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A year of regeneration for Mater

Friday 11 December 2015

A year of regeneration for Mater

As we near the end of 2015 it seems fitting to reflect on the year that has past, a year that has marked a period of regeneration for Mater, as the organisation reshaped itself after the transition of Mater Children’s Hospital to Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital. 2015 heralded the arrival of a number of new and exciting clinical services and service expansions for Mater.

The first of these, Mater Young Adult Health Centre Brisbane was created in direct response to an unmet need to provide dedicated specialised services and environments for people aged 16 to 25. Following the launch of a range of adolescent outpatient services in March the Centre has grown to incorporate public inpatient services, drug and alcohol withdrawal and emotional health services. In 2016 the Centre will continue to grow and work closely with Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital to provide streamlined transition services for patients aged 16 to 25 years who require continued specialised support and care. 

Building on a rich neurosciences history which began at Mater in 1954, Mater Centre for Neurosciences officially opened in June offering the capability to provide advanced care for stroke, epilepsy, neurosurgery, neurology and spinal surgery patients from one dedicated location. Bringing together an exceptional team of surgeons, physicians, nurses and allied health professionals, the establishment of the Centre marked a significant step forward for neurosciences in Queensland. 

Our Strategic Plan has a particular focus on improving outcomes through closer integration of health, education and research, and to build a sustainable future that will enable us to provide exceptional care for many years to come.

Mater’s commitment to medical research continues with an important focus on further connecting research to clinical practice. In 2016 we will be opening the new education precinct in the refurbished Whitty Building; an alliance between Mater and The University of Queensland (UQ) to create an outstanding clinical teaching environment for medical, nursing, midwifery and allied health students to experience the best of theory and practice in a tertiary teaching hospital.

In 2015 the hospital bolstered a number of its core clinical services, increasing capacity for public patients and transferring thousands of ‘long wait’ referrals from government run facilities onto waiting lists which provided timely access for patients to Mater specialists.

Further landmarks were celebrated when Mater Children’s Private Brisbane established Queensland’s only dedicated paediatric sleep service.  The facility also celebrated caring for 4,509 paediatric patients in its first year of operation as a stand-alone facility.

Mater’s growth continued in October when Mater Private Hospital Springfield welcomed its first patient. The 80-bed facility forms the centrepiece of the Health City development at Springfield Central and incorporates a state-of-the-art Cancer Care Centre funded by the Australian Government and run in partnership between Radiation Oncology Centres and Mater. The hospital is a testament to Mater’s commitment to meet community needs at a local level.

In November Mater underwent an Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS) Periodic Review along with an Interim Accreditation for Mater Private Hospital Springfield.  Both received successful outcomes with all recommendations from the 2013 organisation-wide survey closed off.  All core criteria were met in the Mater Periodic Review and Mater Private Hospital Springfield was commended on the preparation work for opening, the comprehensive service offering, and the support from Mater South Brisbane was acknowledged.  There were no formal recommendations from the survey and the team of surveyors complimented Mater People overall on the strong evidence of “patient focus and improvement of care for patients”.

Mater Mothers continued to build on its commitment to provide high quality maternity care. We are privileged to share in the beautiful moments of so many families and earlier this month we welcomed our 10 000th baby for 2015.  On average 29 babies are born each day, the busiest day of the year to date was Tuesday 25 August with 47 babies born, while the busiest month so far has been July with 971 babies. There have also been 472 multiple births.

None of the above would be possible without of Mater’s specialists. Thank you for your great contribution throughout the year, and I wish you all the best for the festive season and for the forthcoming year.

Dr Shane Kelly
CEO Mater Health Services

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