The Prince Charles Hospital

Metro North Health

"I live on a big bush property, 340 acres of land that I call 'bush paradise' and it's a beautiful place. I sit on the veranda in the morning and see the hills and the trees, listen to the birds sing and just meditate for a few minutes. I've been retired for a number of years now, but I used to be a truck driver in Melbourne, driving delivery trucks until I moved to the country to drive a fuel tanker. Hopefully I'll be going home soon and I can tend to the orchid and the veggie garden, I'm sure they've gone a bit backwards."

💭 Monday Mantra, Ralph, TPCH Cardiac Patient 💐🥕🥒🍅 ... See MoreSee Less

Metro North Health

If you think that only elderly people in hospital can get sepsis, then think again. Sepsis is an extreme response to an infection where your immune system becomes dysregulated and causes injury to your own tissues and organs.

TPCH General Paediatrician and Paediatric Emergency Consultant Dr Irfan Khan says that whilst sepsis is rare in children, it is time critical and parents recognising when their child is unusually sick is crucial so clinicians can act fast.

"We want to assess the whole child, rather than just one high fever, so I am looking at whether they are alert or drowsy, if their breathing is rapid, is their skin cold, mottled or blotchy or whether they have a rash that does not fade with pressure. The most important thing is severe unexplained pain or irritability, and parents have a good idea of what that child's baseline is," he explains.

"There are certain cohorts that are more vulnerable, including neonates, kids with existing conditions such as a cancer diagnosis or chronic conditions, kids with immune deficiencies or if they have incomplete immunisations, as well as post-surgical patients.

"A child does not need to have every warning sign but if your child is not improving as expected or is rapidly becoming more unwell, then those four words can help start and important conversation: could it be sepsis?" 🏥🚨 ... See MoreSee Less

Metro North Health

If you've ever found yourself scrolling social media in bed at night, you may have come across the term 'orthosomnia' which describes an obsessive pursuit on achieving a perfect sleep. 😴

Whilst orthosomnia is more of an internet term than an official diagnosis, TPCH Senior Sleep Psychologist Elena says that practicing good sleep hygiene techniques are essential.

"This includes things like ensuring your bedroom environment is dark, cool and comfy, not eating a big meal within three hours of bedtime, getting some sunlight first thing in the morning and making sure you're not spending too much time in bed when you're not sleeping," Elena explains.

"The enemy of a good sleep is focussing on it too much but if you're taking over 30 minutes on average to fall asleep, if you are waking up in the night and finding it hard to go back to sleep or you are still feeling really sleepy after a full 7-9 hours, these are some things that could be a concern.

"If you do have a sleep issue related to falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up too early, then seeing a sleep psychologist is a first line treatment, and your GP can refer you to one." ... See MoreSee Less

Metro North Health

Dr Lucy takes her role working with our older population seriously, and while she loves spending time with her patients on the TPCH ward, she is happiest when they get to go ‘home’.

Not all patients will be well enough to return to the home they have known, and many are waiting for aged care placements in a residential aged care facility.

“We know our patients who are well enough to leave hospital should not be spending longer than they need in a hospital ward – it’s much better for patients both clinically and emotionally if they can be discharged to their new home,” Dr Dakin said.

“As a geriatrician, we work hard to keep our older patients awaiting aged care placements as physically and emotionally well as we can, but we understand that more interim care arrangements and aged care solutions are needed.

“We treat unwell patients, but when a patient is well enough to be discharged to their new home with supports so they can continue doing the things they love, we want to see them do that.” 💛🏡 ... See MoreSee Less