Pre-term births project milestone
National efforts to safely prevent preterm and early term birth – which originated in WA – recently celebrated a landmark event in Sydney.
Teams from more than 50 Australian maternity hospitals met at Sydney Olympic Park for the first critical learning session of Every Week Counts – the national preterm birth prevention collaborative.
Being born too early remains the leading cause of death and disability in children up to five years of age in the developed world. Preventing this major complication of pregnancy and its far-reaching impacts is now considered a high priority in health care.
Every Week Counts is a two-year initiative aiming to safely lower the rate of preterm and early term birth within participating maternity units in Australia and lead to ongoing better practice.
In recent years, the rate of preterm birth has been rising dramatically in many countries, including Australia, with more than 8% of births occurring too early, and almost double that rate in First Nation Australians.
The national program to safely lower the rate of preterm birth began with a state-wide program launched in WA in 2014.
At the recent event in Sydney, hospital teams represented every state and territory, ranging from the largest tertiary services to key services in regional and remote communities providing local care.
Leading obstetricians, midwives, GPs, sonographers and neonatologists, together with consumers and quality improvement experts, met to bridge the gap between what is happening on the ground and what experts know will improve outcomes for women and their babies.
Every Week Counts is a collaboration between the Australian Preterm Birth Prevention Alliance, Women’s Healthcare Australasia, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Safer Care Victoria and the Women and Infants Research Foundation, and is being funded by the Commonwealth Government.
Hear all about it
Curtin University-led research will provide the first estimates of the number of Aboriginal children with ear infections and hearing loss.
Chief investigator Associate Professor Christopher Brennan-Jones from Curtin’s School of Allied Health and Telethon Kids Institute said his project would look at the rate of hearing loss caused by otitis media in Aboriginal children.
It will also consider the effectiveness of ear health promotion programs, with the findings to help inform national policy.
“Aboriginal children are known to be at greater risk of otitis media and associated hearing loss than the general population yet we still do not have reliable estimates of its prevalence for Aboriginal children from birth to five years of age,” he said.
“Our research will provide these estimates and demonstrate the feasibility of screening for ear infections and hearing loss from two months of age.”
It will also test the effectiveness of the ‘Blow, Breathe, Cough’ health promotion intervention to resolve ear infections and prevent hearing loss without the need for surgery.
A separate project will develop an online platform to help adults with hearing loss to make informed decisions about their hearing health care.
Chief Investigator Associate Professor Melanie Ferguson, from the Curtin enAble Institute, Curtin School of Allied Health and the Ear Science Institute Australia, will develop an app called HearChoice, which will outline the pros and cons of available hearing health-care options such as the different types of hearing aids, new technologies called ‘hearables’ and assistive listening devices.
Eyes on new facility
A new dedicated eye facility has opened in Subiaco, aimed at improving the experience and care for St John of God Subiaco Hospital patients undergoing eye procedures and treatments.
Following its opening in October, all surgery performed by SJOG Subiaco Hospital ophthalmologists will now be undertaken at the dedicated eye unit, located at the former site of SJOG Wembley Day Surgery in Cambridge St.
SJOG Subiaco Hospital CEO Tina Chinery said that the new facility would provide a new level of dedicated services to care for eyes.
“We are excited to open this new facility to improve the experience for patients undergoing eye procedures and treatments by fast-tracking their time in hospital and providing specialist support focused on their clinical needs,” she said.
“We have also invested in the latest ophthalmic technologies and equipment, including new ophthalmic patient chairs, which patients will remain in throughout their surgical journey, from the pre-admission process to recovery.”
The facility was officially opened by SJOG Health Care board chair Kerry Sanderson at an opening and blessing ceremony.
Wembley Day Surgery closed on September 23, with procedures transferred to the main hospital.
Bringing research home
Health treatments evolve at breakneck speed and rely on research to drive the newest therapies and breakthroughs. While good health research depends on community involvement, it can sometimes be hard for people to know where to start.
In response, Edith Cowan University has launched a new register to make it easier for people to be involved in ongoing and future medical research. It allows those who sign up to receive information about research projects that match their areas of interest, such as mental health, maternity care or diabetes.
There are more than 20 health areas to choose from, with participants able to select multiple preferences.
Some of the current research projects seeking participants include studies on the effect of physical activity on mental health, and better communication in aged care facilities.
Project coordinator Danielle Brown said the register would benefit researchers, but also provide a way for people to be involved in research relating to potential treatments relevant to themselves or loved ones.
HIF lends weight
WA-based health insurer HIF has announced a new partnership with Binar Futures – a not-for-profit sport, education and leadership organisation supporting Indigenous youth in Western Australia.
The three-year partnership will see HIF provide funding for Binar’s sporting teams and homework classes, while HIF employees will be invited to participate volunteering opportunities.
Binar Futures was founded by Midland businessman Adam Desmond in 2011 when he supported a local basketball team of six Indigenous youths. It has grown to now support more than 1400 young people across Perth in sporting pursuits, education opportunities, leadership training, employment and cultural awareness.
Tip-offs to probes
Calls to a new Ahpra cosmetic surgery hotline have already resulted in the launch of 13 new investigations over allegations of unsafe or inappropriate practice.
The hotline has received 60 calls since it opened in September, with Ahpra launching an average of one new investigation a week based on these tip-offs.
Allegations being investigated include continuing to advertise services and allegedly taking appointments while holding non-practising registration; intimidation of patients; inappropriate claims about expertise and unrealistic expectations in advertising; and poor post-operative care and infection control.
Ahpra CEO Martin Fletcher said the allegations related to practitioners and matters which had never previously been reported. He urged anyone who had a bad cosmetic surgery experience to report it on 1300 361 041.
Practitioners can also use the hotline to report their concerns, which can be made confidentially. The Medical Board of Australia has written to 133,000 medical practitioners reminding them of their obligations to report unsafe practice.
New hope fuelled by stroke therapy trial
The first clinical trial is underway for a novel neuroprotective drug developed in Western Australia to reduce brain tissue death after ischaemic stroke.
The Phase 1 trial is testing the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic effects of the drug in healthy human volunteers.
The drug candidate, ARG-007, was developed by Perron Institute and University of Western Australia researchers Professors Bruno Meloni and Neville Knuckey and their team. It has been shown to improve outcomes in preclinical models.
An ischaemic stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is interrupted or reduced, preventing brain tissue from getting oxygen and nutrients. There are currently no neuroprotective treatments that minimise the brain damage that occurs immediately after an ischaemic stroke.
Argenica Therapeutics, the biotechnology company commercialising ARG-007, has announced that the first volunteer to receive a dose showed no serious safety issues 24 hours after being injected.
This has opened the way for dosing the remaining participants in cohort one. All follow-up safety data will be presented to the scientific review committee, which will then confirm the progress of the trial to the next cohort.
The Phase 1 clinical trial, conducted at the Linear Clinical Research facility in Perth, will assess ARG-007 across four cohorts of healthy adult volunteers, with each group receiving an increasing dose.
The trial is double blind so neither the participants or the investigators know which volunteers are receiving a dose of ARG-007 and which receive a placebo.
“Commencing clinical trials is a significant milestone,” Professor Meloni said. “We have been working toward this goal for almost a decade and I’m incredibly proud of what we have achieved so far.”
Argenica’s CEO and managing director Dr Liz Dallimore said it was a pivotal moment to take the ground-breaking research from the Perron Institute and UWA into the clinic.
“The aim is for the new therapeutic to be administered by first responders to protect brain tissue against damage during a stroke with further potential to enhance recovery once a stroke has occurred,” she said.
Abortion support
The Women and Newborn Health Service has recently published three new booklets to support women make their own choices about pregnancy options.
The new resource includes information booklets for consumers and health professionals, including complications during pregnancy, and support and counselling available for people seeking abortion.
It covers abortion care information and legal obligations for medical practitioners within the current laws in WA, as well as information about support services available at WNHS and in the community for people experiencing an unintended pregnancy.
Charity on wheels
A record $8.3 million was recently raised for WA cancer research by the nation’s biggest charity bike ride, the MACA Cancer 200 Ride for Research.
The money will go to Perth’s Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research to support work investigating the hardest-to-treat cancers.
More than 1500 riders set off from Optus Stadium on the 200km ride to Mandurah.
Perkins director Professor Peter Leedman said vital new cancer research would be able to go ahead because of the funds raised by the charity ride.
“We will be able to attract and retain even more of the best scientists from across the globe and support them with sophisticated equipment to enable further discoveries about cancer and help develop new treatment,” he said.
Rider and cancer survivor Kane Blackburn raised more than $75,000 for this year’s event.
“I did my first ride in 2016, six months after getting out of hospital after a receiving a radical procedure, a stem cell transplant to treat my blood cancer,” Kane said.
The survival rate for this type of cancer was 30%.
“Our family has lost several members to cancer, including most recently my father in March this year. I never expected we’d bond over cancer stories,” he said.
“In a way this ride saved our family. It was something for us to rally around. Most don’t even like riding, but it’s been a focal point to funnel our energy.
“It gives us optimism that in the future cancers will be prevented, that cures and treatments will be developed and refined and it gives us comfort that we are doing something for others after losing the people we love – this is why I ride.”
Mining companies MACA, Mineral Resources and WesTrac provided equipment and assistance with logistics to reduce the costs of the event and maximise the funds directed to cancer research.
In the 11 years of the ride, more than $55m has been raised for cancer research at the Perkins institute.