Most people have never seen inside a pathology laboratory but this month Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt, and Member for Dunkley Chris Crewther MP, visited the laboratory at Frankston Hospital, Victoria to see inside the engine room of healthcare.
The Frankston laboratory conducts life-saving tests for residents of a wide area covering Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula. The laboratory analyses specimens from approximately a thousand patients a day, and services the hospital’s in-patients and out-patients.
Minister Hunt and Mr Crewther took a guided tour of the laboratory highlighting vital pathology services including cancer diagnosis, monitoring of medication levels for stroke patients and cross-matching donated blood units from the Australian Red Cross Blood Service for local cancer patients.
During their tour, the politicians visited the biochemistry department. Here they learned about troponin testing and its importance for diagnosing heart attacks quickly in the hospital’s emergency department.
In the anatomical pathology department both parliamentarians were invited to look down a microscope to see examples of breast and bowel cancer.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said:
“The Coalition Government has a rock solid commitment to Medicare and pathology services will continue to be an essential part of that commitment.
Pathology is critical in determining the cause and nature of disease and plays an important role in the majority of preventative health programs.
The Government recognises the valuable contribution of the pathology sector and we are keen to work together to ensure that Australians continue receiving high-quality care as efficiently as possible.”
