Katy Gallagher has opened a $750,000 “Sleep Laboratory” (at that price we suspect it’s a dedicated room with some couches and cameras) at the Canberra Hospital.
“With this first public Sleep Laboratory, the hospital will be able to diagnose breathing problems during sleep and provide quality care to sufferers. Patients will be spared the stress of travel and the expense of private laboratories,” Ms Gallagher said.
This state of the art facility is unique in Canberra, being equipped with digital video monitoring for diagnosis of certain types of sleep disorders, a lifter for immobile patients and both beds in the laboratory rated for bariatric patients.
“This Sleep Laboratory will help manage the expected increase in sufferers of breathing problems during sleep as the population ages and rates of obesity increase, as this disorder is more common in these groups.” Ms Gallagher said.
The Canberra Hospital Sleep Laboratory will have the potential to perform up to 900 sleep studies a year.
The unit is staffed by a mix of full and part-time respiratory and sleep physicians, sleep scientists, nurses and other support staff specialising in sleep science.
It’s nice that she’s got a good news story as the Liberals’ Jeremy Hanson is asking some difficult questions about reviews of obstetrics and why they haven’t been made public.