WA News

Interns for Midland

January saw a new crop of interns start their hospital placements and, for the first time, St John of God Midland Public Hospital has accepted an intake.

The 12 interns will spend the next 12 months in general surgery, emergency medicine, general medicine/acute aged care, paediatrics, intensive care and neurology/stroke. They will do an intensive care rotation at St John of God Subiaco Hospital. Group CEO Dr Shane Kelly said the interns wold benefit from being part of a small cohort, “further supporting individualised training, education and mentorship.” “As a direct employer of interns, we can expand the career pipeline for the next generation of doctors in WA. Dr Kelly said there were plans to expand the intern program to include other St John of God hospitals in WA.

The Midland hospital late last year released its annual report which reflects increased activity in the eastern health service from the previous

SJG Midland Public and Private Hospitals CEO Michael Hogan with the group’s first intern intake.

year. Its ED saw 71,181 presentations in 2017-18 which grew to 76,585 in 2018-19; the number of public patients was slightly fewer public admissions down to 33,290 from 33,477; there were 77 more babies born than previously with 1888 for the past financial year; staff grew from 1983 to 2236; the number of bed days grew from 97,816 to 103,618.

Emerald’s IPO

Emerald Clinics, which specialises in the prescribing of medicinal cannabis, will launch on the ASX this month, reportedly seeking to raise at least $6 million and up to $8 million through the issue of 30-40 million shares at $0.20 each. This offer indicates a market capitalisation of about $37-39 million upon completion. Managing Director and CEO Dr Michael Winlo has written about the value of high-quality realworld data collected from Emerald’s patients in this issue of the magazine. He told Small Caps business website that the acceptance of real-world evidence was gaining significant momentum in jurisdictions through Europe and North America with substantial investment being made by big pharma. He said Emerald planned to use the IPO funds to expand its clinics and grow patient numbers with additional clinics being considered across Australia and the UK. The company also plans to boost investment in its data platform.

LGP floats

Also heading for the share boards is medicinal cannabis grower and manufacturer, Little Green Pharma (LGP). It is offering 22.22 million shares at an issue price of $0.45 with the hope of raising $10 million. LGP chairman Michael David

10 | FEBRUARY 2020 Lynch-Bell wrote in the prospectus that the company’s “first mover advantage” and “highly scalable production” were key factors that position the company to “capture value” from the emerging medical cannabis industry. Last month the company and Curtin University announced that they would be working together to develop a range of new medicinal cannabis products that have the potential to deliver more accurate and targeted treatment for a range of medical conditions. Curtin has provided an exclusive worldwide licence to LGP for the micro-drug delivery system ARISE (Atomised Rapid Injection for Solvent Extraction) and will use raw cannabis extract to start an 18-month development program to generate new medicinal cannabis formulations.

Dialysis in the field

SCGH nephrologist Dr Aron Chakera is leading a study on two tests that have the potential to minimise complications of the more lifestyle friendly form of dialysis. Peritoneal dialysis (PD) can offer patients a better quality of life than conventional haemodialysis because it can be delivered outside the clinical setting but is often shied away from due to a heightened risk of peritonitis. Anton and his team believe the solution could lie in two tests which slash the time taken to identify the cause of infection, enabling earlier treatment and reduced severity of infection. One of the new tests is used like a home pregnancy test, with the appearance of two lines in a panel providing almost immediate confirmation of infection. The second test, which has been developed by PathWest, not only reduces the wait for a diagnosis by hours or even days but also predicts antibiotic resistance. This added feature means the treating doctor can prescribe the right antibiotic upfront rather than rely on the use of a broad-spectrum antibiotic to cover all possible infections. Up to 100 PD patients are expected to take part in this study which will employ the two novel tests alongside standard existing tests.

School’s in for Recovery

The Mental Health Commission has appointed NFP Helping Minds to establish the state’s Recovery College with hubs located around the state. The WA government has invested $3.6 million to the project, which will involve local organisations around the city and in regional areas. The college will offer courses co-designed and co-delivered by people with lived experience of mental health, alcohol and other drug issues. The college will operate using a hub and satellite design.