General News
17 April, 2023
Endoscopy boost for hospital
Advanced endoscopic procedures can now be carried out in Horsham. Grampians Health installed new equipment recently at its Horsham campus as part of efforts to make care more accessible to local communities. Using this equipment, staff are able to...
Advanced endoscopic procedures can now be carried out in Horsham.
Grampians Health installed new equipment recently at its Horsham campus as part of efforts to make care more accessible to local communities.
Using this equipment, staff are able to conduct endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography - a procedure that can help diagnose and treat issues affecting the liver, gall bladder, bile ducts and pancreas.
Having such procedures available in Horsham means patients no longer need to travel to Ballarat or Melbourne to be treated for these problems, creating substantial savings in time and costs. “When gall bladders are removed, some patients can have a stone in their bile duct that can cause problems like jaundice or infection," James Gallagher, Grampians Health director of surgery in Horsham and Stawell, said.
“If we can remove them here in Horsham, it will help patients get care at a quicker rate."
Between 50 and 60 surgeries are conducted annually in Horsham to remove gall stones.
“The new equipment extends the range of surgeries we can do in Horsham and eliminates the need for patients to travel too far to deal with retained gall stones,” Mr Gallagher said.
“We can also help with the diagnosis of malignancies, like cancers of the bile duct or the pancreas, and we can put things like stents in through the new equipment.”
In addition to benefitting patients, the new equipment also enables nursing staff to upskill, as it provides a great learning opportunity.
Grampians Health has trained two nurses at its Ballarat campus who will assist in surgeries being done in Horsham.
“From a nursing point, it's a real learning curve because using the new equipment is different from the previous endoscopies we’ve done," Mr Gallagher said.