New ultrasounds a ‘game-changer’ for WBH

Wimmera Base Hospital medical teams have the comfort of knowing they are assessing patients with the most up-to-date ultrasound equipment available, thanks to the generosity of the Horsham community.

Major fundraising groups Wimmera Health Care Group Foundation and Horsham’s Blue Ribbon Foundation have joined forces to purchase two Sonosite LX portable ultrasounds for Grampians Health’s Horsham campus. One ultrasound will be housed in ED while the second will be shared between Horsham’s Operating Suite and ICU.

Grampians Health Head of Emergency Dr Peter Carter said there was a genuine buzz of excitement around the hospital when the devices were delivered.

“These ultrasounds are a game-changer for our medical teams,” Dr Carter said.

“They are new on the market and are better than the devices we use at the Ballarat campus.

“The image clarity is exceptional, and they have amazing features like voice-control and for the doctor that means that if required, we can control all aspects of our scanning without having to touch non-sterile parts of the machine."

Dr Carter said the ED team would use the ultrasound for many and expanding roles in the department.

“These might include for example looking at the heart muscle movement, lung tissue, liver and gall bladder. They also use it to locate difficult-to-access blood vessels and nerves.

“For the patient this may often mean a quicker and less uncomfortable procedure,” he said.

Grampians Health fractural anaesthetist Mike Rose said the new ultrasound in theatre provided extra capability for anaesthetists to perform nerve blocks for patient comfort.

“We now also have a new ability to assess patient heart function before surgery and to place drips and other lines into patients with greater safety and comfort,” Mr Rose said.

Dr Carter praised the two foundations for their prompt collaboration to provide the funds.

“It was only a few months ago that I was saying how much these ultrasounds were needed for Horsham and it is so impressive to see how the two foundations have worked swiftly and collaboratively to make this happen,” Dr Carter said.

“We can’t thank them enough.” 

WHCG Foundation director Sue Frankham said the collaboration was a first for the two organisations.

“We simply could not have done this without each other so it has been a wonderful outcome and I’m just so impressed with the capacity of these ultrasounds,” Ms Frankham said.

WHCG Foundation fully funded the ultrasound for the Operating Suite and ICU and shared a 50-50 payment with the Blue Ribbon team for the ED purchase.

Sonosite company representatives including sonographer and clinical applications specialist Julie Tea visited the hospital recently to instruct the medical teams on the abilities of the new ultrasounds. They also took time to provide a demonstration to Ms Frankham and Blue Ribbon Foundation committee members Dale Russell and Joanne Foster.

Grampians Health acting Chief People Officer Angela Turley echoed Dr Carter’s sentiments in thanking the two foundations for their collaborative work.

“This has just been a fantastic result,” Ms Turley said.

“It was only a few months ago at the Blue Ribbon Ball that Dr Carter was on the Horsham Town Hall stage asking for community support for this project and now they are fully operational," Ms Turley said.

“I want to congratulate everyone involved who made this happen so quickly.”