, the PETS team transferred him to The Royal Children’s Hospital by plane.  Ryan spent two weeks at The Royal Children’s Hospital including a week in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Whilst Ryan remembers little of his PETS transfer, his mother Bev, still remembers the day very clearly.  “When we were told that Ryan was to be transferred to The Royal Children’s Hospital, I can remember feeling that the Sale doctors had saved Ryan’s life and that he was now going to the best place for his further care. We will be forever grateful that we have not only great hospitals in Victoria, but also a wonderful service in PETS.  It was reassuring to know he was in the best possible hands during the transfer to Melbourne,” said Bev.

In August last year, 13 year old Isaac Williams contracted meningococcal disease and within an hour of arriving at Geelong Hospital, the PETS team were preparing to transport him to The Royal Children’s Hospital.  Isaac spent 8 weeks in Intensive Care and was in a medically induced coma for five weeks. He underwent numerous operations and almost died four times. It is certain that without PETS Isaac would not have survived.

In its 25 years of operation, there have been a number of changes in the types of illnesses that the PETS team treats.  For example, prior to the HIB vaccine, epiglottitis (narrowing of the airway) was an extremely common condition but fortunately is now a rarity.  Today, PETS is an Australia wide retrieval service for patients who require Extra Corporeal Membranous Oxygenation (ECMO), a heart lung bypass first used at The Royal Children’s Hospital in 1988.  Other common illnesses include meningitis, asthma, bronchiolitis, croup, febrile convulsions and trauma.

Picture/Interview opportunities:

Interviews and picture opportunities with the first PETS patient, Ryan Fraser, one of the first PETS nurses, Marg Farley, and Isaac Williams, PETS patient and his mother, Kathy Williams.  A PETS helicopter will be located on the hospital’s helipad.

FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT KATE STRONACH, PUBLIC AFFAIRS, THE ROYAL CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL, 9345 5882 OR 0403 806 052. 

This event received the following media coverage:

• The Herald Sun