Doctors, medical staff, patients and community leaders gathered in Wollongong on Thursday, to belatedly celebrate the opening of the region's largest private cardiology service.
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The Cardiac Centre, which was founded by Clinical Associate Professor Astin Lee in 2005, moved from Piccadilly Centre to its new premises at Rawson Street during the COVID lockdown last year.
Dr Lee said the new facility had been "purpose-built from the ground up" to expand cardiac services in the region.
"It means patients don't have to travel to Sydney and also prevents admissions to hospital because we can treat them here," he said.
"We've invested in the latest technology as well as equipment and expanded our allied health staff to include cardiac technicians, nurses and exercise physiologists so that a patient can have the compete cardiac journey in this clinic."
He said the clinic would improve access for patients and reduce waiting times to see specialists.
"We hope to contribute to relieving some of the pressure of presentations to our emergency departments, because quite a lot of those are actually cardiac related, so having an accessible service will hopefully prevent some of them," he said.
Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery, a patient of the centre since his heart attack in 2020, was on hand for the official opening.
"[Dr Lee and cardiologist Ed Danson] were very much involved when I had my heart attack and I can't fault the care that I received and the quality of the expertise that I had, namely that I'm still alive!," he joked.
"This is a great addition to the medical service we can offer in this city. I think one of our greatest assets as a city is having expertise and the skills and services like those that they provide there, and it's a great addition to our medical precinct."
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
