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Adult clinic

Recent Policy initiatives of O.A.R.A

As part of our mission is to support parents with TOF/OA children O.A.R.A has recently been involved in two specific areas to help parents and patients. These two areas are

• Support for the Adult Oesophageal Atresia Review Clinic at St.Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne.
• Changes to after hours emergency procedures for TOF/OA patients at the Royal Children’s Hospital only.

Adult Oesophageal atresia review clinic

Recently both parents of adult TOF/OA patients and the adult patients themselves felt that there was a void in their care once their age precluded them from treatment at the Royal Children’s Hospital. The doctors at the Children’s shared this concern and as a result they established a joint clinic with St. Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne. The clinic operates once a month, with doctors from both hospitals attending patients. This has resulted in a multitude of benefits, as patients now have an established “chain of care” for their thoracic needs regardless of their age. The thoracic specialists at St Vincent’s are creating a profile of what the health outcome in the long run is like for TOF/OA patients and ultimately this may result in reviewing procedures for treating newborns.

The clinic is in its early days as it was only established in April 2000 but has been a great success and certainly an important clinic for adult TOF/OA patients.

How to contact the ADULT CLINIC for an appointment.
The clinic is open to all adult TOF/OA patients regardless of where they were initially treated. To contact the clinic phone: (03) 9288 3222

The clinic is situated at;

St Vincent's Private Clinic Facility

St Vincent's Hospital
6th Floor Daly Wing
59 Victoria Pde,
Fitzroy, Victoria  3065

AFTER HOURS EMERGENCIES FOR THE ROYAL CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL TOF/OA PATIENTS ONLY

There has been some concern expressed by parents of TOF/0A patients regarding the lengthy delays/difficulties seeing different medical staff when their children have had to come into the emergency department after hours. The OARA committee has brought this to the attention of the consultant thoracic surgeons at the R.C.H. If you have concerns about your child that would normally warrant your child being seen in casualty that are specifically related to their TOF/0A, for example:

• Strictures/narrowing needing immediate attention
• Food becoming stuck/lodged in oesophagus
• Problems with gastrostomy tubes: leaks, failing out, blockages and infections.
• Problems with oesophagitis, gastritis needing immediate attention
• Other associated medical/surgical problems related to TOF/OA

The surgeons recommend the following course of action be taken.

Parents should ring the R.C.H main switch on 9345 5522 and explain that their child is a patient of who ever your primary surgeon is, and that you need to speak to them regarding you child. The person on the switchboard will take your name and number then page either your surgeon, or whoever the consultant surgeon on call is, this will be either:

Mr Alex Auldist
Mr Keith Stokes
Mr Russell Taylor
Mr Joe Crameri
Mr Tom Clarnette

The on call consultant will then call you directly to discuss the problem with you and decide on the appropriate course of action. This may be arranging to meet you at the hospital, or arrange for you to be seen by the surgical registrar at the hospital. During normal working hours you should always ring your surgeon directly through their consulting rooms and secretary. For any other problems that may necessitate your child being seen in the emergency department that are not specifically related to their condition for which you normally see your child's surgeon, you would have to attend casualty rather than paging the surgeon through R.C.H switchboard.