First for Albany Hospital

Albany Hospital could pave the way for more surgical procedures in regional hospitals after an Albany patient became the first person to receive a cardiac monitor outside Perth.

Picture by Laurie Benson: Joan Bayly had an operation to insert a cardiac monitor at Albany Hospital about three weeks ago.

Eighty-eight-year-old Albany resident Joan Bayly experienced unexplained blackouts for about 10 years before being diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart beat.

In what is understood to be the first operation of its kind in regional Australia, Mrs Bayly was fitted with an insertable cardiac monitor in a procedure at Albany Hospital about three weeks ago.

Typically patients would be forced to travel to Perth for the surgery, but Mrs Bayly made history by having the monitor installed in an operation at a regional hospital.

The implant was performed by Perth-based surgeon Dr Nigel Sinclair, who flew to Albany with a technician from the company that produced Mrs Bayly’s heart 8monitor.

“I’d never heard of it before,” Mrs Bayly said.

“They asked me to go up to Perth for the operation and I said, ‘Why can’t you just do it in Albany’, then the next thing I know they called me up and it was set up to be done at Albany Hospital.

“I am the very first person to have the operation done outside the metro area in the whole of Australia, it’s a very special thing.”

Mrs Bayly said she hoped her surgery would pave the way for other patients to have similar procedures in regional hospitals.

“It’s especially hard for elderly people to get up to Perth for surgery, so I hope this will give other people the opportunity to have surgery locally.”

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