News
17 June, 2021
Kilcoy Hospital undergoes transformation
STAFF at the Kilcoy Hospital are adapting to some distinct changes as the medical facility is continuing to undergo a series of upgrades.
The refurbishment of the Old Nurses Quarters has already been completed, and the Kilcoy Emergency Care Centre is about to introduce advanced resuscitation and monitoring equipment into its acute area.
In addition, medical and nursing staff are expanding their critical care clinical skill set to provide a higher level of care to the local community.
In this case, more seriously ill patients can be treated at the hospital or stabilised and then transferred to larger facilities such as Caboolture Emergency Department or the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.
Dr Sean Keogh, who is both the Service Line Director for Kilcoy Hospital and the Director of the Caboolture Emergency Department, described how the Emergency Care Centre at Kilcoy was becoming increasingly busy and receiving more complex clinical cases.
“Over the last couple of years we have increased medical staffing and now provide experienced, 24-hour cover on-site within the hospital, so there is always a doctor available for emergency presentations, and along with the increased staffing we now have the equipment to provide a higher level of acute clinical care,” Dr Keogh said.
Dr Keogh also pointed to a resuscitation bay which he said was now equipped to provide a similar level of monitoring as that found on an intensive care ward.
“The upskilling level is significant,” he said.
“Our aim is to stabilise patients requiring intensive care style intervention, such as advanced airway techniques and mechanical ventilation and invasive monitoring, such as very accurate measurements of blood pressure.”
A video laryngoscopy unit (a device that assists doctors in passing a tube into a patient’s windpipe prior to placing them on a ventilator to assist with their breathing) was also demonstrated by Dr Keogh.
He also referred to “providing more ultrasound training and capability” and noted that a new state-of-the-art ultrasound machine would arrive shortly.
The Old Nurses Quarters building meanwhile has had a makeover, with the bathrooms being refurbished while carpet has been removed to make way for floorboards in the hallway and bedrooms.
A new kitchen and the introduction of air conditioning have been other recent changes in the Old Nurses Quarters, in addition to repainting the walls.
New beds, desks, tables and chairs have also appeared in the bedrooms, with these changes making it more conducive for a nurse to stay overnight.
