Life-saving cardiac care will be available 24/7 at Mackay Base Hospital for the first time this weekend (28 February 2020) with the expansion of the Cardiac Catheter Laboratory.
Director of Cardiology Dr Michael Zhang said people having a heart attack on a weekend would no longer have to travel to Townsville for care.
Almost $4.5 million has been secured over four years to ensure the Cath Lab is always open, providing more cardiac care services for our community.
In the past 12 months 78 patients were transferred to Townsville Hospital out of hours.
“This will also help improve cardiac patient outcomes. The gold standard of care for patients who have had a heart attack is revascularisation or in other words opening up the artery in a timely manner,” Dr Zhang said.
“Opening the Cath Lab 24/7 means we can anticipate all patients are treated within the clinically recommended time.
“Heart disease is the number one cause of death in Australia and the expansion of our service reflects this,” he said.
The hospital has recruited additional staff to run the service including an interventional cardiologist, clinical and registered nurse and cardiac scientist.
Acting Chief Executive Marc Warner said the service expansion was a very important and significant milestone.
“We are proud to be part of the service we will be providing to the Mackay HHS community,” Mr Warner said.
More than 4300 procedures had been done to diagnose and treat heart conditions since the Cath Lab opened in 2014.
“To think when Dr Zhang arrived in Mackay there was no Cath Lab at all. He has worked very open the service in 2014 and steadily expand the range of care.”
The increased service hours at Mackay Base Hospital will result in increased patient outcomes and satisfaction.
“This will also reduce hospital stays, the cost of transport and the emotional and financial stress it can place on families when their loved one is sent away for treatment.”
