HEALTH Minister Jillian Skinner officially opened a new sleep disorder clinic at St George Hospital last Thursday.
The six-bed Centre for Sleep Disorders & Respiratory Failure Annexe is an expansion of the former two-bed sleep disorders laboratory established in 1994.
It was the first centre to publish orthodontic treatments for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), which changed clinical practice around the world.
More than one in 10 Australians have a sleep disorder such as OSA. A person with OSA can suffer hundreds of sleep disturbances a night.
The clinic provides early intervention in the treatment of sleep disorders and respiratory failure diseases, including motor neurone disease, muscular dystrophy and end-stage heart and lung disease.
Mrs Skinner said the expansion would enable the clinic to build on its current annual work schedule of 1400 sleep studies and 300 respiratory failure studies.
"Early intervention and treatment reduces hospital admissions, which is great for the patient and great for the health system at a time of growing demand," Mrs Skinner said.
The centre's director, respiratory and sleep physician Andrew Ng, said the laboratory treated patients from across Australia and was one of the busiest in the country.
Dr Ng said it brought together the expertise of sleep physicians and psychologists, neurologists, ear, nose and throat specialists, orthodontists and dentists. The annexe is the research arm and formally recognises the laboratory's international reputation for medical research.
Medical researchers and patients were among those who attended the official opening of the centre, which is located in the building formerly occupied by the Psychiatric Emergency Care Centre, which recently moved to the emergency department.
Orthodontist Jennifer Li was the recipient of the inaugural sleep research scholarship presented at Thursday's opening.
Local MPs were among those in attendance.
