Australia’s first dedicated heart hospital is celebrating 10 weeks of operations having treated thousands of patients in its first 70 days.
“It has been exciting and rewarding to watch the hospital come to life since we saw our first patient on Thursday 23 February,” said Professor Steve Nicholls, Director of the Victorian Heart Hospital.
“This is our first Heart Week and we are delighted to be treating patients across our communities. Our staged opening has allowed us to safely care for a range of patients, including those in need of life-saving emergency care and emergency surgery.”
The hospital has opened gradually, with inpatient services, emergency treatment, cath lab procedures and surgery beginning in early March.
“It has been an exciting time for all of us as we continue to recruit and expand our world-class service that brings together clinical excellence, research and education.”
To date, the hospital has:
- Treated and discharged 1000 inpatients
- Assessed and treated 1000 patients in Cardiac Emergency
- Conducted more than 2600 scans, including 856 CT scans, 291 ultrasound and 231 MRI
- Carried out more than 625 cath lab procedures
- Completed more than 2200 echocardiograms
- Assessed more than 1900 patients in clinic visits
- Initiated cardiac treatment programs for more than 300 patients
Monash Health Chief Executive Andrew Stripp said he was delighted that after a decade of planning, the hospital was up and running and delivering excellent patient care.
“The Victorian Heart Hospital is a bold reimagining of how healthcare, delivered differently, can provide the best possible outcome for those with heart disease, the biggest killer in our community.
“It truly is a world-class community asset that in coming years will help change heart health treatments, research and education for the better – locally, nationally and globally.”
The Victorian Heart Hospital is operated by Monash Health and built on the grounds of Monash University. It will play a leading role in training Australia’s future cardiac care medicine, nursing and allied health professionals, with more than 300 undergraduate students, 260 postgraduate students and 20 PhD students to undertake training each year.