Dr Jonathon Ball at Sydney Neurospine

07/06/2023

Online (ahead of print) publication today in Journal of Neurotrauma - the biggest neuro-protective trial in spinal cord injury in 3 decades with over 1/4 of patients recruited from Australia.

The Spinal Injuries Service at Royal North Shore Hospital was the third largest recruiter worldwide. I am so proud to have been a part of this landmark trial and thankful to the individuals who participated at the most difficult time in their lives.

COVID led to premature termination of the trial, however, in "pre-planned secondary analyses, all subgroups of cervical SCI subjects (AIS grades A, B and C) treated with Riluzole showed significant gains in functional recovery".

19/05/2023

What an honour to be asked by the Australian and New Zealand Association of Neurologists to speak at their Annual Scientific Meeting on the topic of "Spinal Cord Tumours". Fortunately, some of them turned up to fill the seats in the Federation Concert Hall in Hobart.

09/04/2023

A simple yet valuable analysis by one of my previous trainees, Dr Ho, led to this co-authored publication in the Journal of Clinical Neuroscience this month.

09/04/2023

Dr Ball was honoured to chair the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia Surgical Education and Training Seminar in Sydney focussing on 'Spinal Surgery' during March. This 3 day event saw every training neurosurgeon in Australia and New Zealand come together for education in all aspects of spinal surgery. A fantastic team of speakers shared expert knowledge and experience for an excellent training event.

28/11/2022

Dr Ball recently completed a "Sustainable Healthcare in Practice" course through the Monash Sustainable Development Institute.

The course serves the "rapidly growing need to understand how the health sector contributes to the current environmental and climate crises".

It provides participants with the knowledge and skills to "make a difference and contribute towards positive change with healthcare’s impact on the environment".

Earners of the Sustainable Healthcare in Practice Micro-credential have developed skills to influence the healthcare sector’s transition to more sustainable practice. They have gained skills and knowledge to: develop a sustainable healthcare proposal; analyse links between climate change, health e...

19/10/2022

Dr Ball gave 2 back-to-back presentation at the recent Neurosurgical Society of Australasia Annual Scientific Meeting, held in Sydney.

An invited presentation was titled 'Time is Spine : Decompression Surgery in Acute Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury". This was followed by a submitted abstract based on recent research, "Spinal Cord Haematoma and Cord Compression Predict Neurological Grade in Acute Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury".

14/10/2022

A long time in the works, but finally accepted for publication.

This multi-centre, prospective observational cohort study evaluated the prognostic value of MRI findings for 120 individuals after traumatic spinal cord injury.

Prospective observational cohort study linked with administrative data.Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is routinely performed after traumatic spinal …

16/08/2022

Dr Ball recently completed a Certificate in Clinical Governance for Patient Safety and Quality Care of the Australian Institute of Clinical Governance.

He is committed to improving the safety and quality of care provided to all of his patients.

"Clinical Governance is a concept by which all staff (clinical and non-clinical) share responsibility and accountability for safe and quality care...The Certificate in Clinical Governance for Patient Safety and Quality Care ensures that staff involved in the provision of care have an applied understanding of clinical governance standards and are armed with the tools to apply their knowledge in day-to-day care." (www.aicg.edu.au).

27/04/2022

COVID strikes again ......

Dr Ball is working without secretarial support today because of COVID.

He will monitor this account for urgent emails but cannot guarantee an immediate reply.

He will be unable to answer the phones.

If your enquiry is urgent please contact your GP or attend a local emergency department.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

21/04/2022

COVID strikes again .....

Our office is closed today because of staffing issues relating to COVID contacts, preventing staff from attending the office.

We expect the office will be open on Tuesday morning, after the long weekend.

We will respond to your emails then.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

07/03/2022

Our office is closed today because of staffing issues relating to COVID contacts and flooding, preventing staff from attending the office.

We expect the office will be open tomorrow. We will respond to your emails then.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

07/02/2022

DR BALL HAS MOVED TO A NEW OFFICE !

Dr Ball has moved to a new location, in the North Shore Health Hub - a flagship healthcare building close to the Royal North Shore and North Shore Private Hospitals.

Our new address is -

Suite A.308, North Shore Health Hub
7 Westbourne Street
St Leonards NSW 2065.

Our other contact details remain the same.

03/07/2021

Great choice for today’s Google Doodle!!

https://www.google.com/doodles/professor-sir-ludwig-guttmanns-122nd-birthday

Professor Sir Ludwig Guttmann's 122nd Birthday!

29/04/2021

A sad day for the office today as we farewelled Chris - our secretary for almost 10 years. Her departure leaves a void that will be difficult to fill. Kind and loyal, she has been an invaluable asset to our practice. We wish her all the best for her retirement!!

29/04/2021

It was a fantastic educational opportunity to join with orthopaedic colleagues to present to the Australia Orthopaedic Association's webinar on "Cauda Equina Syndrome". While COVID has meant less face to face meetings, innovative technologies can bring together different specialities to share their knowledge and experience.

Our sincere thanks to Chair Ralph Stanford and Panellists Brian Freeman and Jonathon Ball for guiding attendees in last night’s ‘Cauda equina syndrome ...

29/04/2021

Honoured to step into the role of AOA/NSA PFET Chair. The Post Fellowship Education and Training (PFET) program is a RACS program that accredits and manages fellowships in Spinal Surgery - short-term supervised training programs designed to allow orthopaedic and neurosurgeons to develop their surgical skills in spinal surgery. https://www.nsa.org.au/NSA/NSA/Sub_Specialty_Training/Spinal_Surgery.aspx

The objective of the Post Fellowship Education and Training (PFET) Program in Spinal Surgery is to provide competent independent specialist neurosurgeons and orthopaedic surgeons with advanced procedural experience, knowledge and surgical skill relevant to the safe and effective treatment of complex...

29/04/2021

Another paper published with this fantastic group on accessing specialist care after spinal cord injury.

07/08/2020

"The fact I could move my toes, he said, I'll walk again'."

Recognising incomplete and discomplete injuries and the potential for functional recovery, rather than nihilism, can lead to better outcomes in SCI.