By Alesha Capone
The paediatric ward at Werribee Mercy Hospital is celebrating its first anniversary this month.
The 24-hour ward, which was officially opened last August, works closely with The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) and has been a welcome addition to the local community.
Director of the Werribee paediatric ward and special care nursery, Dr Kathy McMahon, said she was keen to raise the profile of the ward within the wider community.
She said the ward treated children with illnesses such as infections, asthma, seizures, jaundice, poor weight gain and undiagnosed illnesses.
“We work in collaboration with the Royal Children’s Hospital, to ensure that where possible we can treat our patients closer to home,” Dr McMahon said.
“The next step is expansion of our outpatients, which we have already implemented, and hopefully expansion of our surgical program.
“We are here to help our Wyndham families, and would love families to consider us their local paediatric service.”
The paediatric ward’s nurse unit manager, Simone Danaher, said that she previously worked at the Royal Children’s Hospital for 22 years.
“Living in the western suburbs I’ve ‘always’ looked forward to the opening of a local paediatric service,” she said.
“It was exciting last year to see a position emerge to lead the set-up and opening of the service. “
Ms Danaher said the Werribee ward has “been inundated with positive feedback” from families who have had their youngsters treated there.
“The community is amazingly grateful,” she said.
“Of course, they’re delighted and relieved when they see their children ‘beaming again’ and back to full health.”
