The Department provides for a wide variety of clinical services related to respiratory and sleep disorders medicine. The Department manages per annum approximately 1,300 hospital inpatients , consults on approximately 200 hospital inpatients , and manages 2,500 hospital outpatients and 2,600 clients in the Migrant Screening Clinic. The Migrant Screening Clinic is contracted to the Department of Human Services Victoria as a statewide service, and is responsible for screening of overseas students and immigrants with abnormal chest x-rays. The Department performs approximately 2,000 sleep studies , 2,400 lung function tests , 200 bronchoscopies and approximately 250 cardiopulmonary exercise tests per annum. The Respiratory Function Laboratory is accredited by the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand as a category 4 (complex tests) laboratory. The Sleep Disorders Laboratory is accredited by the Australasian Sleep Association to perform complex sleep studies.
The Department has active teaching and research programs. The teaching program includes teaching of undergraduate and postgraduate medical personnel, nursing staff and allied health staff. The Department is affiliated with The University of Melbourne Department of Medicine (Royal Melbourne and the Western Hospitals). In addition students from the Science Faculty of Swinburne University spend a year within the Department's clinical laboratories as part of their training. The research program involves studies into sleep disorders related to cardiovascular disease and chronic opioid use. In addition studies addressing the management of insomnia are performed. Research in Respiratory Medicine includes: therapies for asthma and obstructive airways disease, obesity management, tuberculosis epidemiology and staging of lung cancer.
The Department's personnel include two full-time Consultant Physicians, 6 part time Consultant Physicians, 2 Advanced Trainees in Respiratory and Sleep Disorders Medicine, Respiratory Research Fellow, Hospital Medical Officer and an intern. There are a total of 13 full-time equivalent technical staff and 4.5 full-time equivalent secretarial staff employed in the Department.
Key personnel within the Department are:
Consultant Physicians:
Dr David Cunnington
Dr Michael Flynn
Dr Simon Frenkel
Dr Ian Glaspole
Dr John Hunt
Dr Hoan Tran
Dr Amanuel Tesfai
Dr Megan Rees (Honorary)
Scientist in Charge: Lynette Reid
Respiratory Fellow
Dr. Himanshu Garg
Research Nurse: Sue Casanelia
Personal Assistant: Christine Schuliga
Phone: 8345-6842
THE DEPARTMENT OF RESPIRATORY MEDICINE AND SLEEP DISORDERS
OFFERS THE FOLLOWING SERVICES :
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BRONCHOSCOPY
Telephone: 8345 6140 or 8345 6141
Facsimile: 8345 6856
Referral Accepted only via Respiratory Consultants, Respiratory Outpatients or Thoracic Surgical Outpatients.
Flexible and rigid bronchoscopies are performed at Western Hospital.
Patients undergoing this procedure will not require an overnight stay, however they will require someone to take them home following the procedure and to stay with them overnight.
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CPAP CLINIC
Telephone: 8345 6124
Facsimile: 8345 6856
Referral via: Respiratory Physicians & Sleep Disorders Physicians
Clinic Details:
Western Hospital - Thursday and Friday mornings (Sleep Disorders Unit)
Western Hospital - Friday afternoon (1st Floor Outpatients)
Therapist: Georgette McHaileh
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CARDIOPULMONARY ASSESSMENT SERVICE
Telephone: 8345 7018
Facsimile: 9318 6342
Referral via: GP's/Consultant Physicians/Surgeons/Internal WH
Consultant: Dr Simon Frenkel
Cardiopulmonary exercise tests provide a dynamic assessment of cardiac and respiratory function.
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CPX testing is indicated in two main groups of patients:
1. Patients for investigation of respiratory and/or cardiac disease, or with undiagnosed breathlessness.
2. Patients scheduled for major surgery, e.g. anterior resection, major vascular surgery or thoracic surgery who are either over 60 years of age or are known to have cardiac or pulmonary disease are tested as outpatients prior to surgery.
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MIGRANT SCREENING CLINIC
Telephone: 8345 6551
Facsimile: 8345 6882
Referral via: This service is contracted to the Department of Human Services, Victoria. No internal or external referrals are accepted. -
Clinic Details: Western Hospital - 1st Floor - Monday, Thursday, Friday afternoons
Consultants: Dr Michael Flynn
Dr John Hunt
Dr Hoan Tran -
Dr Himanshu Garg
- PULMONARY REHABILITATION
(See Physiotherapy, under xxxx Allied Health Services)
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RESPIRATORY FUNCTION LABORATORY
Telephone: 8345 6169
Facsimile: 9318 6342
Referral via: GP's/Consultant Physicians/Surgeons/Internal WH
The laboratory performs a full range of pulmonary function testing, including spirometry, gas transfer factor measurement, lung volumes, non-specific bronchoprovocation test, 6 minute walk test and arterial blood gas estimations.
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RESPIRATORY MEDICINE OUTPATIENT CLINIC
Telephone: 8345 6140
Facsimile: 8345 6856
Referral via: GP's/Consultant Physicians/Surgeons/Internal WH
Clinic Details: Western Hospital - Wednesday morning
Consultants: Dr Ian Glaspole
Dr John Hunt
Dr Amanuel Tesfai -
Dr Himanshu Garg
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Lung function tests and home oxygen assessments can be arranged via review at this clinic.
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RESPIRATORY OUTREACH & HOSPITAL ADMISSION RISK (HARP) PROGRAMS
Resp. Outreach Tel: 8345 6804
Referral via: Internal WH
Facilitator: Sue Casanelia
The Respiratory Outreach Program offers support, education and community liaison to patients, families, general practitioners and other healthcare professionals,
and provides services to patients admitted with asthma and COPD to hospital, patients are visited and provided with information and educational material about their condition. This includes discussions about smoking cessation, vaccination recommendations, available exercise programs, use of action plans and advice re correct use of prescribed medications and inhaler devices. Within 3 days of discharge from hospital, they will be reviewed by telephone to check on their progress.
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HARP Tel: 8345 9454
Referral via: Internal WH
Facilitators: Jayne Lasslett
June Hickey
Carol Waddington
Susan Jennings
The HARP Program links patients to a Care Facilitator who identifies the needs of the patient and carers and works with participants, carers and services providers, including GP's, to develop a plan to meet their health/psychosocial needs, The program supports participants and carers to achieve self-management of their disease in the community.
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SLEEP DISORDERS OUTPATIENT CLINIC
Telephone: 8345 6140
Facsimile: 8345 6856
Referral via: GP's/Consultant Physicians/Surgeons/Internal WH
Clinic Details: Western Hospital - Friday afternoon
Consultants: Dr David Cunnington
Dr S Frenkel
Assesses and manages patients with sleep disorders including apnoea syndromes, parasomnias, narcolepsy, insomnia and hypersomnias.
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SLEEP DISORDERS LABORATORY
Telephone: 8345 6124
Facsimile: 8345 6695
Referral via: Respiratory/Sleep/ENT/Cardiology Consultant Physicians
The unit performs comprehensive tests for diagnosis of sleep disorders including sleep apnoea syndromes, obesity/hypoventilation syndrome, parasomnias, narcolepsy and hypersomnias.
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OBESITY CLINIC
Telephone 8345 6140 or 8345 6141
Facsimile 8345 6856
Clinic Details: Western Hospital - Friday afternoon
Consultants: Dr D Dutta / Dr S Lim-Tio
Referral via: GP's/Consultant Physicians/Surgeons/Internal WH
** Patients must have BMI > 35kg/m2
The Obesity Service is a multidisciplinary service, which includes input from the following team: -
Respiratory/Sleep Physicians
- Metabolic Physician (Endocrinologist)
- Behavioural Psychologist
- General Surgeons
- Exercise Facilitator
- Dietician
LINKS TO WEBSITES OF INTEREST
THE THORACIC SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND