DREAM COME TRUE: NEW ERA FOR ST GEORGE HOSPITAL

Health Minister Jillian Skinner was joined today by Member for Oatley Mark Coure to officially open St George Hospital’s expanded Sleep Disorders Laboratory.

The laboratory has moved to the building formerly occupied by the Psychiatric Emergency Care Centre, which has moved to the new emergency department.

The move allowed the Sleep Disorders Laboratory to expand from a two-bed to a six-bed facility. This will enable it to build on its current annual work schedule of 1,400 sleep studies and 300 respiratory failure studies. 

“This laboratory provides early intervention in the treatment of sleep disorders and respiratory failure diseases, including motor neurone disease, muscular dystrophy, post-polio syndrome, obesity-hypoventilation syndrome, developmental disorders and end-stage lung and heart disease,” Mrs Skinner said.

“Early intervention and treatment reduces hospital admissions, which is great for the patient and great for the health system at a time of growing demand.”

The Sleep Disorders Laboratory is part of St George Hospital’s Centre for Sleep Disorders and Respiratory Failure, which gained international recognition for its research into respiratory failure, obstructive sleep apnoea and respiratory failure associated with diving and aviation. 

The centre was first to publish on orthodontic treatments for obstructive sleep apnoea, which has changed clinical practice around the world.

Mr Coure said: “The vital work undertaken by world-class clinicians in the Sleep Disorders Centre is yet another reason to be proud of our great hospital.”

The NSW Government is currently undertaking a $307 million redevelopment of St George Hospital. The centerpiece will be construction of a seven-storey acute services building on top of the $41 million emergency department, which opened late last year.