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Friendly Society Private Hospital has committed to a $3 million upgrade for its life-saving heart care services.
The Bundaberg facility plans toinvest in state-of-the art technology to future-proof its Cardiac Investigations Unit, which is the only one of its type in Queensland's Wide Bay-Burnett region since opening in late 2012.
"Instead of Wide Bay cardiac patients being air-lifted to the Sunshine Coast or Brisbane, they are treated closer to home," Board Chair Barry Dangerfield said.
"Urgent intervention is quite often the difference between life and death."
The cardiac catheterisation lab, operated in partnership with leading cardiology provider Advara HeartCare, allows specialists toperform minimally-invasive tests and procedures to diagnose and treat cardiovascular disease.
It is also used to treat public patients as part of anagreement with Queensland Health.
"We estimate it may cost around $3 million to complete an upgrade to the latest world-leading equipment," Mr Dangerfield said.
"That's a small price to pay for saving lives.
"Over the next few weeks and months, we'll be consulting our clinical partners to determine the best way forward to plan, procure, deliver and implement this technology."
The Wide Bay-Burnett region's population is growing faster than the state average, and in 2021 the Friendly Society Private Hospital's cath lab treated 1,500 patients – more than double the previous year's total.
Cardiologist Dr Andre Conradie played a key role in establishing the cath lab at a time when around 1,000 local people were being flown to Brisbane each year for angiograms after suffering heart attacks.
"Although there are still urgent cases that we occasionally fly to Brisbane, the majority of patients now get their treatment locally in Bundaberg in their home environment, with the support of their family and community," he said in November 2022, when the facility celebrated its 10thanniversary.
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