Mater moving to a new beat

Following recommendations made by the 2006 Mellis Review, an independent taskforce determined that children with cardiac disease should be cared for in a tertiary paediatric hospital, and there should be one tertiary children’s hospital for Queensland.

Consequently, throughout 2007, Queensland Health and Mater Health Services were actively planning for the transition of Queensland Paediatric Cardiac Services (QPCS) from The Prince Charles Hospital to Mater Children’s Hospital (MCH) in 2008. The new facilities will deliver interim services for the paediatric cardiac service until the opening of Queensland Children’s Hospital (QCH) in 2011.

The integrated service will function as the state’s only paediatric cardiac service and will be located in a paediatric facility for the first time in Queensland, performing around 350 procedures a year.

Modifications, expansions and structural work began at MCH in May 2007 to help accommodate the new service and the transition process.

The new facilities will include:

• Cardiac Specialist Clinics and Clinical Measurements Services
• a new state-of-the-art Bi-planar Catheter Lab
• expanded Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) with an additional 9 beds
• dedicated cardiac operating theatre and perfusion areas in theatre complex
• a 14 bed cardiac inpatient ward area
• expanded Allied Health facilities
• expanded parent facilities
• administration areas for cardiac clinicians.

QPCS is on track to move to MCH near the end of May 2008 as the extensive building works at the Mater near completion.