Bayside Health Alfred

25/04/2026

Not long ago, musician Jack Taylor was riding his bicycle to work along Nepean Highway when he was in an accident.

After receiving treatment at The Alfred, he was transferred to Caulfield Hospital for further care, including in the Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Unit.

“The treatment I received there—both medical and therapeutic—was phenomenal,” Jack said.

“They really made a difference.”

So when he was asked to play as part of Bayside Alfred’s ANZAC Day Service at Caulfield Hospital, he was happy to do so.

For Jack – who played The Last Post, The Rouse and the Australian national anthem on the day – it was about giving back to the place that played a crucial role in enabling him to get back to regular, everyday life.

More here: https://bit.ly/4cLgYN4

Pictured: Jack with Rehabilitation physician Dr Kirily Adam (left) and speech pathologist Emma Hatty (right); Jack playing at this year's Bayside Alfred ANZAC Day Service.

20/04/2026

For anyone who's spent time at The Alfred's heart transplant service, Trisha will be a familiar face.

For the past seven years, she has been supporting patients through the earliest, most vulnerable stages of recovery and long after they leave the hospital, in her role as heart transplant nurse.

“We see people at their sickest. Then we watch them travel, return to work, compete in transplant games, or simply enjoy moments they never thought they’d have again.”

“Being part of someone’s second chance is what makes this job special.”

Last year, The Alfred completed its 1000th heart transplant, with many more since.

Read more about Trisha's important role in that here: https://bit.ly/4vC77BK

27/03/2026

Closing the gap in health outcomes for First Nations people requires culturally safe care that starts well before a patient reaches the health system.

As part of a recent panel to mark Closing the Gap Day, Dr Jess O’Brien, Alfred cardiologist and Medical Aboriginal Advisor (pictured), said this means understanding the past, building trust and taking accountability as health professionals.

“It begins with learning the history — the role hospitals and healthcare have played in colonisation, and the mistrust and suspicion that still exists because of that."

Dr O’Brien said understanding this history while taking the extra time to build rapport, trust and engage in shared decision making with patients and families is crucial for better health outcomes.

Read more: https://bit.ly/41uXEON

26/03/2026

We’re proud to be working on our new Women’s Health Clinic – one of the latest to be announced by the Victorian Government.

With a focus on services and advice for menopausal related issues, we plan to bring the clinic to life later this year.

Thank you to Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas MP for stopping by The Alfred to meet some of the expert team behind this effort.

There is so much more we can do to further support women’s health across our community, and this dedicated clinic promises to be another step forward in that journey.

24/03/2026

Being in hospital can be overwhelming, and this can be felt even more so by patients with sensory sensitivities.

To help make engaging with health care more comfortable, we're trialling tool kits designed to support the sensory support needs of patients who are neurodivergent.

Developed together with consumer consultant Sam (pictured), the kits include calming and tactile items, and prompts informed by clinical experience, research and lived experience.

They're available to adults or children in Sandringham Hospital's Emergency Department, and The Alfred's ED, Intensive Care Unit and General Surgery ward as part of the trial.

“For many neurodivergent patients, hospital environments and clinics can become overwhelming very quickly – especially when combined with the unknown,” Sam says.

“Having a tool to focus on or having access to calming resources can make a big difference.”

Sam played a key role in shaping the project, with the tool kits available either on request or when a clinician identifies that a patient may benefit from them.

“These kits show that the health service genuinely wants to understand and support neurodivergent experiences," Sam said.

"It’s a small gesture that can have a big impact.”

20/03/2026

We’re proud to share that The Alfred has once again been named among the world’s leading hospitals, earning a place in the global top 50 for the first time.

This achievement makes The Alfred the highest ranked Australian hospital in Newsweek’s World’s Best Hospitals 2026 rankings.

Bayside Health Alfred Chief Executive, Adjunct Professor Simone Alexander said the result reflects the dedication, skill and innovation of staff who work around the clock to deliver outstanding patient care, alongside those advancing clinical research.

“This acknowledgement is just one measure of the quality of public healthcare our community can access, though it reflects our ongoing commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of our patients,” Adj Prof Alexander said.

“Every day, our teams bring their passion and innovation to work — for our patients, for one another, and because helping others matters deeply to them.”

We’re delighted to stand alongside the other Australian hospitals recognised – including The Royal Melbourne Hospital and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, who were both named in the global top 100.

View the full rankings at Newsweek https://bit.ly/4uFblIr

06/03/2026

It’s officially Grand Prix season, and no one is more excited than orderly at emergency and radiology Mike O’Brien.

He’ll be working trackside as part of the team at The Grand Prix Medical Centre for the fifth year in a row.

Run by The Alfred since 1996, the team is on hand for all F1 workers – from drivers, support crews, marshals and all corporate workers.

Located just down the road from The Alfred, The Grand Prix Medical Centre is fully equipped to deliver a high level of emergency medical care, from the serious to the simple.

More here: https://bit.ly/3N0efXg

05/03/2026

Ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March, the Bayside Health Alfred community came together today to reflect on the impact of truly equitable healthcare, driven by this year’s theme of ‘Balance the Scales.’

ABC broadcaster and writer Jacinta Parsons and Gender Equity Victoria CEO Micaela Drieberg led a powerful conversation about how systems, policies and language shape women’s experiences of health and the importance of recognising every woman as an individual.

“Every single person has different needs depending on their stage of life, or their biological makeup, or where they live and what they're dealing with every single day," Ms Drieberg said.

“When we're talking gender equity, we recognise the differences between biological sexes and genders, but we also recognise that each of us has different needs.”

Director of Patient Experience at Bayside Health Alfred, Katrina Lewis, echoed this, emphasising the importance of seeing the whole person behind the patient.

“A better experience starts with recognising that every woman arrives not just with symptoms, but with a story, a culture, a family, and a lived reality that shapes how she understands health and care."

“Before she is a patient, she is a person.”

04/03/2026

Have you been a patient, family member or carer involved with one of our services?

Do you want to use your experience to help drive meaningful, accessible and compassionate care for others?

We’re looking for health care consumers and community members to join the Bayside Health Community Advisory Committee (CAC) and contribute to the future of our new health service.

CAC members provide advice to the Bayside Health Board and Chief Executive to enhance patient experience, and are offered ongoing support, training and opportunities to be involved in other organisational committees, working groups and service improvement activities.

People from diverse backgrounds who live in Victoria’s south, including metropolitan Melbourne, Mornington Peninsula, Koo Wee Rup, South Gippsland and Bass Coast are encouraged to apply.

If this sounds like you, visit: https://bit.ly/4cXjX6C

Applications close 13 March, 2026.

02/03/2026

A research network tasked with paving the way to better understand, manage and treat melanoma has been awarded the 2026 Universities Australia 'Shaping Australia' Problem Solver Award.

Congratulations to the Australian Centre of Excellence in Melanoma Imaging and Diagnosis (ACEMID) - which is made up of 15 research sites Australia-wide, including its lead Victorian site at The Alfred.

Over 9000 trial participants are involved with ACEMID studies, including close to 1000 from The Alfred, with advanced imaging being used to create the largest melanoma database in the world.

Prof Victoria Mar, Director of the Victorian Melanoma Service at The Alfred and Chair of the ACEMID Executive, said the work of collecting unique patient data collected through the hospital's total-body 3D scanner - the Vectra - will revolutionise early detection.

"We're also gaining new knowledge about disease biology and working towards training the technology to identify which melanomas are more likely to become life-threatening," Prof Mar said, pictured with ACEMID team members.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4sjWiSy

19/02/2026

Ukraine’s leading heart‑transplant team joined staff at The Alfred recently for a week of collaboration and shared learning.

Led by Prof Borys Todurov, Director of the Heart Institute of the Ukrainian Ministry of Health in Kyiv, the team of four met with Alfred clinicians from a range of specialties, including heart and lung, surgery and trauma.

Included was a demonstration of technology used to extend the time a donor heart can be kept safely outside the body, called hypothermic machine perfusion (pictured).

Despite the different circumstances in Australia and Ukraine, the week was mutually beneficial, said Prof Silvana Morasco, Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery at The Alfred.

“I was wondering what they could possibly learn from us, given the immense complexity of the conditions they work in every day,” Prof Marasco said.

“But while we can share ‘surgical secrets’ and show some of the critical care and transplant developments that have become best practice here, it’s the sense of care and unwavering commitment to patients that actually sustains and connects us both.”

Read more: https://bit.ly/3ZFyNHj

16/02/2026

A partnership between The Alfred’s Hospital Admissions Risk Program (HARP) and charity Social Health Australia is improving health outcomes by pairing patients with volunteer ‘companions’.

John Davey (pictured second from left) spent eight months in a hospital bed, having undergone a quadruple amputation after a battle with meningococcal disease and contracting septicaemia.

Soon after he received a visit from Joe Sehee (pictured right), a non-religious chaplain then working as part of The Alfred’s pastoral care team.

“He wasn’t trying to fix anything for me, and he didn’t claim to have all the answers,” John said.

“He simply listened.”

This experience became the blueprint for Social Health Australia, a volunteer run charity co-founded by the two men, which pairs patients with companions.

More here:

A partnership between The Alfred’s Hospital Admissions Risk Program (HARP) and charity Social Health Australia (SHA) is improving health outcomes by pairing patients with volunteer ‘companions’.