Spinal unit frees up hospital beds
DEVELOPERS of a new spinal injury service centre to be opened in Cairns in 2019 say the $12 million facility will help reduce bed blockage at Cairns Hospital.
Spinal Life Australia expects to break ground on the new centre on the corner of Lake and Smith streets in November.
The organisation says the facility will be the first of its kind in regional Australia, offering supported transitional respite and holiday accommodation, specialist allied health services, a hydrotherapy pool and gymnasium.
Australian of the Year Professor Alan Mackay-Sim, whose biomolecular research paved the way for mobility to be restored for a quadriplegic Polish man three years ago, was in Cairns yesterday promoting the new centre.
He said it would also be a rehabilitation facility for patients involved in Australian trials of his work within the next two years.
The research is being backed by the Perry Cross Spinal Research Foundation.
“The trial will be in Brisbane, but there is likely to be people volunteering for the trial from all over Australia,” Prof Mackay-Sim said.
“They’ll need to get into rehabilitation, so will be doing some muscle rebuilding exercises and so on beforehand, and during the trials.
“It would be very expensive to fly everyone to Brisbane, so the more places like this that we have where people come to a regional centre and carry out the rehab program, that’s what we’ll use this for.”
Spinal Life Australia chief executive Michael Powell said the centre would have strong linkage to Cairns Hospital, which was just a few blocks away.
“We’ve had great discussions with Cairns Hospital,” he said. “They do spinal injury surgery at the hospital and they’ve identified that (the centre) will help them transfer their clients out of the acute care section more quickly,” he said.
“This will help them clear beds.”
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