Western Health

Western Health is honoured to have received the Excellence in Women’s Health at the Victorian Public Healthcare Awards. This reflects the dedication of our staff who support our community every day.    Our Custodial Health Addiction Medicine Clinic at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre won its category of Excellence in Women’s Health. This clinic delivers specialist, trauma-informed care in a custodial health setting, and is contributing to national reform through the National Prison Addiction Medicine Network.    We were also finalists in Excellence in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Premier’s Large Health Service of the Year categories. Thank you to these teams for their leadership and focus on delivering high-quality care.    Congratulations to all finalists across Victoria.    #VPHAwards 

Western Health is proud to congratulate our Director of Neurology and Stroke, Professor Tissa Wijeratne, who has been named Australia’s Field Leader in Neurology for 2026 in The Australian’s Science magazine annual research rankings. Professor Wijeratne also received the Field Leader title in 2025, marking two consecutive years of national recognition. This achievement reflects Western Health’s commitment to strong clinical leadership, fulfilling our Best Care commitment to our community, and supporting research that changes lives. Professor Wijeratne’s work covers many areas of neurology, including stroke, migraine and headache disorders, brain health, movement disorders, and the emerging field of optometry-neurology. He has also led pioneering work using AI-powered retinal imaging in the Emergency Department and clinical neurology, with more than 100 Western Health patients already benefiting from this world-first initiative. Professor Wijeratne maintains honorary academic roles at the University of Melbourne, La Trobe University and Victoria University in Australia, and the Rajarata University of Sri Lanka   He has published more than 350 scientific papers, with over 150,000 citations and an H-index of 88, placing him among the leading clinician-scientists in global neurology. Despite these achievements, Professor Wijeratne remains grounded and dedicated to serving the Western Health community. Beyond research, he is the co-founder and co-chair of World Brain Day, a global advocacy movement with outreach to more than one billion people, that contributed to the WHO definition of ‘brain health’ in 2022. He also plays an active role in community health, including establishing the Victorian Parliamentary Brain Health Friendship Group with Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas MP and other leaders in August 2025. Last Sunday, he led another world-first initiative, the Brain Health Superstar Program at La Trobe University’s Agora Theatre. Working with 162 children from disadvantaged Victorian communities, Professor Wijeratne and a team of volunteers delivered fun and practical lessons on brain health and prevention. More than 600 people attended, and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Two first-year university student volunteers will now help maintain an interactive webpage to support these children on their long-term brain health journey. Western Health is immensely proud of this recognition and grateful for Professor Wijeratne’s leadership, vision and commitment to improving brain health for all. #WesternHealth #Neurology #HealthcareLeadership #BrainHealth #MedicalResearch #CommunityHealth

Western Health anaesthetist and ICU physician Dr Forbes McGain has joined domestic and international colleagues in announcing the Lancet MedZero, a new open database that will map the carbon footprint of healthcare worldwide.   Dr McGain is a co-author of an article in the prestigious Lancet medical journal that highlights a major gap in global carbon data.   Fewer than 1 percent of the two million medical products used across the world currently have detailed carbon information available. The Lancet MedZero project, launching in early 2026, aims to lift this coverage to 80 percent within five years.   Dr McGain says the database will become a central resource for carbon impact data, supporting work in areas such as health technology assessments, procurement and everyday clinical decision making. It will provide open access data for pharmaceuticals, medical and surgical devices and diagnostic services. Dr McGain is an Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne, and Associate Dean, Healthcare Sustainability, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gjbA7gBe The Lancet Group

Major construction has officially begun on the new Point Cook Community Hospital.   Western Health Chief Operating Officer John Ferraro recently joined Minister for Health Infrastructure Melissa Horne MP, Member for Point Cook Mathew Hilakari MP, and representatives from the Victorian Health Building Authority to inspect early works on site.   The new facility, delivered by Lendlease and to be operated by Western Health once complete, will offer a range of community-based services for the growing Point Cook region.   Construction is scheduled for completion in 2026. #WesternHealth #PointCook #HealthInfrastructure #VictoriaGovernment

Lung Cancer Awareness Month is a time to recognise both the people living with cancer and the teams who care for them. Each year, more than 450 people receive lung cancer care at Western Health. To our patients - and to every person in our care living with cancer - we’re with you. All the way. #LungCancerAwarenessMonth #LungCancerAwareness #WesternHealth #CancerCare

🎉This year, Western Health nurses Olga Learoyd and Beverly Howard are both celebrating 50 years of continuous service at Footscray Hospital. 🎉 And last night, their incredible contribution to our health service - and their commitment to countless patients - was recognised on Nine News, in an interview with Jo Hall. Western Health CEO Professor Russell Harrison says Beverly and Olga’s 2025 milestone “is testament to their character and their caring skills”. Surgeon Dr Matthew Croxford has worked with the close friends for several decades. “I’m lucky enough that I get to work with them both regularly,” he said. “It’s a joy having that degree of experience working in the operating suite.” 👏Congratulations, Beverly and Olga! Thanks for your dedication and boundless energy. Watch it here 👉 https://bit.ly/3LtQeGV

Happy World Radiography Day! Today we celebrate the skill, dedication and compassion of more than 200 radiographers and sonographers across four Western Health sites. Their stories may differ, but their passion is the same: delivering high-quality care for our community. Hear from some of our team about what drew them to this vital profession. #WorldRadiographyDay #WesternHealth #Radiography

Nurses and midwives with a PhD often feel like they need to make a career choice between being a clinician or an academic. At Western Health, you no longer have to make that choice. We believe that clinically led research is vital to continually improving the evidence-base for delivering and supporting Best Care, so we have launched an innovative new program to allow our PhD-qualified clinicians dedicated, protected time to undertake research and build their academic credentials. We are now offering a day a week for PhD-qualified nurses and midwives to undertake research activities and pursue their academic work. This way, they can undertake important nurse-led and midwife-led research and meet their academic commitments alongside their valuable clinical work. Each of the nurses and midwives in the Clinical Academic Pathway program has an adjunct status and receives academic support from either Deakin University, Victoria University or Australian Catholic University, who have all partnered with us on this exciting initiative. Find out more at https://lnkd.in/gDa-NFPm

We are saddened by the passing of long-time Western Health volunteer Betty Millett (4 March 1936 – 24 October 2025), at the age of 89. Betty was honoured earlier this year for an incredible 35 years of volunteer service. As President of the Maribyrnong Auxiliary for more than two decades, and its secretary for ten years before that, she was a true leader and a force for good in her community. Part of a four-generation fundraising family, Betty’s dedication to Western Health and Footscray Hospital was matched by her energy, generosity and no-nonsense spirit. Her beautifully knitted baby jackets, beanies and booties, often in team colours, brought so much joy to so many families. We extend our heartfelt condolences to Betty’s family, including Sandra, Steven, Georgia, Jacob and Lauren.