Dandenong Hospital, currently one of Victoria’s busiest, will receive a $305 million redevelopment, the state government has announced. Nine new operating theatres, a new Intensive Care Unit with 16 beds and an upgraded day surgery admissions space will be delivered as part of the upgrade. Designs are currently being finalised and will incorporate expert advice from the hospital’s clinicians, the government said. For continuity of patient care, Dandenong Hospital will remain operational throughout the redevelopment, the Victorian Health Building Authority working closely with Monash Health to minimise disruption. “We’re making sure it is easy for families in Melbourne’s south east to get the care they need, closer to home,” Victoria’s Minister for Health Infrastructure Melissa Horne said. “The bigger and better Dandenong Hospital will support the growing community for decades to come.” The redevelopment is part of the Hospital Infrastructure Delivery Fund, which is currently supporting three major projects — the Northern Hospital redevelopment and Austin Hospital Emergency Department upgrade, and the Monash Medical Centre Tower expansion. Early work will begin later this year. Image credit: iStock.com/Muhammad Farhad

Encompassing a variety of symptoms, including forgetfulness and difficulties with attention or concentration, clinicians don’t know exactly why brain fog presents in women experiencing menopause. Though, hormonal changes associated with menopause, as well as other menopause symptoms, are likely to be key contributors, and there are no specific treatments for it. Therefore, in a recent review published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women’s Health, neuroscientists from Monash University, the University of Melbourne and University College London have called for clinical studies to explore causes and effective treatments. As part of the review, the researchers propose a new clinical definition that acknowledges the presentation of brain fog in menopause and how it is distinct from other conditions like dementia. “Self-reported” cognitive impairment — that can be debilitating and impact quality of life but notes the “absence of a notable objective cognitive decline” — is included in the definition. “There’s a lot of pressure to use objective measures of cognitive decline, like a memory test, for example, in a clinical trial, but the key symptom of brain fog is a subjective experience,” said Associate Professor Caroline Gurvich, a clinical neuropsychologist and lead researcher from Monash’s HER Centre. “So having a definition that acknowledges the key cognitive symptom is critical,” Gurvich added. “This is not without precedent — we already use subjective or self-report measures for depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions with great success.” Gurvich said the proposed definition would also validate women’s individual experiences while empowering them through the reassurance that any objective decline in their cognitive ability is subtle. “This is a decrease in cognitive or learning efficiency, not functionality or capacity,” Gurvich added. “For many women, the perception they are losing capacity is what drives them to stop work or lose the confidence to live fulfilling lives during and after menopause,” Gurvich said. “I hear all the time from women who have gone through menopause that validation would have made a significant difference to their resilience and the approach they took to living with menopause.” A/Prof Caroline Gurvich. (Source: Monash University) According to Professor Martha Hickey from the University of Melbourne and Royal Women’s Hospital, the study fills much-needed gaps in understanding of brain fog. “Our analysis of the best available research shows that many women experience some degree of cognitive symptoms, such as brain fog, during the menopause transition,” Hickey said. “But there’s a lack of long-term data, which means that there’s a gap in our knowledge about how the brain fog symptom develops and changes from peri-menopause to after menopause ends.” Top image: iStock.com/Andrey Kulagin

Australian research published in April suggests seasonal influenza vaccination does more than protect against viruses circulating that year, being able to prime the immune system to respond to future strains, including some that emerge decades later. The study — from the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute) — was published in Science Translational Medicine (doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aea8621) and involved analysis of blood samples collected in 1994 from adults who had been recently vaccinated against influenza. This analysis was to track how their immune responses fared against influenza strains that circulated over the next 30 years, including influenza A (H1N1, H3N2) and influenza B. What the researchers found is that the historic vaccine generated broad immune responses against future influenza strains. Immune cells that ‘remember’ past infections, antibodies and memory B cells, were able to recognise future influenza viruses, including H1N1 and influenza B. The immune system was not capable of recognising the fast-evolving H3N2 future variants, however, which the Doherty Institute said highlights why some strains are harder to protect against and why annual vaccination remains important. “We found that the vaccine trained the immune system to spot parts of the virus that don’t change much. Memory B cells preciously kept that information, ready for future encounters,” said Research Officer in the Kedzierska Laboratory at the Doherty Institute and co-first author on the paper Dr Isabelle Foo from The University of Melbourne. “This helps explain how vaccination today can protect the body for many years, unless the virus changes significantly, as seen with H3N2, which evolved enough to slip past the immune system.” Differences in immune responses across age groups were also revealed by the study. “We found that, because of lifelong exposure to influenza, older adults, aged 60 to 75, had more mature antibody responses able to recognise a wider range of strains, including the 2009 pandemic H1N1,” said The University of Melbourne’s Associate Professor Oanh Nguyen, Principal Research Fellow also in the Kedzierska Laboratory at the Doherty Institute. “However, both age groups mounted strong responses to the vaccine and to some future strains.” The study is the first to effectively look back in time to understand future immunity, said The University of Melbourne’s Professor Katherine Kedzierska, Head of the Human T cell Laboratory at the Doherty Institute. “Our study provides rare insights into the breadth of vaccine-induced immunity over 30 years of influenza evolution,” Kedzierska said. “Influenza vaccines do more than protect against the viruses circulating at the time you’re vaccinated; they can also prepare your immune system to recognise and fight some of the viruses that emerge decades later. “But gaps remain for rapidly evolving strains like H3N2 and that’s why getting vaccinated every year is so important,” Kedzierska added. “It also underscores the need for next-generation vaccines that can tackle fast-mutating strains and strengthen pandemic preparedness. “Our study was made possible by the collaboration of multiple leading laboratories across the Doherty Institute, combining expertise in immunology, virology and vaccine research. I also want to acknowledge Professor Lorena Brown and Dr Georgia Deliyannis who initiated this study back in 1994. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together.” The Doherty Institute said the findings reinforce the importance of yearly influenza vaccination, “showing it provides immediate protection while also helping the immune system prepare for future viruses. By identifying which strains are well covered and which are not, the research will help guide the design of improved vaccines to better protect communities against seasonal outbreaks and future pandemics.” Image credit: iStock.com/sturti

Australian Government funding until June 2028 of a further $14.6 million for the National Allergy Centre of Excellence (NACE) and the National Allergy Council (NAC) — a partnership between the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) and Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia — has been announced. The funding is to accelerate national allergy research and public health programs that support Australians living with allergic disease, with the NAC and NACE established in August 2022 with an initial $26.9 million in federal funding. “Allergies can take a huge physical and emotional toll on people with allergic reactions [and] anaphylaxis, and while rare, deaths are increasing and present an everyday risk for many families,” NAC CEO Dr Sandra Vale said. “This funding will directly support our work in delivering accessible, nationally standardised and evidence-based public health initiatives, education, training and everyday support for people living with allergic disease and those who care for them.” Professor Kirsten Perrett, Director of the NACE, said: “Our focus is to address complex clinical challenges through embedded allergy research, rigorous evaluation and the rapid translation of emerging evidence into clinical care. We are ensuring Australia remains at the forefront of allergy research.” Image credit: iStock.com/Jacob Wackerhausen

Under what Ahpra calls “landmark changes to the National Law”, existing sexual misconduct findings of around 100 health practitioners — most no longer practising — have been added to Australia’s public register of practitioners and the register of cancelled practitioners. “Sexual misconduct by registered health practitioners is an unacceptable breach of trust that undermines public health and safety,” Ahpra CEO Justin Untersteiner said. “Publishing sexual misconduct findings on the public register empowers patients to make informed choices about their care and reinforces that breaches of trust will not be hidden.” Published this week, the first round of changes resulted in additional information being added to the register entries of 107 practitioners. Of these, 86 are on the list of cancelled practitioners. Sexual misconduct covers a wide range of behaviours, Ahpra said, including professional boundary violations, sexual harassment and criminal offences. It added that these can occur inside and outside of a practice setting. Already, most tribunal decisions were published online with a link included on the public register. Under the changes, the register entry will now clearly state when the decision involved sexual misconduct. This change will apply to all tribunal decisions dating back to the beginning of the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme, July 2010. “Under official guidance released in December, the information being added to the register is drawn from a previous tribunal finding of professional misconduct with a basis of sexual misconduct,” Ahpra said. “To implement the changes, Ahpra has undertaken extensive legal analysis and review, including a show-cause process. “Health Ministers decided in April 2024 to amend the National Law to add these changes and further improve public safety. The changes form part of Ahpra’s broader, ongoing action to prevent sexual misconduct and respond decisively when it occurs.” The National Law changes also impose new, nationally consistent requirements for individuals who have been the subject of a sexual misconduct finding, but who are not currently registered, in the event they seek to regain registration. “Sexual misconduct not only breaches professional and ethical standards, it breaches the trust placed in practitioners by their patients, colleagues and community,” Untersteiner said. “Any incident can have a lasting and profound impact. Ahpra has dedicated staff and resources available to support anyone wishing to raise a concern about a practitioner, and I would encourage them to do so.” If you are affected by any of the issues discussed in this article, Lifeline has a 24/7 crisis support service that can help. Please call 13 11 14. Ahpra’s Notifier Support Service is available to assist people who wish to raise concerns about a practitioner. Ahpra has also provided a link (click here) to sexual assault support services available for readers who experience distress. Image credit: iStock.com/Thurtell

The National Pain Alliance — a “cross-condition, lived experience-centred coalition of national organisations representing communities deeply impacted by chronic pain” — was officially launched by Chronic Pain Australia at Parliament House, Canberra on 30 March. Steered by Chronic Pain Australia, the alliance seeks to advocate for chronic pain to be formally recognised within national health data and policy frameworks. “The National Pain Alliance brings together organisations representing a wide range of conditions to ensure chronic pain is finally recognised in national data, policy and health system planning,” Chair of Chronic Pain Australia Nicolette Ellis said. “If we continue to overlook chronic pain as a national health priority, the cost will only grow — not just the personal costs to individuals and families, but for the economy and the health system. “Millions of Australians are being held back from participating fully in work, community and family life, and the nation simply cannot afford to ignore that.” Without reform, Chronic Pain Australia said the annual cost of chronic pain is projected to rise from $139.3 billion in 2018 to $215.6 billion by 2050. Chronic Pain Australia said it will work with clinicians, government, researchers and community organisations and focus on three key priorities: recognising chronic pain as a national health priority; improving national data, measurement and research visibility; and strengthening policy coordination and access to evidence-informed care. The founding members of the National Pain Alliance include Chronic Pain Australia, Endometriosis Australia, MS Australia, Arthritis Australia, Wounds Australia, Musculoskeletal Health Australia, CRPS Awareness – The Purple Bucket Foundation and the Connective Tissue Disorders Network Australia. Image: Supplied

Australian healthcare leaders are being asked to govern more, prove more and respond faster than the old operating model was ever designed to support. Compliance has become more proactive. Privacy, cyber, resilience and sustainability now sit much closer to the centre of operational decision-making. AI in health has added a new layer of governance altogether. What were once treated as separate issues now converge in the same operating environment. Yet many organisations are still managing critical governance work through spreadsheets, inboxes, static registers and manual, disconnected systems. That is the mismatch at the heart of the problem. Health care is trying to govern a more complex, more regulated and more exposed system with tools built for static administration. For many leaders, this no longer feels like governance in the formal sense. It feels like constant reconciliation: chasing updates, assembling evidence, briefing the board with caveats and hoping nothing important is sitting in a folder or spreadsheet nobody has touched for weeks. A spreadsheet can store information, but it cannot coordinate accountability. In the era of AI agents, that distinction matters more than ever. Spreadsheets were built to record activity. Healthcare leaders now need systems that coordinate action. The enemy is fragmentation Health care does not have a governance problem because leaders lack frameworks. It has a governance execution problem because the work is still fragmented. There is no shortage of obligations, committees or dashboards. What many healthcare organisations still lack is a joined-up operating layer that connects objectives, obligations, risks, actions, evidence and reporting. That is why the issue is not whether a hospital uses Excel. The issue is whether Excel is acting as the governance backbone. This is not a story about careless teams. It is a story about capable people trying to manage overlapping obligations through systems that do not work together. The result is familiar across health care: duplicated effort, stale evidence, repeated data entry, caveated board papers and too much dependence on the few people who know where everything is. Spreadsheets are not the problem. Running mission-critical governance across spreadsheets is. Compliance has moved beyond record-keeping Australian health care is moving towards a more proactive, risk-based compliance model. That raises the bar. Leaders need more than a register of obligations. They need to know what is owned, what is overdue, what evidence is current, what risk has shifted and what it impacts for the organisation. Compliance is no longer a documentation exercise. It is an enabler to run a better organisation. The human cost of fragmented systems and spreadsheets is easy to miss. Smart people end up chasing evidence and rebuilding the same picture for different audiences, rather than strengthening the system itself and building more capability into the organisation. Governance becomes a monthly or annual ‘looking back’ exercise, struggling to prove control exists, when it should be the daily system that creates confidence from the Board down. Risk, resilience and sustainability now overlap Healthcare risk no longer sits in neat columns. Privacy, supply, facilities, sustainability and AI risks spill quickly across reputation, continuity of care, resilience, cost and trust. The organisation experiences those issues as an overlap. Governance still too often handles them as separate files, forums and owners. The same applies to digital risk. In health care, a cyber incident rarely stays confined to systems. It can quickly become a patient access issue, a service delivery issue and a board issue. The stakes are high because healthcare data is unusually sensitive, and because fragmented governance rarely stays neatly inside one category for long. A resilience plan in a folder is not resilience. It is only resilience when it changes behaviour. In health care, resilience is the organisation’s ability to keep care moving when conditions change. Sustainability belongs in that same operating core. It now reaches into procurement, facilities, resilience, cost, reporting and community trust. It is not a side report. It is becoming part of safe, resilient service delivery. AI agents change the governance standard AI agents matter because they change the benchmark for what good governance looks like. Healthcare organisations are not only beginning to govern AI as a new source of risk. They are also entering a world in which AI agents can help carry out governance work by chasing actions, surfacing overdue tasks, connecting evidence, escalating issues and helping prepare reporting. AI agents are most valuable where work is repetitive, evidence-heavy and cross-functional. Healthcare governance fits that description almost perfectly. That is when the spreadsheet model starts to look fundamentally unfit. AI agents are only as useful as the governance system they act within. If obligations sit in one file, risks in another, controls somewhere else, evidence in inboxes and reporting in decks assembled at the last minute, agents have nothing coherent to work with. In health care, spreadsheet governance is really hindsight governance. AI agent-led governance is about foresight, coordination and proof. The question is no longer whether health care should use AI. It is what operating model will let health care use AI agents safely, traceably and at scale. The cost of delay is rising Healthcare leaders are not short of effort. They are short of connected execution. Every new requirement, reporting cycle, resilience review, sustainability obligation, privacy concern and AI decision adds another layer to an already crowded governance landscape. The real risk is not that teams are doing nothing. It is that they are working hard in systems that do not work together. What health care needs is an operating layer that connects objectives, obligations, risks, actions, evidence and reporting: governance that is objective-led, always-on and designed for coordination rather than clerical maintenance. Because this is no longer simply an efficiency problem. The cost of fragmented governance is measured in slower decisions, weaker assurance, more fragile operations and less confidence at the leadership level. It is measured in the discomfort of walking into a board or audit meeting without defensible answers, and in the frustration of watching smart people spend their time chasing evidence instead of improving care. The best healthcare leaders are no longer asking, “How do we report this?” They are asking, “How do we run this better?” In health care, that is no longer an administrative distinction. It is a strategic one. *Sam Riley is co-founder and CEO of Drova. Top image credit: iStock.com/sturti

Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems can enhance the efficiency and performance of healthcare services by streamlining care workflows, promoting interdisciplinary working, and providing on-demand access to comprehensive patient information across healthcare teams. EMR systems also provide a platform for more connected and patient-centric models of care across large geographies or populations, even though their impact in supporting this sort of care delivery reform has been limited to date. Reported benefits of EMR solutions include improved patient safety, clinical outcomes, service efficiency, financial performance, and patient experience. These typically derive from improvements in care documentation, medication management, service insights and compliance, capacity and demand management, and patient communication, as well as reduced incidence of delayed or inappropriate care decisions. However, achieving these benefits requires high levels of adoption by frontline staff and an ongoing program of value measurement and solution optimisation. Further, to realise value from technological advances like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and new service delivery models, EMR solutions must be architected with evolution and change in mind. Realising value from EMR systems While much evidence supports the value of EMR systems, their implementation can be challenging, requiring well-executed change management involving meaningful and continued engagement with time-poor staff. EMR deployments often focus on organisational value, typically detailed by a business case. Frontline staff often have to extrapolate meaning for their day-to-day working practices, which may or may not happen. Staff can be challenged by change without understanding its value to them as individuals, resulting in poor motivation and change management difficulties. Articulating value in terms that resonate with frontline staff can help maintain momentum and enthusiasm for change. Established techniques from other industries, such as persona analysis, provide a helpful tool to express role-specific value definitions. Collecting qualitative and quantitative data is also fundamental in evidencing and communicating the value of an EMR solution. It is good practice to plan and action this activity before going live. This establishes credible baseline data to compare against post go-live data to determine the value delivered and any unanticipated negative value for prioritisation in continuous improvement programs. An ongoing journey, not an event The delivery and articulation of value is not an event but an ongoing journey. Post go-live analysis may focus upon a defined set of benefit and outcome measures, possibly described by the original business case. But an ongoing program of solution optimisation and value measurement helps to ensure the solution evolves with service needs, whilst identifying underperforming aspects that require corrective intervention. An important post go-live dataset, commonly overlooked, relates to solution adoption and activity. This highlights areas of functionality and configuration that perform well or those requiring further interventions like user training or solution configuration changes. Automated adoption dashboards (see Figure 1) also provide dynamic insights. Figure 1 – Example post go-live adoption dashboard. (Click on image for a larger view.) EMRs must evolve to support new value All EMR solutions will continue to be shaped by technological innovation and changing healthcare demands. A solution’s long-term success will depend on quickly and cost-effectively supporting new value opportunities presented by advances in technology, science, and service delivery models. AI and Machine Learning (ML), for example, present realistic and affordable options to enhance the quality and outcomes of care interventions. In fact, it is hard to imagine an enterprise-scale EMR solution without AI capabilities in two years’ time. Generative AI solutions already help care professionals consolidate, synthesise, and summarise patient record data to improve the efficiency and precision of care planning and interventions. ML examples include predictive analysis, such as identifying patients at a higher risk of readmission, developing conditions, or unexpected deterioration. Integrating interoperability standards, such as Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR), will also become crucial. These facilitate the sharing of structured, coded, and actionable patient information across health and social care services. This is particularly important in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of care transitions and collaborative decision-making across large geographies or populations. Enterprise EMR solutions will also evolve to provide genomic capabilities relating to test orders and results and, importantly, pharmacogenomic decision support to guide and inform the correct and appropriate use of medications for each individual. This understanding, combined with EMR technology, has the potential to transform care outcomes on a scale similar to the introduction of antibiotics. Transformation and new models of care The term ‘digital transformation’ is hard to escape. But what does this mean for healthcare services adopting an EMR solution? Digital transformation represents an organisational re-wiring to create value for the organisation and its consumers via innovative business models. However, while many initiatives deliver modernised healthcare interventions — such as video consultations, virtual wards, healthcare apps, and AI technologies — these have been primarily used to enhance existing models of care. Recognition of the need for new models of care that reflect the demands of modern societies is rapidly gaining pace. Current integrated care models rely on the ability of EMR platform technologies to support the seamless flow of information across healthcare services for the planning, management, allocation, and delivery of healthcare interventions (see Figure 2). Figure 2 – EMR-enabled integrated care model transformation. (Click on image for a larger view.) The transformation of healthcare to deliver genuinely patient-centric and joined-up care workflows will require significant service reforms and a paradigm shift. In particular, it will require moving away from the dominance of acute care. Working in interdisciplinary teams spanning care sectors will also be a significant change and challenge for healthcare professionals. EMR solutions must provide a critical enabling and supportive role for the unimpeded flow of information across a healthcare region to inform the joined-up planning, management, allocation, and delivery of timely and appropriate care interventions. Whilst the value currently delivered by EMR solutions is significant and important, the overwhelming value for a modern-day EMR system is in supporting the new and emerging models of care we so desperately need. About the author Darren Jones is Country Manager, Australia and New Zealand at InterSystems, a creative data technology provider which delivers a unified foundation for next-generation applications for healthcare, finance, manufacturing and supply chain customers in more than 80 countries, and electronic medical record systems which support advanced data management in hospitals. Based in Melbourne, Jones leads the company’s operations in Australia and New Zealand and supports the success of InterSystems customers. Top image credit: iStock.com/sturti

To provide a secure, therapeutic environment designed to support patients experiencing acute distress, a new purpose-built unit within Westmead ED has been announced by the NSW Government. Westmead has seen a 31% increase in the past five years in presentations where a patient is experiencing mental health or behavioural related issues, the government said. The government also said there has been a significant increase in aggression towards frontline health staff in the Western Sydney Local Health District. “These issues may be related to substance abuse and can be exacerbated in a busy emergency department environment,” the government said in a statement. “The new 6-bed unit will be a quiet space with less stimulation, better suited to patients who are at risk of becoming agitated or aggressive.” “This new acute behavioural assessment unit will create a safer environment for both staff as well as patients experiencing heightened distress,” NSW Minister for Health Ryan Park said. “It’s part of a broader range of measures we are undertaking to improve safety and security in our hospitals.” NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association General Secretary Michael Whaites said: “We welcome the creation of a dedicated, purpose-built unit in Westmead ED in order to combat the rising violence and aggression our members are experiencing. “This is a great example of what can be achieved when we come together to find solutions to make hospitals safer for staff and patients, while ensuring the community has access to quality, timely care. “We are proud of our members’ ongoing advocacy and grateful for the collaborative approach that has delivered this outcome. “This specialised unit will strengthen hospital safety, improve patient outcomes, and is a strong investment into the future of our public health system.” Construction will begin in August, with the new unit expected to be completed in early 2027. Image credit: iStock.com/JazzIRT. Stock image used is for illustrative purposes only.

In response to “serious concerns” raised by women about the care they received from a former gynaecologist, Simon Gordon, it has been announced that the Australian and Victorian Governments are working together “to provide targeted supports for affected patients to access appropriate care and services”. Australian Government supports The federal government announced a $7.45 million package that includes funding Victorian Primary Health Networks to establish Care Navigators. “Care Navigators will deliver individualised care coordination, acting as a central point of contact to help women navigate follow-up care, specialist reviews, and other healthcare supports through a network of local GPs,” the Australian Government said in a statement. “The Commonwealth is also taking action to prevent similar failures from occurring in the future — starting with strengthening the general practice and gynaecology workforces, through the RACGP and RANZCOG — ensuring higher standards of care are upheld across the health system.” Australia’s Minister for Health Mark Butler said: “Since these allegations came to light, I have met with some of the impacted women and we have heard their calls for help to access care and support. “That is why a network of Care Navigators is central to the Commonwealth’s $7.45 million package, giving affected women tailored assistance to navigate the health system. “The Commonwealth is also working on strengthening general practice and gynaecology workforces to ensure the highest standards of care.” Victorian Government supports In the same statement, it was announced that the Victorian Government is investing $2 million to deliver complementary additional tertiary specialist endometriosis support services to the women at five health services. “This support is in line with feedback and requests from Simon Gordon’s patients,” the statement read. “The Women’s Health Clinics at Barwon Health, Monash Health, Eastern Health, Western Health and the Royal Women’s Hospital will offer specialist reviews with a gynaecologist. “This service will be supported with a triage nurse to help these patients access and collate all relevant medical records and patient history and offer support reading scans and test results.” Some services will also offer additional allied health, imaging and psychology support and referrals for appointments will be accessible from mid-April via the Women’s Health Victoria endometriosis concerns line, which has been set up by the Victorian Government “as a dedicated and trusted source for information”. “Through both these complementary Victorian and Commonwealth services, it is creating a no-wrong-door approach to accessing care. Whether women reach out through the phone line or directly to care navigators, women will be supported to access to care tailored to their needs,” the statement read. “We have listened to these women who are hurting — making sure they are supported to get the care they need,” Victorian Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas said. “We want all Victorian women to know — especially Simon Gordon’s patients — we believe you, your pain is real and you deserve to be heard.” The Women’s Health Victoria endometriosis concerns line can be contacted on 03 9664 9330. Anyone in Victoria requiring urgent medical care can contact the Virtual Emergency Department, Nurse-On-Call, visit one of Victoria’s Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, or in an emergency, dial 000. If you are in immediate distress, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 for urgent support. Image credit: iStock.com/microgen

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In Victoria, works are now complete on aged care facilities in Cohuna and Mansfield, part of investments totalling more than $100 million. Operated by Mansfield District Hospital, the new Mansfield aged care facility, part of a $62.8 million investment, offers residents: 30 new modern single rooms with their own ensuites (replacing Buckland House), grouped into small households with shared kitchen, lounge and dining areas; and upgraded rooms and facilities at the existing, co-located Bindaree Retirement Centre (works now underway).   Mansfield exterior. Source: Victorian Health Building Authority Mansfield single bedroom. Source: Victorian Health Building Authority Mansfield private ensuite. Source: Victorian Health Building Authority Mansfield hallway. Source: Victorian Health Building Authority Operated by Cohuna District Hospital, the new $41.10 million Cohuna acute and residential aged care facility is designed around the needs of Victorians in the Cohuna and Gunbower region. It offers residents: 16 single aged care rooms with private ensuites; and eight acute beds.   Cohuna acute care patient room. Source: Victorian Health Building Authority Cohuna communal kitchen. Source: Victorian Health Building Authority Cohuna hair salon. Source: Victorian Health Building Authority Cohuna planter boxes enabling residents to enjoy hands-on gardening. Source: Victorian Health Building Authority Across the two projects, more than 1200 construction workers have contributed, including the use of local contractors. Top image: Cohuna front entrance. Source: Victorian Health Building Authority

The investigation report into the fungal outbreak that occurred in the transplant ward at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPA) between October and December 2025 has been released by Sydney Local Health District (SLHD). “While the investigation team was unable to determine a single conclusive cause of the outbreak,” NSW Health said in a statement on 27 March, “the balance of evidence indicates the balcony and nearby construction activities posed the greatest exposure risk, rather than the water ingress in September 2025.” This assessment reflects the ward location of the identified cases relative to the balcony and the proximity of construction works, NSW Health said. An expert advisory panel chaired by Dr Kerry Chant, NSW Health’s Chief Health Officer, also considered the report. Patients impacted or their next of kin have received a copy and, NSW Health said, have also been given the opportunity to meet with executives and clinicians of RPA to discuss its findings. “SLHD extends its deepest condolences to the families of the patients who died and sincerely apologises to all patients and families affected by the outbreak,” NSW Health said in its statement. “Upon confirming the cluster, SLHD acted as quickly as possible to address the risk posed to patients. “The cluster investigation was promptly undertaken by a team of senior clinicians who specialise in transplant medicine and infectious diseases.” Key recommendations made by the report were that the RPA Redevelopment Infection Control Management Plan be updated to include a clear governance pathway for monitoring and reporting, including: air sampling reports to be provided to the Facility Infection Prevention and Control Committee; decisions relating to the frequency of surveillance programs; and required actions when concerning mould is detected or mould counts increase, including escalation processes, mitigation strategies, testing timeframes, and retesting to confirm effectiveness. Also recommended in the report was ensuring notices of works — documents required before any work can commence at the hospital — include all known impacted operational and clinical areas (including air intakes, windows and balconies), along with proposed risks and mitigation measures; a district‑wide process to better prioritise maintenance and requests for repair within high‑risk clinical areas such as transplant wards be established; and that a formal governance process involving infectious diseases specialists, infection control experts and senior clinicians be established — to monitor and respond to any increase in invasive fungal infections for the duration of construction works. “SLHD is fully committed to implementing every recommendation from the report and strengthening our procedures to prevent future patients and families being impacted,” NSW Health said. “The report’s findings and recommendations are also being reviewed by NSW Health so the learnings can be applied throughout the public health system. “SLHD has already established a fungal surveillance committee and a clinical reference group to strengthen oversight and improve responsiveness. “The fungal surveillance committee, comprising ... infectious diseases and infection control specialists, hospital executive and engineering staff, is designed to enhance coordination of cleaning and maintenance activities and ensure issues are reviewed and escalated promptly. “The RPA redevelopment clinical reference group brings together clinicians, engineering teams, Health Infrastructure and redevelopment contractors to review all planned future works and to provide advice on what, if any, additional measures need to be put in place to ensure the safety of our patients. “SLHD would like to acknowledge the contribution of the expert advisory panel and our clinical staff who assisted with this investigation,” NSW Health concluded. Image credit: iStock.com/Kokkai Ng

Construction is underway on the six-storey, 8200-square-metre New Epping Medical building, which will deliver specialist consulting suites, allied health services and advanced medical care. Being built by Kane Constructions, the $100 million New Epping Medical will accommodate a range of specialist healthcare providers. L–R: Richard Frisina, Managing Director, Kane; Blair Colwell, Deputy Mayor, City of Whittlesea; Glenn Rush, State Manager Vic/SA/Tas, Lumus Imaging; Paul Fenton, CEO, Icon Cancer Centre; Lawrie Cox, Mayor, City of Whittlesea; Kevin Lee, Managing Director, Riverlee; Bronwyn Halfpenny, Member for Thomastown; The Hon. Melissa Horne MP, Minister for Health Infrastructure, Victorian Government; David Lee, Development Director, Riverlee. Image credit: Guy Lavoipierre Providers signed on as anchor tenants include Icon Cancer Centre, which will establish a comprehensive cancer treatment centre in the building delivering advanced radiation therapy technology. Lumus Imaging has also committed to the precinct, to strengthen diagnostic and imaging capabilities across the hub. Additional tenancies are expected to be filled by health professionals including GP, dental and physiotherapy practices. New Epping Medical link bridge. Image: Supplied The facility will connect directly to Ramsay Health Care’s $133 million Northern Private Hospital, which opened in 2024, forming a key part of a broader 20-hectare health ecosystem including the public Northern Hospital Epping. Together, these facilities form the core of the $1 billion New Epping Health Hub, one of the largest integrated healthcare precincts in Melbourne’s north supporting specialist care, research and hospital services within a connected environment. New Epping Medical gardens. Image: Supplied The New Epping Health Hub forms part of developer Riverlee’s broader $2 billion New Epping masterplanned community. New Epping, which spans 51 hectares of regenerated land, is intended to deliver a vibrant mix of residential neighbourhoods, commercial spaces, a health, healing and innovation hub and a civic heart, all connected by a central green spine. New Epping Medical lobby cafe. Image: Supplied “Melbourne’s northern growth corridor is one of Australia’s fastest-growing, placing increasing pressure on the local healthcare system: rapid population expansion, combined with an aging population and increasing chronic health conditions is driving demand for new health infrastructure,” Riverlee Development Director David Lee said. New Epping Medical lift lobby. Image: Supplied “The New Epping Health Hub and specific buildings like New Epping Medical have been designed to alleviate this mounting pressure and bring much-needed medical services to the region.” Top image caption: New Epping Medical building exterior. Image: Supplied

Healthcare organisations are rapidly embracing AI to improve care delivery, streamline operations and address workforce shortages. From clinical decision support and medical imaging analysis to patient scheduling and administrative automation, AI is increasingly embedded across modern healthcare environments. Healthcare organisations have traditionally focused on protecting electronic health records, hospital networks and connected medical devices. AI systems introduce a new attack surface that can affect data confidentiality as well as the integrity of clinical decisions, operational processes and patient outcomes. If healthcare organisations treat AI simply as another application to secure, they risk overlooking the unique vulnerabilities these technologies introduce. The urgency of the issue is reflected in breach data. According to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, the health sector accounted for 18% of all notifiable data breaches in Australia between January and June 2025, the highest of any industry.1 As digital health systems expand and AI becomes more deeply integrated into care delivery, protecting these systems becomes even more critical. AI expands the healthcare attack surface Healthcare data has always been a prime target for cybercriminals. Protected health information (PHI) is highly valuable, and healthcare environments often combine legacy systems, modern cloud platforms and large user populations across clinical and administrative teams. AI expands that already challenging attack surface in a number of ways: AI systems depend on vast datasets. These datasets, which often contain sensitive patient information, are used to train and refine models. If attackers gain access to training environments or manipulate the data feeding AI systems, they may be able to compromise both privacy and accuracy. Many AI systems interact with users through natural language interfaces or automated workflows. These systems can be vulnerable to techniques such as prompt injection, where attackers craft inputs designed to manipulate the model’s behaviour. AI models themselves can become targets. Through techniques such as model manipulation or model inversion, adversaries may attempt to extract sensitive data or influence model outputs. At the same time, the broader cyberthreat landscape is intensifying with more exploitation attempts, demonstrating the scale at which attackers are probing organisations for weaknesses. In health care, where digital systems increasingly support clinical decisions and operational workflows, these risks can have far-reaching consequences. When cybersecurity becomes patient safety Traditional cyber incidents in health care typically focus on system availability or data exposure. For example, ransomware attacks disrupt hospital operations and delay care delivery. AI introduces the potential to affect the integrity of medical insights and clinical workflows. If an AI model used to analyse imaging data is manipulated, diagnostic results could be affected. If an AI system supporting triage or scheduling is compromised, patient prioritisation may be disrupted. Even administrative AI tools handling sensitive data could expose patient records if security controls are inadequate. This means that the impact of AI security failures may extend beyond privacy and compliance into direct clinical risk. Cybercriminals are also becoming faster and more automated. Global reconnaissance scanning has increased, highlighting how attackers increasingly use automation to identify vulnerable systems before organisations can patch them. This makes AI security a patient safety and operational resilience issue for healthcare leaders, not just the IT department. Compliance alone is not enough Healthcare organisations already operate within strict regulatory frameworks governing patient privacy and data protection. However, many of these frameworks were designed around traditional IT systems rather than AI-driven decision environments. Simply extending existing security controls to AI platforms may not be sufficient. AI systems require new governance approaches that address how models are trained, validated, monitored and secured throughout their lifecycle. Without these controls, healthcare organisations risk deploying technologies that introduce unseen vulnerabilities. The challenge is that many healthcare providers are adopting AI faster than they can build the governance frameworks needed to manage it securely. Meanwhile, cybercriminal ecosystems continue to expand. In underground markets, compromised credentials and corporate access are increasingly traded as commodities, lowering the barrier for attackers to infiltrate enterprise networks. For healthcare organisations managing vast volumes of sensitive patient data, this growing cybercrime economy increases the risk of targeted attacks. ************************************************** Building AI security into healthcare strategy To safely realise AI’s benefits, healthcare organisations should take a proactive approach to AI security and governance. 1. Establish AI governance frameworks and standards Healthcare organisations need clear policies defining how AI systems are developed, deployed and monitored. Governance frameworks should address issues such as training data management, model validation, access control and auditability. Healthcare organisations should also look to formal standards, such as the ISO 27090, which is currently in development. Security and clinical leaders should collaborate to ensure AI tools meet both cybersecurity and patient safety standards. 2. Secure the data pipeline AI models are only as trustworthy as the data used to train and operate them. Healthcare organisations should protect training datasets with strong access controls, encryption and monitoring to prevent tampering or unauthorised access. Data integrity checks can also help detect attempts to manipulate AI training inputs. 3. Strengthen identity-centric security Many AI risks arise from unauthorised access to systems, datasets or development environments. Implementing strong identity and access management, including multi-factor authentication and least-privilege access, helps reduce these risks. Healthcare organisations should also ensure AI platforms are integrated into broader identity security frameworks. 4. Monitor AI behaviour and outputs Traditional security monitoring focuses on networks and endpoints. AI systems require additional oversight to detect abnormal model behaviour, unexpected outputs or attempts to manipulate interactions. Continuous monitoring helps organisations identify emerging threats and respond quickly. 5. Align cybersecurity with clinical resilience Healthcare organisations should treat AI security as part of their broader resilience strategy. Security teams, IT leaders and clinical stakeholders must work together to ensure AI systems support, not undermine, care delivery. ************************************************** Securing innovation in health care Artificial intelligence holds enormous promise for health care. It can improve diagnostics, enhance operational efficiency and help clinicians focus more time on patient care. However, as AI becomes embedded in healthcare infrastructure, the consequences of security failures grow more significant. Healthcare organisations must recognise that AI security is no longer just about protecting technology; it’s about protecting patients. By building strong governance frameworks, securing data pipelines and integrating AI into broader cybersecurity strategies, healthcare leaders can ensure innovation moves forward safely without compromising trust. 1. Latest Notifiable Data Breach statistics for January to June 2025. Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). Accessed 27 March, 2026. https://www.oaic.gov.au/news/blog/latest-notifiable-data-breach-statistics-for-january-to-june-2025 *Cornelius Mare is Chief Information Security Officer, Australia at Fortinet. Top image credit: iStock.com/sturti