With the fourth highest rate of cardiac-related hospitalisations in Australia, West Moreton is blessed to now have the gold standard of cardiac care at its major public hospital.

A cardiac catheter laboratory which delivered its first angiogram in October 2022 and began offering stent insertions this month, had its official opening at the hospital this week.

Staff specialist Dr Johanne Neill said a public cardiac catheter lab had been desperately needed in the region.

“As well as having one of the highest rates of cardiac-related hospitalisations in the country, we also have higher than Queensland average rates of pre-disposing risk factors such as smoking, diabetes and obesity here in West Moreton,” Dr Neill said.

“Most patients who suffer a heart attack require an angiogram. It really is the gatekeeper to other therapy such as stents and bypass surgery. Having a cath lab at Ipswich Hospital means we are achieving better health outcomes for patients, improving bed availability at the hospital, and reducing costs to the health system.”

A diagnostic angiogram can determine whether a person’s chest pain is the result of a heart attack or angina (pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart).

If the angiogram reveals narrowing in the coronary artery, the Ipswich team now has the capacity to insert a device, known as a stent, that will stay in the artery permanently to improve blood flow to the heart.

Since October, the interventionist team had performed 252 procedures, saving at least 36 bed days a month.

“There really are not many more exciting places to work, I think, than at Ipswich Hospital in this current healthcare environment of growth and discovery. We also hope to build on our research capabilities locally,” Dr Neill said.

“We have the opportunity to model our services on high-value, evidence-based care from their inception, and not many places can do that. I’m really proud to work here and love coming to work every day.”

West Moreton Health Chief Executive Hannah Bloch congratulated the cardiac interventionist and medical imaging teams who had worked closely together to develop the lab.

“We have a very talented and dedicated team who are committed to improving access to services for people living in our region,” Ms Bloch said.

“It is really important, as our population grows in coming years, that we continue to attract and retain a high-calibre workforce who can bring this sort of innovative healthcare to West Moreton.”