$1.6m upgrade strengthens St Andrew’s state-of-the-art service
A $1.6 MILLION dollar investment in lifesaving, state-ofthe-art cardiac treatment facilities means Toowoomba residents can access first class cardiac care without leaving the Garden City.
After a major upgrade in June, St Andrew’s Toowoomba Hospital’s world-class Cardiac Catheter Laboratory is the first in Australia to use the Philips Azurion5 series.
It is another major milestone for the hospital, which in 2002 opened the John and Beryl Macvean Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory - the first Cardiac Cath Lab in Toowoomba.
The new facility is supported by the region’s only 24/7 specific cardiac emergency facility, the Rapid Access Heart Centre, staffed by a doctor and nurse and supported by on-call specialist cardiologists.
This means a patient who presents to St Andrew’s Hospital experiencing cardiac related symptoms such as chest pain or a heart attack can be in the Cardiac Catheter Lab to undergo treatment to open clogged coronary arteries, within the national gold standard of 30 minutes of arriving at the hospital.
This saves precious time to open a blocked coronary artery quickly, meaning the outcome for patients is the prevention of serious damage from a heart attack while significantly improving quality of life. This 24/7 availability sets the St Andrew’s service apart and means Toowoomba and regional residents have no need to travel to Brisbane.
The 155-bed acute care hospital in the city’s north partnered with Philips to deliver the full suite of innovative cardiac solutions, including the Cardiac Catheter Laboratory and a state-of-the-art Hybrid Theatre, the latter being upgraded and integrated at the same time as the new Cardiac Catheter Suite was installed.
St Andrew’s continues to deliver the latest in cardiac diagnostic and interventional services to the Toowoomba community and is proud to have offered its Rapid Access Heart Centre service, staffed by doctors and nurses and accessible 24/7 without a referral, since 2018.
St Andrew’s dedicated team of experienced interventional cardiologists and cardiac nurses now have Australian-first technology at their fingertips, directly improving workflow capability and performance.
This means the St Andrew’s clinicians can make fast and informed clinical decisions that lead to optimal treatment plans for patients who seek first class care.
With such advances in technology, heart attack sufferers can often return home within two days of an interventional procedure.
Critically, treatment options are safer for patients and the St Andrew’s Toowoomba Hospital team too, with the Philips Azurion5 series system using the latest in radiation dose reduction technology, reducing the level of radiation dosage a patient receives during a procedure.
It also creates a safer working environment for the interventional team too, achieved by a tube incorporating a beam filtration system that maintains exceptional image quality of the body that can be broadcast onto the Ultra HD screen.
A unique high-resolution flat detector design delivers the outstanding image quality through a highly efficient conversion of X-rays to light.
The system’s integrated imaging chain optimises image capture, processing speed and clarity of display for both 2D and 3D visualisation.
The 3D mapping capability allows the cardiologist to look at the blood vessels from all different angles, meaning they have a far more comprehensive view to plan and execute treatment options.
There are a range of routine and unique treatments and procedures that are undertaken in the St Andrew’s Cardiac Catheter Lab.
One of the most routine and common procedures to be undertaken is cardiac stenting to treat narrowed or blocked coronary arteries.
THIS is achieved by inserting a cardiac stent into the blood vessel to improve blood flow immediately following a heart attack, allowing blood to flow and the body to receive much needed oxygen and nutrients.
This prevents the death of the heart muscle and goes a long way to preventing the significant effects of a heart attack. Rotation atherectomy, or rotablation, opens very calcified arteries.
One of the unique services provided is electrophysiology studies, which offer help in diagnosing abnormal heart rhythms, where either the heart is beating too fast, too slow or has irregularities in the way it pumps blood and allows these conditions to be treated.
Cardiac catheter ablation is a small procedure performed with keyhole surgery most commonly performed from the groin where a catheter (or plastic electrode wire) is placed inside the heart and cauterisation or diathermy (application of focused heat to localised tissue) of heart electrical tissue is performed to stop abnormal rhythm or palpitations.
Some of the heart rhythms which have high success and low complication rates include SVT ablation.
Atrial Flutter ablation most commonly uses radiofrequency (RF or heat) energy to create tiny scars in the heart to block abnormal electrical signals and restore a normal heartbeat.
AV (atrioventricular) node ablation that treats abnormally fast and disorganised heartbeats, called atrial fibrillation, can also be performed, helping to restore or optimise the heart rate.
Patients who have AV node ablation also need a permanent device, known as a pacemaker, implanted to control their heart rhythm.
More than 1000 device implant procedures have been completed at St Andrew’s since 2014.
These devices include pacemakers, implantable defibrillators and loop recorders.
One of the complex devices which have significant impact of patient’s heart failure treatment is a bi-ventricular pacemaker or defibrillator also known as a CRT device – which have been implanted at SATH successfully.
Dr Shameer Ahmed, who performs electrophysiology studies at St Andrew’s, said he was proud to offer a unique service which was previously only available in big cities to the Darling Downs region.
“This has helped the patients obtain state-of-the-art technology and much preferred care locally,” Dr Ahmed said.
At St Andrew’s Toowoomba Hospital more than 150 cases of electrophysiology have been successfully performed since the service was established in 2017.
It’s amazing that these days technology and advanced techniques have meant that all interventional cardiac procedures described here and done in the Cardiac Catheter Laboratory are done through “keyhole” surgery – small incisions in a blood vessel through which catheters and instruments are passed.
This wonderful development has meant many patients no longer need to undergo debilitating major surgery which involves the chest being cut and opened to access the heart and its blood vessels through major openheart surgery.
If you are experiencing chest pain or discomfort, ring triple-0 immediately and request the Ambulance bring you to St Andrew’s Toowoomba Hospital.
It is not just in the Cardiac Catheter Lab where patients in the Toowoomba and Darling Downs region have embraced less invasive procedures.
In April, St Andrew’s marked its 1000th robotic assisted surgery since the programs launch in 2014. St Andrew’s Toowoomba Hospital was the first hospital in regional Queensland to install a Robotic Assisted Surgical System, and continually invests in its Robotics Program.
It recently upgraded the robot to the latest advanced model a cost of $3.7 million for the new cutting-edge technology and continues to lead the way in this field.
St Andrew’s Toowoomba Hospital has provided the community excellence in care and service for 55 years, and these continued advancements in technology position the not-for-profit facility at the forefront of hospital care.
Toowoomba and the Darling Downs can rest assured St Andrew’s Toowoomba Hospital will be there for them when care is what they need.
The new facility is supported by the region’s only 24/7 specific cardiac emergency facility, the Rapid Access Heart Centre, staffed by a doctor and nurse and supported by on-call specialist cardiologists.
This means a patient who presents to St Andrew’s Hospital experiencing cardiac related symptoms such as chest pain or a heart attack can be in the Cardiac Catheter Lab to undergo treatment to open clogged coronary arteries, within the national gold standard of 30 minutes of arriving at the hospital.
This saves precious time to open a blocked coronary artery quickly, meaning the outcome for patients is the prevention of serious damage from a heart attack while significantly improving quality of life.
This 24/7 availability sets the St Andrew’s service apart and means Toowoomba and regional residents have no need to travel to Brisbane.