World-first program helps save NTFL legend Cyril Rioli Jr
An NT football legend is lucky to be alive after having a severe heart attack while in a pool. Read about the groundbreaking ICU trial helping the father of a former AFL star on the road to recovery.
Alice Springs
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A world-first ICU trial has helped save the life of one of the Northern Territory’s most-renowned footballers after he suffered a severe heart attack in a swimming pool.
NTFL legend and 12-time St Mary’s premiership player Cyril Rioli Jr was exercising in an Alice Springs council pool when he had the heart attack.
His heart stopped completely and he was technically dead at the time, but was saved by an ICU nurse also exercising at the pool.
The nurse was able to give Rioli CPR before taking him to Alice Springs Hospital ICU, where he spent three weeks on life support.
The world-first pilot program allowed Rioli, and his partner Dayna the ability to give feedback to the ICU about their experiences in ICU and afterwards.
The program addresses healthcare barriers for Indigenous Australians by identifying key gaps in the feedback process.
It combines national patient and family experiences in the ICU, and following findings plans to roll out across almost 200 ICUs in Australia and New Zealand.
The Alice Springs ICU is the most remote in Australia with 700 patients annually and will be the vanguard unit in launching the first-of-its kind study.
Alice Springs ICU patients tend to be younger, average age of 50 compared to 65 nationally, and more likely to be Indigenous and admitted with sepsis.
Rioli went into an induced coma, underwent mechanical ventilation and continuous renal replacement therapy and was fed through a tube while his heart recovered until he could go to Adelaide for more treatment.
The program allowed Rioli, father of Hawthorn champion Cyril ‘Junior Boy’ Rioli, to continue to give feedback on how he is doing after leaving hospital.
Director of Alice Springs ICU Paul Secombe said ICU procedures could be “traumatic and invasive”, but the research was vital in improving trust in the healthcare system.
“As the most remote ICU in the country, and treating patients who are among the most vulnerable in the country, to be the vanguard ICU in launching this program is an honour,” Dr Secombe said.
“Traditionally the success of an ICU admission has been measured as whether a patient survives the admission.
“However, we also know that many of the interventions that we undertake in the ICU are highly invasive, and frequently uncomfortable, if not painful.
“What we have not been able to measure systematically previously is what happens to patients after they leave hospital, what effects remain problematic.
“This trial addresses this substantial gap in our knowledge by asking patients to complete a survey 3 months after their ICU admission.”
The program will also help ensure that ICUs across the country are providing culturally-safe care and building trust in Indigenous communities.
“It is important the communication we have and the care we provide is culturally appropriate given the high proportion of Aboriginal patients we treat,” Dr Secombe said.
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