Dudley family grows with new services; and continuity of care

At Dudley Private Hospital, it is all about family and a commitment to care going back a century.

Big changes at the top private health care provider in the Colour City are seeing the expansion of a number of services.

With more than 100 years as the leading private health provider in the district, Dudley offers a continuity of care and commitment to service built-up over decades.

“Dudley is still number one for private health-care in the region,” Chief Executive Officer Paul McKenna said, adding that the facility is growing its service-base year-on-year.

Recent areas of growth include mental health in-patient facilities and an innovative cardiology catheter service that provides world-standard cardiac imaging for an accurate diagnosis saving private patients having to otherwise travel to Sydney.

“This cardiac catheterisation lab allows diagnostic and interventional cardiac procedures to be performed which ultimately provides our community with greater access to lifesaving treatments”

“This is an international-standard cardiology service that really takes the pressure of Orange Base Hospital,” Paul added.

The hospital offers a comprehensive range of medical and surgical services including: cardiac care; colorectal surgery; dental; dermatology; ear, nose and throat surgery; gastroenterology; general surgery; gynaecology; mental health; ophthalmology; orthopaedics; rehabilitation, and urology.

“We’ve got the new cath lab, a new world-standard robotic orthopaedic service, laparoscopic cancer care, four operating theatres, and world class cardiology care unit, and a state-of-the-art mental health facility,” Paul added proudly.

One of the region’s best IVF fertility clinic means that the hospital provides service to all levels of care and for all ages.

“We’ve been partnered with Genea IVF for 30 years, but with the expansion of our other services, we now provide a more complete fertility service,” he said.

“We’re an acute medical and surgical hospital and offer a broad range of services from fertility to palliative care and most surgical procedures in between,” he explained.

Expanded in-patient mental health facilities is an area of growth for Dudley with a number of psychiatrists also within clinics at Dudley.

“We’ve now got 15 beds but are planning to expand by another 11-beds in the next 12–18 months,” Paul said.

Rehabilitation is another area of specialty at Dudley’s East-Orange site where their four-decades of staffing experience provides a unique service not available elsewhere.

With even further expansion of the hospital’s facility’s under way, it is the unbroken century of service to the local community that is the key to the hospital’s success, Paul believes.

“Our doctors are local and are part of the community, many of our staff have been here for years, and there’s a continuity of care that you simply can’t get from other health providers,” he said.

Medicine of course is only one part of the equation; nursing care and individualised treatment are essential as each patient has their own needs and requirements.

”While we are always looking at expanding our level of care, our focus has always been on working together, helping people live their best lives” Paul said, pointing-out one of the benefits of only having a 62-bed facility rather than the mega-hospitals in the major cities.

As well as having that intimate level of service and individualised care, Dudley also benefits from being part of the Ramsay group of hospitals operating in 11 countries worldwide. “We’re talking about 412 hospitals that is part of a global health community,” Paul said.

Plans for an expansion of the services are even now on the drawing board, he added. “We’re always looking at increasing the capability of the hospital. With a broader range of specialities and quicker access to health services, the need to go to Sydney hospitals has decreased, and will continue to do so, that is our aim,” he said.

“Of course, we don’t just service Orange, patients come from throughout the central west, many from smaller towns that simply can’t provide the specialist level of care that we can here.”

“We’re looking at strengthening the capability of the hospital, that’s what we want to do,” Paul concluded.