Boost for new mothers
Machine is vital addition to hospital
THE Toowoomba Hospital’s gynaecology unit has a machine that it believes is worth its weight in gold.
The Caresono Padscan HD5 bladder scanner, purchased thanks to a donation from the Toowoomba Garden City Zonta club, will help practitioners ascertain the bladder health of women post-partum.
The new addition means that patients will breathe a sigh of relief thanks to a less invasive procedure.
“It’s the first one in the Darling Downs and one of the reasons we got it is to reduce pain and trauma to women after they have had their babies because normally they would have to have catheters,” nurse practitioner for urogynaecolgy and continence at the Toowoomba Hospital, Julie Westaway said.
“It’s painful, invasive and it is time-consuming. The machine is extremely accurate and it will
transform how we do our care when women have their babies in the hospital.”
Ms Westaway recognised the need for the machine to help alleviate the anxiety the women of Toowoomba felt during the procedure.
New mothers, she said, felt particularly vulnerable in the aftermath of labour, and the old way of doing things through catheters
was a traumatic experience for many.
“It’s about making women feel confident, making women feel empowered enough to self manage themselves,” Ms Westaway said.
“The goal is that after treatment they can go home and self manage in peace.”
The machine may be a vital piece of equipment for
the hospital for years to come, but so too is Ms Westaway. The specialist nurse is one of only two practitioners in Queensland who specialise in the area of urogynaecolgy. Her role means that the region’s women are treated by one of the best health professionals in the country when they walk through her door.
“I let (patients) hold the
scanner so they feel like they have a bit more control and guide their hands,” Ms Westaway said.
“We have a lot of women who had previous experiences with childbirth that have left them emotionally fragile and by letting them do that it makes them feel empowered.
“These machines are worth their weight in gold.”