On Friday 14 July the Minister for Health, Mental Health and Ambulance Services and Minister for Women, The Honourable Shannon Fentiman, and the Acting Premier, The Honourable Dr Steven Miles, visited the Queensland Children’s Hospital to celebrate the 500th patient scan using its Australian-first digital PET-CT service.
The state-of-the-art equipment was made possible by a joint $5 million investment by the Palaszczuk Government and the Children’s Hospital Foundation.
The Queensland Children’s Hospital is the only paediatric hospital in Australia to offer the digital PET-CT technology, which commenced operations in November 2021.
It is commonly used for diagnosing and treating kids with cancers, epilepsy, and some inflammatory and infectious diseases.
About 25 patients a month use the service, which delivers higher quality, more accurate imaging, with faster scan times and less exposure to radiation as part of their diagnosis and treatment.
Faster scan times also means a shorter procedure, reducing the need for anaesthetic.
Previously, sick kids who needed this type of advanced imaging had to be transferred via ambulance from the Queensland Children’s Hospital to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. They then had to be transported back to the Queensland Children’s Hospital after an anaesthetic. Delivering this service on site at the Queensland Children’s Hospital has reduced the total procedure time from around 10 hours to just 3.5. hours for some patient.
Investing in this specialist paediatric service has also freed up clinicians and ambulance drivers to deliver crucial health services to more Queenslanders who need them.
Minister for Health, Mental Health and Ambulance Services and Minister for Women, The Honourable Shannon Fentiman said “The Palaszczuk Government’s commitment to help deliver the best possible treatment and care for sick children and young people in Queensland has never been stronger as we celebrate the 500th patient to use the digital PET-CT machine here at the Queensland Children’s Hospital.
It’s incredibly stressful waiting for your sick child’s diagnosis, and this service provides faster scan times and shorter procedures so families spend less time waiting and can quickly access the treatment their child needs.”
Children’s Hospital Foundation Chief Executive Officer Lyndsey Rice said “We are thrilled the digital PET-CT scanner is having a demonstrable impact on Queensland children through the ability to achieve earlier diagnoses. The Children’s Hospital Foundation invested $2.5 million into this equipment thanks to an incredible gift left by Geoffrey Carrick in his Will.”
Photo L-R Dominic Tait, Executive Director Children’s Health Queensland, Minister for Health, Mental Health and Ambulance Services and Minister for Women, The Honourable Shannon Fentiman, Lyndsey Rice, Chief Executive Officer Children’s Hospital Foundation, Tiana Goodings, patient, Acting Premier and Minister for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, The Honourable Dr Steven Miles
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