People In Health Care
Professor Hugh Grantham, Chair of Emergency Medicine Foundation
Filmed Adelaide, South Australia | September 2024
“The problem of blockages shows up in ambulance ramping and long wait times, but this is a complex issue requiring whole-of-health system solutions,” according to Professor Hugh Grantham, Chair of Emergency Medicine Foundation in an interview with Australian Health Journal.
Professor Grantham says, “One of the biggest concerns for emergency medicine is how to enhance patient flow from arrival at an emergency department to treatment, potential admission, and finally discharge from hospital.”
“There are also out-of-hospital factors including access to GPs and the need for more community care of vulnerable patient groups such as aged care and mental health patients.”
Born and educated in England, Professor Hugh Grantham has interests in prehospital and emergency medicine, medical education and clinical governance.
After relocating, Hugh commenced general practice in Mildura and was recruited to lead the Ambulance Service’s clinical development in Adelaide. He was Medical Director of the Ambulance Service until 2011, and inaugural professor of paramedics at Flinders University until 2019. Involved in postgraduate medical emergency education since 1990, Hugh developed the paramedic course, and the postgraduate paramedic courses.
He is the senior educator for the National Advanced Life Support program as well as teaching for the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the College of Sports Physicians. Hugh holds the humanitarian services medal for leading overseas aid teams in disasters, and the Ambulance Service Medal. He was a member of the EMF Research Evaluation Panel and is a current member of the Research Committee.
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Lasers in dental treatment without needles and drills
In 2017, Dr. Omar Zuaiter and Alaa Habeb launched Dentroid, a dental technology startup with a mission to make dentistry a kinder and friendlier experience for patients and dentists using photonics (using laser technology) and robotics, as alternatives to needles, drills and sprays. The vision for the startup is to have dentistry adopt laser technology, addressing the root causes of dental pain & anxiety, and create a pain-free dental experience.
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Sense of service and pride in uniform
This ANZAC Day 2023, Australian Health Journal releases an interview with Group Captain Kath Stein MACN, Director of Defence Force Nursing with the Royal Australian Air Force.
She talks about many masks, aside from PPE, that leadership and all nurses need to wear. Currently there is work underway on a new capability description on what a nurse brings to every level in the nursing defence structure. The advice Group Captain Stein, imparts for new recruits and those interested in joining Defence Force Nursing is to take every opportunity that arises. This is evident in her progression through her career.
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25 years of non-indexation of nuclear medicine impeding access & affordability
The President of the Australasian Association of Nuclear Medicine Specialists (AANMS), Associate Professor Sze Ting Lee spoke with Australian Health Journal about the following:
Usual levels of nuclear medicine services in Australia each year
Current levels of nuclear medicine services in Australia
How changing demographics in people moving to regional areas has impacted access to nuclear medicine services
The nuclear medicine workforce including trainees
The key recommendations from the pre-budget submissionIn the lead up to the Australian Federal Budget in May 2023, Australian Health Journal reached out to peak health industry bodies to hear about their priorities, either noted in pre-budget submissions lodged with Federal Government in January 2023 or in recent forums such as the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce.
