Alice Springs Hospital

Clinic Profile

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Location
The Alice Springs Hospital (ASH) is located on Gap Road, a few blocks south of the CBD of Alice Springs. Alice Springs is located on the arterial route between Adelaide and Darwin (Stuart Highway).

Category
John Flynn Scholars, Prevocational Doctors (PGPPP) and GP Registrars

Population
The population of the town is over 27,000 but can swell to 60,000 including visitors.

Major Language Groups
English is the main language spoken in Alice Springs. Central Arrernte is the traditional language of Alice Springs and is spoken widely.

Access via Road
Alice Springs is along the main Stuart Highway, 1480km South from Darwin and 1530km North of Adelaide.

Access via Air
Flights from all capital cities

Seasonal Access
Year round access

Outstations Serviced
Outlying outstations within 100kms from Alice Springs, including Yambah, Hamilton Downs, Undoolya, Jay Creek and Northern Titjikala Outstations.

Hospital Information
Facilities and rooms: ASH is a 189 bed specialist teaching hospital situated in the Red Centre of Australia. ASH was erected in 1977 and was extensively redeveloped in 2002; additional rectification work was completed afterwards. There is an active Renal Unit with onsite dialysis facilities and a 26 chair satellite dialysis unit and a new state of the art Emergency Department scheduled to open in early 2013. It now has a range of superbly designed gardens and outdoor areas.

ASH has an excellent library, with a comprehensive reference section, good selection of journals, medline search facilities and librarians on site.

Staff: The hospital is staffed by over 40 specialists, over 60 RMO and Registrar positions and 16 interns.

Clinical Programs
Hospital services provided include the following: Day Procedure, Emergency, Intensive Care and High Dependency, Chemotherapy, Coronary care unit, Dialysis unit, Maternity, Medical, Renal, Dental, Outpatients, Paediatrics, Anaesthetics, Special Care Nursery, Surgical (Ear, nose and throat surgery, Eye surgery, General surgery, Gynaecological surgery, Orthopaedic surgery, Urological surgery, Vascular surgery and Other elective surgery), Radiology (ultrasonography, echocardiography and multi-slice CT scanner), Mental Health, and a range of clinical support services.

Specialist Services
ASH provides a range of specialist services including General Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Anaesthesia, Intensive Care, Surgery (including Ophthalmology, ENT and Orthopaedics), Psychiatry, Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Nephrology. A number of consultant specialist services are provided on a visiting basis. Outpatient specialists from Adelaide cover most of the specialties not covered above.

Open Times
24 hours

Contact Details
Alice Springs Hospital
PO Box 2234, Alice Springs NT 0871
25 Gap Road, Alice Springs, NT 0870, Australia
P: (08) 8951 7777 | F: (08) 8951 7988

Additional information
Alice Springs Hospital is accredited with the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards and has links to external research organisations such as Menzies School of Health Research, the Centre for Remote Health, Flinders University and Charles Darwin University.

ASH is serving up to 60,000 people from an area of over one million square kilometres in size, taking in the North of South Australia, the Western part of Queensland, a large area of central Western Australia and the Southern half of the Northern Territory. (These are covered by the Retrieval Services who fly essentially from just above Coober Pedy (SA) to Elliot in the North). Over 80% of the patients seen in the emergency department are Indigenous. In the Intensive Care Unit this figure climbs to 90%.

Training Details (info for trainees)
Registrars that undertake their primary rural and remote training (PRRT) at Alice Springs Hospital are required to have a minimum of 6 months exposure to community practice so will not be able to undertake all their PRRT training at Alice Springs Hospital.

The education programme is based around departmental teaching sessions (tutorials, ward rounds, journal club and X-ray meetings) with two communal meetings each week. The ‘Wednesday Lunchtime’ is primarily for prevocational doctor teaching, whilst the hospital ‘Grand Round’ on Friday lunchtime is a more general session, with speakers invited from both inside and outside the hospital. Visiting sub-specialists frequently contribute to these meetings. Staff can also access information available to the satellite broadcasts organised by the Rural Health Satellite Network. These are usually fortnightly.

For those interested in Indigenous health, infectious disease or rural and remote medicine in Australia, or just want an opportunity to improve their clinical skills, Alice Springs Hospital is an excellent place to gain valuable experience within a supportive environment.

For Student placements at Alice Springs Hospital please contact the NT Clinical School. For GP Registrar placements at Alice Springs District Hospital please contact Alice Springs Hospital.

Website Clinic Links
www.health.nt.gov.au

Community Profile

History
Traditional home of the Arrernte people, Alice Springs was navigated for white settlement in the 1860s by explorer John McDouall Stuart who led an expedition through the Centre. Discovery of alluvial gold at Arltunga, some 100 kms East of Alice Springs in 1887 provided a population boom for the Centre and white settlers utilised the area for pastoralism.

Art & Culture
Desart – Association of Central Australian Aboriginal Art and Craft Centres (www.desart.com.au)
Aboriginal Australia Art & Culture Centre (aboriginalart.com.au)
Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation (www.warlu.com)
Mbantua Aboriginal Art Gallery and Cultural Museum (www.mbantua.com.au)

City/Shire Council
Alice Springs Town Council (www.alicesprings.nt.gov.au)

Local & Govt Services
Alice Springs has all the facilities and amenities expected of a large established outback settlement.

Facilities
Alice Springs has all the facilities and amenities expected of a large established outback settlement, including a new Aquatic and Leisure Centre.

Attractions
The Kata Tjuta National Park (Uluru), MacDonnell Ranges, the Kings Canyon and the Simpson Desert.

Telecommunications reception and internet access
Full mobile reception and internet facilities available.

Permits required ie camping, alcohol, beach etc
Some areas are designated alcohol free – it pays to check prior to arrival.

Useful Links
www.thealice.com.au
www.alicespringsnews.com.au
en.travelnt.com/explore/alice-springs.aspx