PathWest wins three awards at the WA Health Excellence Awards 2023

Minister for Health’s Award – Dr David Speers

Recognising an exceptional health professional's lifetime achievement, the 'Minister for Health's Award' was presented to Dr David Speers, who has been acknowledged for his leadership and commitment to community health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Speers' contributions to pathology and public health spans at least 38 years, showcasing his dedication to WA Health. 

His distinguished service through health crises like the 2009 H1N1 and COVID-19 pandemics, diagnostics, surveillance, and infection prevention not only provided immediate benefits to the community but also laid the foundation for a more resilient and prepared health system in WA and across Australia.

Excellence in Sustainability – Saving blood sustainably – Blood inventory management at PathWest

(PathWest Haematology QEII as well as PathWest Haematology FSH, RSS laboratories and all PathWest scientists for the significant roles they played in making this project a success)

PathWest Transfusion Medicine laboratories play an integral role in receiving, storing, testing, and issuing blood to patients in WA. Blood has a limited shelf life and, when not transfused, is discarded on its expiry date. Historically, the expiry of blood resulted in significant waste, particularly in remote and regional sites where the number of blood transfusion is lower than in metropolitan areas.

To address this issue, PathWest Haematology implemented an Inventory Manager position. In this role, a Medical Scientist developed an inventory dashboard tracking blood stocks across all PathWest sites, monitored blood inventory levels and proximity to expiry, established strong working relationships with scientists in regional and metropolitan areas and coordinated the transport of near-expiry blood to sites where transfusion is more likely.

Since commencing in May 2022, the initiative has achieved a remarkable reduction in blood wastage. A total of 940 units of blood have been saved when comparing FY2021-22 and FY2022-23, including 778 units of blood saved from discard based on expiry – a cost saving of approximately $336,000 for WA Health. This initiative has also conserved a rare and voluntarily donated resource, having a significant impact at Red Cross Lifeblood.

Excellence in Preventative Health - Long term reduction of WA salmonellosis cases: strategies and control of community wide outbreaks

(PathWest Microbiology QEII’s EMU, Surveillance and Enteric teams and Department of Health)

An increase in Western Australia’s (WA) salmonellosis cases occurred from 2014 and peaked in 2017, resulting in WA having the second highest salmonellosis rates in Australia. This was attributed to a 390% increase in Salmonella Typhimurium cases over this period.

A taskforce was established to investigate the community-wide outbreak and implement measures to contain it. Through epidemiological investigations and the use of advanced laboratory methodologies, the taskforce identified egg producers potentially associated with the outbreak and the Salmonella outbreak strains responsible for human illness. The taskforce worked closely with the egg producers to identify the Salmonella risks in their operations and supported the introduction of interventions to manage these risks. Salmonella vaccination studies were undertaken by the taskforce to investigate its effectiveness in managing Salmonella risks in various egg production environments. Key interventions that were effective in controlling Salmonella on-farm was communicated to the rest of the WA egg industry. The taskforce also collaborated with WA local governments on interventions at food businesses.

By September 2021, there was a significant reduction in point source salmonellosis outbreaks linked to food businesses in WA. At the end of 2022, the taskforce successfully concluded owing to a 98% reduction of human cases attributed to the Salmonella outbreak strains. In addition, the overall notification rates for salmonellosis have reduced to pre-2009 levels and below the national average. The total reduction in WA’s total burden of disease for salmonellosis in 2021 compared to the peak of the outbreak in 2017 was estimated at -$23.8 million.