Children's Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service

It's Allied Health Professionals Day so we are celebrating the more then 1,100 allied health professionals working across Children's Health Queensland. Whether it be in the fields of nutrition and dietetics, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech pathology, radiography services, psychology, orthotics, music therapy, arts therapy, pharmacy, audiology and social work, our allied health team play a critical role in helping us provide the best care for children and young people. On behalf of the thousands of Queensland kids you support every year, thank you!

On the 10th of the 10th, the Queensland Conservatorium Brass Band hit the right note and brought smiles to the faces of patients, families and staff with a concert to help celebrate our 10th birthday. 🎺🎷🎵 The band consisted of 25 students under the direction of conductor Howard Taylor, a Griffith University alumnus known for his extensive experience working with young musicians, all dressed as their favourite cartoon and film characters. The performance included a range of 'note-worthy' favourites from Toy story, Despicable Me and Bluey, alongside some birthday-themed favourites. The concert was organised as part of our Arts in Health program, helping to keep children and young people connected with the outside world through workshops, performances and educational activities. Thank you Queensland Conservatorium of Music - the performance really hit the right note with all patients, families and staff in attendance. 👏❤️

On Thursday, 14-year-old pilot Byron Waller returned from his three-week trip becoming the youngest person to circumnavigate Australia. Visiting the Queensland Children’s Hospital since 2014 for treatment for Crohn’s disease, his journey incorporated raising funds for the Queensland Children’s Hospital (QCH) and awareness for young people with Crohn’s disease. Byron was joined by his father Robin Waller and flying instructor Rob Flockhart from Flightscope Aviation in the cockpit, with the trio making more than 30 stopovers across the country at locations as remote as Mount Hart Cattle Station in the Kimberley region, to Caiguna on the Nullarbor Plain. The final leg of his journey included a fly-over of the QCH with staff and patients waiting to wave him on. 📷 Pictured is Byron Waller with Children’s Health Queensland Chief Executive Frank Tracey while visiting the hospital following his return. #crohnsdisease #healthcare #aviation

Children and their families living in regional and remote areas of Queensland will have increased access to care thanks to Children’s Health Queensland’s (CHQ) new partnership with charity, Little Wings Ltd. 🛫 The partnership is the first of its kind in Queensland, providing free flights for children with ongoing medical appointments to the Queensland Children's Hospital (QCH), alleviating the financial burden of care for rural Queensland families. Children's Health Queensland's Director of Strategy, Planning, Improvement and Innovation, Adrian Clutterbuck said CHQ is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of children and young people through world-class care, and strong partnerships help to achieve this. "One of the big challenges to our sustainable network of care across Queensland is distance, and this partnership with Little Wings means if you're in Chinchilla or Goondiwindi, Charleville or Winton, you can expect the same kind of access to services, as families living in Brisbane." Little Wings has been operating for the past 12 months in Queensland, assisting 167 children, like 13-month-old Koa from Chinchilla, to access care at QCH. This partnership will allow Little Wings to expand its Medical Wings initiative for children, and work with CHQ clinicians to deliver pop-up clinics across the state. To read the full story, visit our website 👉 https://bit.ly/3ZLgqSq 📸 Little Wings CEO Clare Pearson, Koa with mum Tayla Daley and Children's Health Queensland's Adrian Clutterbuck at Archerfield Airport.

Queensland children with feeding disorders are receiving care closer to home, thanks to a world first trial in allied health, expanding the reach of simulation training for clinicians. Traditionally, simulation training for clinicians learning to treat infants and children with feeding and swallowing disorders, has been conducted face-to-face, predominately at tertiary hospitals or metropolitan care centres. This has limited access for rural and remote speech pathologists, resulting in challenges with children receiving care by trained clinicians close to home. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers from Children’s Health Queensland and The University of Queensland worked to test the feasibility of telesimulation by adapting and piloting an in-person training scenario to a digital format. Dr Jeanne Marshall, a conjoint research fellow from Children’s Health Queensland and The University of Queensland said the results concluded that telesimulation learning outcomes were equal and in some cases, superior to in-person education. “Clinicians were learning and gaining confidence, which is a wonderful outcome for them and ultimately patients and families in rural and remote areas." Since completion, the team has expanded its telesimulation portfolio to speech pathology, delivering scenarios for more than 115 clinicians across Australia and New Zealand. To read the full article, head to our 2023 Research Impact Report here 👉 https://bit.ly/4ehiciV

Today we say a big happy World Pharmacy Day to the more than 80 pharmacists working at Children's Health Queensland. 🎉 Our team of pharmacists have many touch points across our services including reviewing patients' medications, manufacturing treatments/medicines, doing ward rounds with intensivists in PICU, developing medication guidelines for doctors and nurses and conducting research to improve the safety of medicines for children. Fun fact, our pharmacy team have dispensed 920,975 prescriptions since the Queensland Children's Hospital opened its doors 10 years ago! They also support Queensland families providing 24/7 poisoning advice through the Queensland Poisons Information Centre. Thank you for all that you do team! 💜

Our Rapid Response System recently recorded its 5,000th MET call response since the Queensland Children's Hospital opened 10 years ago. 🚨 A MET (Medical Emergency Team) call is made when a child's condition deteriorates very quickly, triggering a Rapid Response System alert. When this happens, our Medical Emergency Team of expert doctors and nurses attend immediately to provide urgent medical or resuscitative care to prevent further deterioration. These systems started in Australia in the 1990's and by responding earlier, have been shown to improve patient outcomes and prevent further deterioration like cardiac arrest. Thank you to all staff contributing to our Rapid Response System for your dedication and contribution to delivering optimal care to Queensland children and their families. ❤️ Pictured from left: Crystal Henderson (Nurse Educator, Recognising & Responding to Acute Deterioration), Professor Jason Acworth (Paediatric Emergency Physician & Medical Lead of the Rapid Response System) and Casey Fowler (Clinical Nurse Consultant, Medical Emergency Team).

Since opening its door ten years ago, the Queensland Children's Hospital (QCH) has conducted almost 30 per cent of all Queensland's paediatric kidney transplants. Fifteen-year-old Laila Riley is one of the 90 children that has been gifted a new kidney after she was diagnosed with renal failure, almost by accident, back in 2023. “I had a doctor's appointment because I'd been kicked in the knee by a cow, and while I was there, mum wanted me to have a blood test because I bruised a lot,” Laila said. “By the end of that week, we were at the Queensland Children’s Hospital, and we found out I had stage five chronic kidney disease,” Laila underwent months of dialysis and countless appointments, all while her mum, Kimberley, prepared to donate her own kidney. However, three days out from the transplant, the family received a call informing them a deceased donor match had been found. Director of Queensland Child and Adolescent Renal Service Peter Trnka, who has been a paediatric nephrologist for almost 20 years, said it's a privilege for his team to work with children like Laila. “What strikes me the most is their ability to bounce back quickly as they get better, forget about the past and live in the present moment,” he said. To read more about Laila's transplant story, visit 👉 https://bit.ly/47x7rGw

We are pleased to present the 10th annual Paediatric Masterclass for General Practice on Saturday 12 October, delivered by clinical experts from the Queensland Children's Hospital. ✍️ The Masterclass is the premier paediatric education event for GPs in Queensland. The program has been designed by GPs for GPs and informed by attendee feedback from previous years. Join us for the event which is designed around your needs and will provide specialist insights that are both entertaining and content-packed. For more details visit the event below or register here 👉 https://bit.ly/3ZqEkSZ

Families and health professionals in Queensland now have access to the new Paediatric Statement of Choices (PSoC), specifically designed to support advance care planning for children and young people. The PSoC is a values-based document used to record a child or young person’s views, wishes and preferences for their future health care. Its purpose is to provide guidance for those making health care decisions on behalf of a child or young person who is unable to do so themselves. The launch of this document marks a significant step forward in paediatrics, providing a way for young people, parents, (decision makers) and health professionals to record the preferences of young patients living with a life limiting illness, in a manner that is meaningful to them. Children's Health Queensland's (CHQ) Dr Anthony Herbert alongside members of the Paediatric Palliative Care Service, the CHQ End-Of-Life Sub Committee and the Queensland Child and Youth Clinical Network have worked with the Statewide Office of Advance Care Planning since 2018 to help develop the PSoC. You can view and download the resources by visiting 👉 https://bit.ly/47jUNKE