St Stephen’s Hospital in Hervey Bay is proud to announce the introduction of a range of cardiac services including a cardiac telemetry unit that provides a higher level of clinical care to the Fraser Coast community.
General Manager Amanda Cruwys said the new service provides six high observation beds with the addition of telemetry monitored beds for continuous cardiac monitoring by specially trained doctors and nurses.
“The new unit has been developed to meet the needs of the growing Fraser Coast community,” Ms Cruwys said.
“St Stephen’s unmet demand data for the 2013 to 2014 year shows almost 420 patients did not have access to specialised cardiac services in this region.
“With the Fraser Coast’s population predicted to grow from 102,080 to nearly 147,000 by the year 2031, the main demographic of that growth will be in the over 50’s age group; the end result is the need to access cardiac services will be even greater.
“The management of patients with cardiac disease encompasses the full continuum of care from treatment of early symptoms and risk factors, through to the diagnosis and management of chronic disease.”
Ms Cruwys said Dr Harendra Wijesekera and Dr Reny Suryani had recently relocated to the Fraser Coast as resident cardiologists to join St Stephen’s new cardiac services team, which also includes resident cardiologist Dr Ahmed Rehmani.
St Stephen’s is Australia’s first fully integrated digital hospital and is home to some of the Fraser Coast’s leading specialists in areas such as gynaecology, urology, orthopaedics, ophthalmology and general surgery.
The not-for-profit organisation is owned by the Uniting Church and is a member of UnitingCare Health, which includes the Wesley Hospital and St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital in Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast Private Hospital in Buderim.