Acupuncture News
News Archive
3-5-05
AELEANOR
HALL: Now to the new face of emergency medicine in Australia. In a radical
departure from accepted hospital practice across the nation, the Emergency
Department at the Northern Hospital in Melbourne is incorporating ancient
techniques into its new approach to care.
When patients arrive at casualty, they will now be treated with acupuncture
to reduce symptoms such as pain and nausea. Final year acupuncture students
at RMIT University will deliver the treatment, which will be used in
conjunction with standard medical practice.
In Melbourne, Lynn Bell reports.
LYN BELL: The Northern Hospital's Emergency Department is the busiest in
Victoria, treating almost 59,000 patients a year. And it's about to start
using acupuncture alongside the latest medical technology, to treat
emergency patients.
CRAIG WINTER: There are quite a range of conditions that we see in an
emergency department that traditional medicine has had limited success in
managing adequately, and we're seeking to try to find other ways of treating
those conditions.
LYN BELL: The Director of Emergency Medicine at the Northern Hospital,
Doctor Craig Winter. He says soft tissue injuries, back pain and migraine
headaches are just some of the illnesses that will be treated with the
ancient technique. And final year acupuncture students at RMIT will be
working under supervision within the emergency department.
Marc Cohen, Professor of Complimentary medicine at RMIT.
MARC COHEN: It really is a pioneering effort. RMIT has pioneered Chinese
medicine education in the western world. We had the first degree, we
actually send our students to China to get experience in the China hospital
system, because acupuncture's integrated into the system there, and this is
the first step to actually integrate it into the hospital system in
Australia.
LYN BELL: He says it will be a learning experience for both the western
doctors and those offering complimentary medicine. But he's confident the
integration will work well.
MARC COHEN: Well, acupuncture's got an enormous amount to offer, and already
in general practice about 20 per cent of Australian General Practitioners
use acupuncture.
However in the hospital system acupuncture's very rarely used, and there's a
number of conditions that come to emergency departments – lower back pain,
migraine, pelvic pain – that is very amenable to acupuncture treatment.
LYN BELL: Doctor Craig Winter acknowledges some specialists within the
hospital system are sceptical.
CRAIG WINTER: Oh, oh yes, I think any type of alternative treatment will be
seen as potentially not useful for a variety of people. However, we will be
analysing it as we're doing it, there'll be studies that are done in an
ongoing fashion to see whether it's producing the benefit that we
anticipate.
LYN BELL: Other hospitals will also be watching the results closely, as
patient demand for alternative therapies increases, and more doctors become
qualified in the practice of acupuncture.
Doctor Winter says there is convincing evidence that it's a safe and
effective method of treatment and he's eager to get the program underway.
CRAIG WINTER: We're planning at this stage to start in about two weeks,
there'll be four acupuncturists in the emergency department each afternoon
on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
LYN BELL: The Victorian Government is still in the process of implementing
the Chinese Medicine Registration Act, and as yet there's no direct
regulation of Tradition Chinese Medicine by other Australian governments.
But acupuncture can be claimed on Medicare if you're treated by a medical
doctor.
ELEANOR HALL: Lynn Bell in Melbourne.
