Podcast: Advocating for kids - a new episode on children's health

28 Aug 2020

The latest Taking care podcast discusses the changes, challenges and innovations in providing health care to children, including during the pandemic.

In this episode, host Susan Biggar is joined by Paediatrician Professor Kim Oates. Professor Oates has an extensive career in children’s health including many years at Westmead Children’s Hospital. He has seen the system change from a focus on illness to a whole-child and patient and family-centred approach to care.

‘Putting the patient first every time, this is really important. And we still have to get that across to many people in medicine,’ Professor Oates said.

‘There are skills that provide high quality care that are separate from the technical skills. Clear communication skills, for example. The person might be a brilliant clinician or surgeon but if they don’t communicate clearly with the family, the family misunderstands instructions, things might go wrong,’ he added.

In this episode, Professor Oates also reflects on his work with vulnerable children and the changes he’s seen to improve support for these children and their families.

He also discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting kids. While acknowledging children have generally fared well from the impact of COVID-19, there have been downstream effects, which we will continue to see in the coming months and years. Professor Oates also talks about the positive influence of the pandemic on paediatric care, such as the potential for ‘virtual hospitals’ and new methods of online communications.

Download and listen to the latest Ahpra Taking care podcast episode today. Ahpra releases a new episode every fortnight, discussing current topics and the latest issues affecting safe healthcare in Australia. You can also listen and subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and by searching ‘Taking Care’ in your podcast player.

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