Colin Woodward, Director of Engineering and Building Services, was recently invited to speak at Australasian College of Health Service Management breakfast session on the lessons he learned in the army and how they can be implemented in a health care environment.

In both of these environments, Colin said he had to quickly learn how to survive, learn his trade, find role models and keep his sense of humor. From the days when he was just a teenager in the army, till today, he still makes his bed every morning, shaves, cleans his shoes and is always in early.

“My military experience started at 16. I was surrounded by some really good people and part of the process was identifying who are the people you follow, and who are the ones you don’t. My bosses wanted nothing but the best, and at that early stage of my career, I realised I needed role models to lead my way,” he said.

During his career, Colin said he had to learn how to listen, observe, learn quickly and fail. He observed that no matter how good he trained or achieved, it wasn’t good enough.

“Even after I finished my military training, I always keep thinking if I’ve done the best I could! And the same is today with my trade,” he said.

Over time, Colin read a lot and learned a about the military appreciation process that focuses on planning, communication and how everyone should think the same.

“This is something that taught me to operate effectively in the worst possible conditions and health is a pretty good example of that. I also removed the word ‘can’t’ from my vocabulary and focused on success,” Colin said.

In both health care and military environments, Colin is certain training needs to be harder than the reality.

“If we ever get hit with a large number of people coming through with injuries, it should be business as usual. That’s why training needs to be harder than our every day reality”.

Another parallel between the military and health care environments Colin draws is in how different teams or corps work together towards a mission.

“If I take military environment and compare it to health care, in defence we have commanders at all levels and different corps, the structure is there. In health care there is surgical, ICU, cleaners, kitchen, medical wards etc – all these are dependant on each other and they all need to work towards the success of our mission,” Colin said.

While on the job, in either environment, Colin noticed how systems always keep changing. More than systems, he says how training and environments will also change and that is something we should always consider as part of what we do.

“What people died from 30 years ago, they don’t die from today. This is research and development,” he said.

Both health care and the military are 24/7 environments which never stop and he emphasised the importance of planning.

“Defence plans and trains to win, while health care can’t win. In defence, our mission is to win battles, and wars. In health, we may win some battles but never the war. People will always get sick, have a car accident or get the flu,” Colin said.

Briana Baass, Chief Allied Health Officer attended the lecture and said, “Amazing conversation at Australasian College of Health Service Management (ACHSM) breakfast. Loved hearing from Colin Woodward and Mark Bainbridge about how their military experience taught them to ‘achieve what you need to achieve, in an environment that doesn’t allow you to win.’ So many similarities.”

Colin sees health care as a “business that will go on forever”, and a huge task in front of all health care workers is to find a way to combat those challenges.

“I do my best, expect nothing in return and I never panic under pressure,” Colin said.

 

The Learning Improvement Science (LISN) course, which has been running for the last four years and is offered free to all Northern Health staff, has been delivered at another hospital for the first time.

LISN teaches the fundamentals of process improvement by breaking the problem down bit by bit and showcasing how small changes can make a big difference to the system.

“In health care, we are solution focused, while this workshop aims to find the root cause of the problem. We do it in a tangible way so people can go back to their workplace and improve processes,” explains Ariana Carrodus, Acting Director Project Management Office and HRO Transformation Unit.

The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) hosted Ariana and Brooke Williams, Project Support Officer, who, in partnership with RCH staff, co-delivered this training to 32 senior nursing staff.

LISN is an action learning workshop built around a simulation of Day Procedure Unit (DPU) where multiple improvement cycles are conducted to improve patient’s clinical outcomes, reduce documentation errors, while at the same time improving access and efficiency.

Simon Lane, Improvement Capability Lead at RCH, explains he was working at Northern Health from 2015-2017 when this improvement course was introduced and found it to be an extremely effective way for understanding what improvement is.

“These improvements typically focus on very small changes that can have large impacts on things like quality and access. The RCH have been sending staff to Northern from 2017 and, since then, we have co-facilitated these workshops,” he said.

“We identified the need for this training at RCH because we are working on improvement projects and we understand that staff need to lead improvements, rather than being told what to do. Ariana and the team have done two single-day workshops at RCH and some of the participating staff said this was the best professional development workshop they’ve experienced,” Simon said.

Participants are shown how to make small problems visible in their workspace and given the tools, eyes and language to identify problems and resolve them.

“The workshop encourages productive and open conversation around problems so that people feel empowered to bring them up and root causes can be found and addressed,” he explained.

The last two LISN sessions for the year will be held on 18 October and 13 November 2019 at Northern Health.

Please email lisn.hro@nh.org.au if you would like to attend. Anyone can participate and the course is also offered to other industries and health services.

Dates for 2020 are coming soon.

Since the July launch of the new Learning Management System (LMS), Northern Health staff have completed 3,190 courses and spent around 15 minutes within the system during each visit.

Bec Gilbert, Project Manager, said she is proud of the team’s achievements and the work that has been put into the new LMS.

“Since the launch, we have had a hive of activity as we continue to design and deliver new courses for our employees and streamline processes to support the system now, and into the future,” she said.

“Having training modules in one central location makes it easier for Northern Health staff to access and complete their training requirements in a flexible and dynamic time frame of the working day,” said Michelle Fenwick, Executive Director People and Culture.

The myLearning project team isn’t slowing down any time soon and will continue to provide support, while developing six new courses.

“Now, we are expecting improved access, performance and completion of mandatory training and the continued expansion of our present education and training within myLearning for us all to enjoy in the coming months,” Bec said.

New courses will continue to be added to myLearning over the following six months, leading up to accreditation in May 2020.

Some of the courses currently available on myLearning include Fire and Emergency, Hand Hygiene and many more. New courses will include topics like Children at Risk, Blood Safe Learning, Open Disclosure and more.

Click here for the full list of current and new courses.

Sita Murugappan and Amanda Quattrocelli are both Northern Health Hospital Medical Officers (HMOs) who were recently accepted into the highly competitive Royal Australian New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) Training Program.

RANZCOG trains and accredits doctors throughout Australia and New Zealand in the specialties of obstetrics and gynaecology so that they are capable – professionally and psychologically – of providing the highest standards of health care.

The Training Program is a six-year specialist program where only 24 trainees per year in Victoria are accepted. Trainees spend the first four years based at Northern Hospital but also get rotated to Mercy Health for experience in areas that aren’t available here, as well as six months at a rural centre.

Many of our trainees return in their fifth or sixth year as senior registrars and some also settle in the north to develop their careers here.

Northern Health Divisional Director of Women’s and Children’s Services, Dr Paul Howat, said, “I’m very excited that two of our HMOs were successful in getting into the training program, continuing our success from last year. The program is highly competitive.”

“It’s good to see that RANZCOG is selecting trainees from diverse backgrounds, which reflects the composition of our northern community,” he said.

“We are proud of these two young women who have promising careers. They have come through Northern and are loyal to Northern and see their careers playing out here. We’re just very excited to have them on board,” he added.

Amanda and Sita both expressed their enthusiasm for the opportunity.

“We are very excited to be accepted into the training program and are hopeful to be Northern Health trainees in 2020.”

“Both of us are very grateful and thank all those who have supported us along the way. We look forward to continuing to provide quality care to women coming through our health service at some of their most pivotal moments,” they said.

Featured Image (left to right): Amanda Quattrocelli and Sita Murugappan

Our reputation and brand identity are linked to our value in the community – who rely on us to provide the health care and services they need. Northern Health’s growing reputation is a credit to our staff and their professionalism and commitment to their work.

Over the last two years, Public Affairs has consulted with staff, consumers and volunteers to seek feedback and develop a whole of organisation approach to branding to create greater consistency and brand awareness.

Our website was updated six months ago following the upgrade of the intranet and the establishment of iNews. We now have a strong and regular presence in local newspapers and our patient care is profiled in metropolitan and national media.

In recent years we have been well known and regarded for the way we manage growth in demand for services – now we are being recognised for our innovation in health care in our approach to dealing with this demand.

Our logo and Style Guide

Twelve months ago our logo was simplified to provide a more modern style, reflecting our organisation as a modern and progressive health service.

Updating our logo will be a gradual process. Most of our logo applications are electronic or printed on-demand and major signage will only be changed in line with maintenance requirements.

Our new brand is visible through logos on our modern vehicle fleet being seen through the northern suburbs seven days a week and on our intranet, website and iNews.

Our new Style Guide includes a range of templates including letterheads, email signature blocks and PowerPoint presentations. The Style Guide and templates are now available on the intranet and our logo procedure is available on Prompt.

Consistent application of our logo and style guidelines not only enhances the professionalism of our brand, it also acts as legal protection for our registered trademarks.

Names of our sites

As part of our brand review, the names of our key health care facilities have been updated.

Our Broadmeadows campus was renamed Broadmeadows Hospital over two years ago when the new expanded elective surgery centre was opened. More recently, the names of our other three facilities have been simplified. ‘The Northern Hospital’ has been simplified to ‘Northern Hospital’. Bundoora is now known as ‘Bundoora Centre’ and Craigieburn will be known as ‘Craigieburn Centre’. We’ve also simplified the abbreviations for Northern Health and the sites, which have been included in the Style Guide.

These names and abbreviations are to be used now – and will be formally in place by 31 December this year.

We can all be very proud to be part of an organisation that is adapting to a changing health care landscape within one of the one of the fastest growing communities in Australia. Our commitment to Trusted Care for our patients, the new ways we are developing for people Staying Well at home and our growing translational research initiatives are continually strengthening our brand and reputation.

Andrew Williamson
Executive Director Public Affairs and Foundation

Influenza Campaign Success

This week, the Victorian Government’s Healthcare Association Infection Surveillance Coordinating Centre congratulated Northern Heath on exceeding the DHHS target for health care workers influenza program. We have achieved a Healthcare Worker Influenza rate of 87.1 per cent.

This recognises the excellent vaccination results and acknowledges the exceptional efforts our organisation has put into providing free flu vaccinations for our staff.

We have not only achieved outstanding results in the number of staff vaccinated, but also in the number of community members that have come through our flu clinic.

The 20,000 free vaccinations provided to our community helped our northern neighbours stay well this winter. In our flu clinic, we have seen families drive for hours to get their flu shot, as well as numerous overseas visitors. It’s pleasing that we are able to provide this protection to both our staff and our community.

People Matter Survey

We have recently received our 2019 People Matter Survey results and Michelle Fenwick and I have been presenting them to staff at forums over the past two weeks.

Over 1,600 staff completed the survey and provided feedback on what is working well at Northern Health, and also highlighted the areas that we need to focus and act on. The gap between us and similar major and tertiary health services is closing, particularly in the areas of engagement, diversity, psychological safety and role clarity.

Of particular note, this year has seen a significant decrease in respondents reporting they have experienced or are currently experiencing bullying. This has decreased by 48 per cent since 2016 when we first participated in the survey. We recognise there is still work to do in this space but are buoyed by these results.

We will be focusing on some core areas over the coming months, namely change management and recognition which you have told us we could do better. We will also continue to maintain and celebrate those areas we are doing well in, like learning and development, where we have recently launched our new initiative – Mentoring for Success. With 75 per cent of respondents indicating that intend to stay at Northern Health for the next two years, we are really pleased with Northern Health’s direction.

I hope you have a good week ahead.

Siva Sivarajah

Chief Executive

Following on from completion of four 70 day Social Work Fieldwork Placements for Melbourne University, the social work team has recently warmly welcomed eight La Trobe University social work students to Northern Health.

Northern Health is a proud teaching hospital, contributing to the future of health care and shaping the next generation of health professionals. While wandering our corridors, you may come across these eager friendly faces.

Social work students have two placements during their studies both consisting of 70 days each (14 full-time weeks). Placements are lengthy to enable consolidation of core skills across learning areas such as values and ethics, organisational and community context, interpersonal skills, research and culturally sensitive practice.

Sarah Wotherspoon is the Social Work Clinical Educator who has one day per week dedicated to clinical education. Her role includes interviewing prospective students, allocating supervisors, developing group learning student timetables and supporting students and staff during placement. Sarah also acts as a conduit between the universities and the health service.

“Student group learning sessions are interactive and cover various topics such as psycho-social assessments, self-care, working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients, ethical dilemmas, loss and grief,” Sarah said.

“They are a great way to bring students together and facilitate group discussion and learning,” she added.

Students also have access to self-directed learning opportunities across core areas of clinical social work practice including family violence, children at risk, elder abuse and family meetings.

Feedback from previous social work students highlight the dedication of our social work department to provide a high quality placement experience.

“My supervisor suited me so well and really took the time to understand me. I felt we could discuss anything without judgement which is so important,” one student said.

“Even from my first interview coming into Broadmeadows Hospital, my supervisor was so welcoming and we came to agreements together about expectations and learning styles early on in placement. The whole team has been really lovely and open,” another student added.

In their final week of placement, students complete a case study presentation to the social work team. These presentations are a celebration of the completion of placement, and a positive way of highlighting the student’s growth and skill development, as well as integrating theories into the health context.

Featured Image: Sarah Wotherspoon (far left) with La Trobe social work students

It was standing room only last Wednesday in the main lecture theatre for our Safe Practice Forum. This month, the theme was ‘Standard 5: Comprehensive Care’ – focusing on minimising our patients’ harm.

Liz McKeown, Accreditation Officer, said the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards now require us to apply targeted strategies to prevent and minimise the risk of any specific harms.

“Our patients, for example, might exhibit unpredictable behaviours such as aggression, self-harm or violence, that have the potential to lead to greater harm, to themselves, patients and others. We need to have in place systems that can help us identify these situations and apply strategies to mitigate their risk,” she said.

The latest Safe Practice Forum explored the theme of ‘Predicting, preventing and managing self-harm and suicide’ and coincided with Northern Health’s Conversations on Mental Wellness Week.

Dean Pritchard, Deputy Director, Emergency Department, opened the session with some confronting suicide data and contextualised how we ‘need to know a little about everything…’ and are expected to know enough to reliably keep our patients safe.

“The session highlighted the importance of having a structure in place to detect and prevent self-harm and suicide for our patients,” he said.

The two patient cases Dean shared emphasised our need to remove the means, closely monitor, reduce abscond opportunities and optimise the environment.

Liz drew on these two patient cases to provide a thorough background to the recent development of our Comprehensive Assessment and Risk Evaluation (CARE) Record.

The escalation points in the CARE Record for different members of the care team were stressed and real-life examples of current escalations provided.

“Recent situations have highlighted the need to comprehensively assess patients at risk of suicide and self harm and provide individualised plans of care to keep them safe,” she said.

Clare McCarthy, Project Manager, said our Safe Practice Forum has a crucial role in patient safety.

“The forum allows us to reframe errors in the system — it helps us move beyond the myth that individual culpability is the single source of harm and allows us to see other contributing factors, that are usually systemic. It fosters a learning environment and gives clinicians a system perspective. This is fundamental to our high reliability organising endeavour,” she said.

“A special thanks goes to our NorthWestern Mental Health colleagues who shared their experience and expertise at the session. We look forward to further collaborative work with them,” Clare added.

Featured Image: Dean Pritchard, Deputy Director, Emergency Department and Liz McKeown, Accreditation Officer