Sunshine Coast University
Hospital (SCUH) is set to become the first hospital in Australia to implement
an innovative new medical equipment solution which will help in the transfer of
critically ill children from one hospital to another.

The device, called a ‘stretcher
bridge’, was designed and developed by Sunshine Coast aerospace technology
company, HeliMods.

The stretcher bridge was
originally designed for use in air ambulance helicopters but will now be used
in the SCUH Paediatric Intensive Care Unit to attach medical equipment to a child’s
hospital bed when being transferred to another facility.

HeliMods Managing Director
Will Shrapnel said the stretcher bridge was the only solution capable of
carrying all intensive care equipment on a single unit, which can travel
together with the patient on a stretcher, allowing for faster and safer patient
transfers between hospitals.

“We’ve carefully designed
this technology to allow for critical medical equipment to be arranged in such a
way that is easily accessible for nurses, paramedics and other critical care
works in a patients transfer scenario,” Mr Shrapnel said.

“We’re very happy that securing
this new innovation for our local hospital has been made possible by Wishlist,
who have funded the solution for the Coast’s youngest patients.”

Wishlist CEO Lisa Rowe said funds raised through last
year’s 92.7 Mix FM’s Give Me 5 For Kids and a pop-up restaurant spearheaded by
Ken Mills Toyota, allowed for a $500,644 boost to vital paediatric services and
equipment.

The hospital foundation took delivery of the medical
equipment bridge from HeliMods last week and expect the patient transfer
stretcher to be operational within the coming months.

“Wishlist is proud to have invested $130,000 into Paediatric
Critical Care Inter-Hospital Transport Equipment to provide safe and timely
transport of critically unwell children from outlying and regional hospitals to
the Sunshine Coast University Hospital for specialised care,” Ms Rowe said.

“Currently, transport of
children relies heavily on a team dispatched from Brisbane which can take up to
eight hours on average. In an intensive care scenario, these critical hours and
minutes, can make all the difference.

“With the help of this stretcher
bridge and associated equipment, a patient will soon be able to be put on a
stretcher and intensive care staff can secure a ventilator, monitor and other life-saving
equipment to provide the best care in transit.”

This will also avoid any
hazards such as pulling lines or tubes while the patient and teams are mobile.

“This equipment purchase was only made possible by the generous supporters of 92.7 Mix FM’s Give Me 5 For Kids appeal, which runs for the month of June each year,” Ms Rowe added.

In its first year, the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit treated
over 300 children. More than 40 children were from outside the Sunshine Coast
region, including many from Central Queensland. Another 42 were treated from
areas around Gympie, Noosa and Maleny.

HeliMods first developed the stretcher
bridge for application in air ambulance helicopters, which has been implemented
by major air ambulance operators globally, including Ornge in Canada. However,
SCUH will be the first hospital to use the technology on the ground nationally.

“The SCUH team came to us
looking for a solution and we were absolutely thrilled at the opportunity to
apply our design to meet the needs of our local hospital,” Mr Shrapnel added.