Annual Report 2008-09

Annual Report 2008-09 TURNING SCIENCE INTO HEALTH Contents Year at a Glance 2 Chairman and CEO Report 6 Board of Directors 8 Organisational Structure 10 Acute Operations 14 Nursing and Ambulatory Care 20 Research 23 Teaching and Training 28 Chief Medical Officer 30 Support Services 34 – Infrastructure and Commercial 34 – Human Resources 36 – Strategy, Quality and Service Redesign 38 – Fundraising 39 Our Supporters 40 Senior Staff 42 Awards and Scholarships 44 Financials 46 Our Clinical Services 47 Mandatory Reporting 50 Statement of Priorities 53 Disclosure Index 57 Additional Copies VISION OVERVIEW Please call Austin Health Corporate Austin Health will be renowned for Austin Health is the major provider Communications on 03 9496 5222 excellence and outstanding leadership in of tertiary health services, health health care, research and education. professional education and research We welcome your feedback in the north-east of Melbourne. Austin Please submit online VALUES Health is world-renowned for its at www.austin.org.au/publications Integrity – We exercise honesty, candour research and specialist work in cancer, Design and Production and sincerity. liver transplantation, spinal cord injuries, Fragile Design neurology, endocrinology, mental health Accountability – We are transparent, and rehabilitation. Principal Photography responsible and answerable. Parallax Photography Austin Health comprises Austin Hospital, Respect – We treat others with dignity, Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital and consideration, equality Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre. and value. During 2008-09, Austin Health’s 6,402 Excellence – We continually staff treated a record 89,668 in-patients Cover: At the forefront of medical technology, strive for excellence. and 155,538 out-patients. Dr Mark Goodwin, radiologist and Mr Paul Hubbard, radiographer review images obtained during an interventional procedure in Austin Hospital’s new angiography suite. i VISION OVERVIEW Austin Health will be renowned for Austin Health is the major provider excellence and outstanding leadership in of tertiary health services, health health care, research and education. professional education and research in the north-east of Melbourne. Austin VALUES Health is world-renowned for its Integrity – We exercise honesty, candour research and specialist work in cancer, To provide our patients with the best treatments and sincerity. liver transplantation, spinal cord injuries, available, we have created a culture where excellence neurology, endocrinology, mental health Accountability – We are transparent, in medical research is highly valued and the training and rehabilitation. responsible and answerable. of tomorrow’s clinicians is woven into the Austin Health comprises Austin Hospital, organisation’s fibre. Respect – We treat others with dignity, Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital and consideration, equality Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre. This report features some of our most prolific and and value. During 2008-09, Austin Health’s 6,402 respected researchers. Their work, and the work of Excellence – We continually staff treated a record 89,668 in-patients their colleagues, translates to new treatments and strive for excellence. and 155,538 out-patients. innovations, delivered by highly skilled staff. And that means our patients get well soon. Austin Health : 2008-09 ANNUAL REPORT 1 Year at a Glance TOTAL NUMBER OF PATIENTS ADMITTED END OF YEAR FINANCIAL RESULTS TO AUSTIN HEALTH FACILITIES �� The number of patients admitted climbed to 89,668 The underlying operating result for 2008-09 was this year – the eighth consecutive year of growth and a $242,000. This figure was inflated by a major donation �� 37 ��per cent increase since 2000-01. of $4.2 million to fund medical research. The 3.7 per cent growth in the number of in-patients treated was due primarily to the number of surgical procedures undertaken at The Surgery Centre. TOTAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO PRESENTED TO PERCENTAGE OF EMERGENCY PATIENTS WHO WERE THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT FOR TREATMENT ADMITTED TO A WARD BED WITHIN EIGHT HOURS �� Emergency Department attendances continued Emergency Department patients admitted to an to increase sharply this year, with 8.2 per cent or in-patient ward bed within eight hours increased 4,659 more�� attendances than the previous year. This slightly compared to the previous�� year, despite constitutes a 47 per cent increase in activity since the increased numbers of patient presentations. This new hospital opened in 2005. This increase was partly result�� was due to improved patient flow systems �� driven by heat-related presentations in summer and within the Emergency Department. the swine flu pandemic during May and June. 2 Austin Health : 2008-09 ANNUAL REPORT PERCENTAGE OF TIME AMBULANCES WERE TOTAL NUMBER OF PATIENTS WAITING DIVERTED TO OTHER HOSPITALS FOR ELECTIVE SURGERY AT YEAR’S END �� Despite the continued growth in patients presenting to The total waiting list for elective surgery decreased the Emergency Department, Austin Health was again by 22 per cent due to the performance of over able ��to achieve the Department of Human Services 5,000 procedures at The Surgery Centre. This was benchmark of being on bypass less than three per achieved despite a 15 per cent increase in numbers of cent of the total time in each quarter. Austin Health patients added�� to the waiting list. �� is continuing to work closely with the Metropolitan Ambulance Service and surrounding hospitals to minimise time spent on bypass. AVERAGE LENGTH OF STAY FOR ACUTE PATIENTS PERCENTAGE OF PATIENTS WHOSE ELECTIVE (EXCLUDING SAME DAY PATIENTS) SURGERY WAS POSTPONED BY THE HOSPITAL �� The average length of stay of non-same day patients There was a significant reduction in the number of remained constant compared to the previous year, patients whose elective surgery was postponed by despite the increasing average acuity of patients the hospital ��this year. This was greatly assisted by �� admitted. Lengths of stay at Austin Health include the quarantining of elective surgery patients at The long-stay spinal and liver transplant patients. Surgery Centre from the pressures of delivering ��emergency care. �� Austin Health : 2008-09 ANNUAL REPORT 3 Epilepsy research at Austin Health includes research teams from The University of Melbourne and the Brain Research Institute working together to better understand the causes and treatment of epilepsy. The Epilepsy Research Centre conducts internationally recognised research into the genetics of epilepsy; imaging techniques looking at both the structure of the brain and how it works; and the surgical treatment and psychological aspects of epilepsy. This research is integrated into world-leading patient care that draws on the expertise of neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuropsychologists, radiologists, nuclear medicine specialists, psychiatrists, nurses, EEG technicians, neurophysiologists and researchers. All in the mind – unlocking the mystery of epilepsy > Laureate Professor Samuel Berkovic AM Australia leads the world in research Most seizures are brief, and a recovery “By researching and understanding into the genetics of epilepsy, and Austin period of up to a day is common. For the genes that cause epilepsy, and there Health’s Professor Samuel Berkovic, a person with regular seizures, the are several, we can improve therapies clinical neurologist, is at the forefront. condition has a devastating effect on and treatments for our patients,” said His genetic research has led to advances their confidence and quality of life. Prof Berkovic. in patient care, as well as the adoption Leading an expert team in the Prof Berkovic’s motivation for his of new concepts in understanding and Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at research is driven by his intrigue with researching the condition. Austin Health, Prof Berkovic’s discovery the brain as an electrical organ. His first “An epileptic seizure is a disruption in of the first epilepsy gene was a major job, at the Austin Hospital as a neurology the communication between the brain’s breakthrough. The discovery led to a intern in 1978, brought him under the nerve cells, which

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