The Northern Health Foot Procedure Unit (FPU) is a National Association of Diabetes Centres (NADC) core-level accredited high-risk foot service, focused on the assessment and management of complex foot problems such as ulcerations, infected ingrown toenails and other.

Operating across three sites, Northern Hospital Epping, Broadmeadows Hospital and Craigieburn Centre, FPU staff focus on preventing lower limb amputations for patients in the northern suburbs and regional surrounds.

Primarily operated by a core group of Podiatrists and Orthotists, staff work closely with medical, surgical, nursing and allied health colleagues as part of a multi-disciplinary team. Core clinical day-to-day activities include:

• Vascular (including TCPO2) and neurological assessments
• Wound management, including sharps debridement
• Total contact casts for charcot feet

The Foot Procedure Unit recently expanded their staffing with the addition of Robert Beavan in the new role of FPU Clinical Lead. Robert brings 15 years of clinical and management experience to Northern Health from the National Health Service in the UK and regional Victoria. He spent most of 2023 getting to know the FPU team.

“It’s been great working with a group of competent clinicians who hold each other accountable to the highest standards,” he said.

Foot Procedure Unit patients usually present with foot ulcerations caused by conditions such as diabetes, Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) and foot deformity. Their situation may be complicated by an infection and lifestyle factors (i.e. smoking). Anxiety and depression may add further complication, if the foot ulceration has led to a reduction of income from work, or inability to lead their previously normal life. FPU staff often build deep clinical relationships with patients by guiding them through the complex process of wound management and towards the desired outcome.

In January 2023, the FPU expanded its high-risk foot services to include Broadmeadows Hospital and Craigieburn Centre in addition to their main service at Northern Hospital Epping. As a result, more patients are now able to conveniently access high-risk foot services closer to home.

“We are really blessed to have a number of dedicated and long-standing staff who have been at Northern Health between 10-20 years. Our podiatrists Tim, Paul, Virginia, Claire and Jas provide the team with a wealth of knowledge gained from working many years across all the Northern Health sites,” said Robert.

During the pandemic, staff were challenged by the increased need to focus on the patients most at risk of presenting to the emergency department and subsequent admissions into hospitals, and on those with deteriorating foot ulcerations due to PAD and/or infection. All urgent priorities were attended to, however, important activities, such as supporting community partners were put on hold. FPU Clinical Lead, Robert Beavan and FPU Senior Podiatrist, Claire Ackland are now beginning to travel around the Northern Health catchment area to reconnect with local Podiatrists, to ensure they are aware of FPU and the support they offer.

Moving forward, in 2024, the FPU team is looking forward to consolidating their recent expansion by aspiring to achieve NADC “Centre of Excellence” status, when renewing their accreditation status next year. The FPU staff are also looking forward to participating in the upcoming Lower Extremity Amputation Prevention (LEAP) Conference in Melbourne, in October 2024.

Good luck and thank you for all that you do!

Pictured in featured image: The Foot Procedure Unit team. 

#WeAreNorthern

Meet Tanya Rando, OHS and Injury Management Administration Advisor, Northern Health.

Q: Firstly, what is your coffee order?

I have discovered, almond dirty chai latte.

 Q: Tell us about your Northern Health journey? 

I started at PANCH back in 1996, working in the project team to help build Northern Health. This was a two-week project and I stayed for 18 years. In that time, I have worked in many areas of the hospital from Outpatients department, Ward Clerking, Health Information Services department, Allied Health department and many other areas. With a heavy heart I left Northern Health to work at Victoria Police in their Human Resources department – Payroll Services and WorkCover.

The call was still in my heart to come back home – Northern Health. This was realised as back in January 2019 as I was hired back at Northern Health in the Payroll Department. The payroll services were brought back inhouse (from Melbourne Health) and I worked closely with the team to transition this process across.

Currently I am working within the OHS Wellbeing team as an OHS/Injury Management Administration Advisor and I love it.

 Q: What is your greatest achievement since working here?

My greatest achievement is coming back to Northern Health with new knowledge I achieved whilst working at Victoria Police. This has helped me work with other departments in health.

 Q: How would you describe Northern Health in one sentence?

How much our health services have grown since we have opened the doors to service our community.

 Q: Are you a travel bug? Any destinations on your wish list?

I love to travel, I would anywhere in the world as long as I have my family with me. Italy and Malta have always been on my wish list.

Earlier this month, Northern Health entered a voluntary amalgamation with Kilmore District Health, which will allow for greater coordination of health services across Melbourne’s north and the Kilmore region.

Along with being able to offer better connected care for the northern community, Northern Health has also gained over 400 talented, dedicated and committed staff.

The outstanding care of these staff members was recently celebrated at the Kilmore District Hospital REACH Awards. Held quarterly, the REACH awards acknowledge an individual or team’s efforts in supporting their colleagues and consumers.

Since 2018, Kilmore District Hospital has recognised employees who exemplify the health service’s values of Respect, Excellence, Accountability, Compassion and Honesty.

Award recipients are nominated by their peers, making it all the more special that their commitment to Kilmore District Hospital and its community is not going unnoticed.

As well as being recognised against a specific value, an overall REACH Superhero award is also bestowed upon those who are judged to represent all five of the values in their approach to their job.

The most recent winners were:

Respect

• Rachael Hinrichsen – Outpatients
• Environment Services team

Excellence

• Kate Brown – Food Services
• Caitlyn Marinier – Health Information

Accountability

• Tenneale Florence – Infection Prevention
• People and Culture team
• Amanda Byrne – Education

Compassion

• Tess Gueli – Dianella Hostel

REACH Superhero

• People and Culture Team
• Amanda Byrne – Education team

As the newest campus of Northern Health, Kilmore District Hospital presented its REACH Awards for the final time this November. From 2024, Kilmore staff will be recognised as a part of the Northern Health Quarterly Awards.

On Friday, 17 November, Northern Health acknowledged World Prematurity Day, reasserting our commitment to safely prevent preterm and early term birth and its far-reaching impacts.

A staggering one in 12 babies in Australia is born premature; for Aboriginal babies, this rate is almost double at 15 per cent. In Australia, more than 26,000 babies are born preterm each year and more than 13.4 million globally. In 2020, preterm birth was responsible for more than one million deaths worldwide.

Northern Health is a key part of the Every Week Counts National Preterm Birth Prevention Collaborative – a national program which aims to safely reduce preterm and early term birth across Australia by 20 per cent through supporting hospitals in the adoption of evidence-based changes in clinical care.

Those born at the earliest gestational ages may suffer from severe and life-long problems such as cerebral palsy, developmental delay or blindness. For those born at a later gestation, even approaching full-term, there may be behavioural and learning problems.

This Commonwealth-funded national program involves obstetricians, midwives, GPs, sonographers, neonatologists together with consumers and quality improvement experts from more than 63 Australian maternity hospitals.

These hospital teams, representing every state and territory, range from the very largest tertiary services to key services in regional and remote communities providing local care.

During the Collaborative, Northern Health has been supported to accelerate its learning and develop reliable systems to ensure all women are offered the care and public health information that is known to reduce early birth. Key system improvements made at Northern Health include:

• Creating staff and consumer awareness of the importance of ‘Every Weeks Counts’ through survey’s, staff in services and emails.
• Improving our processes and reasons for booking women for early term induction of labour and caesarean sections.
• Staff and consumer awareness surrounding the importance of monitoring and escalating cervical lengths between 16 and 24 weeks gestation.

To mark World Prematurity Day 2023, Northern Health hosted a stall in the main hospital foyer, providing information about the impacts on babies and families when preterm and early term birth occurs and how our organisation can continue to improve our preterm and early term birth rates.

Northern Health Foundation was established in 2005 to care for the needs of a growing northern community. Throughout this time, the Foundation has celebrated countless achievements, many of which have been due to the hard work and dedication of the incredible patrons who tirelessly fundraise for Cancer Services at Northern Health: Bev Carman, Trudi Hay and Josie Minniti OAM.

Throughout the months of October and November this year, Bev, Trudi and Josie individually hosted their special fundraising events, each in the name of a good cause.

On 13 October, the Northern Health Foundation team joined Trudi and her guests at her High Tea event at Mandalay Golf Club. Given that October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Trudi’s event was the perfect opportunity to turn the spotlight to Northern Health’s Cancer Services, and in particular, promote awareness about breast cancer. The beautiful event raised over $13,000 for cancer services at Northern Health.

Josie Minniti OAM hosted her 26th annual Dinner Dance on Saturday, 28 October. This is a popular yearly event, attended by guests who are passionate about making a difference through fundraising. The event, which featured Northern Health oncologist, Dr Frances Barnett, as special guest speaker, raised funds for cancer services at Northern Health. Josie’s unwavering support and the generosity of her guests over the years has helped provide essential resources and care for individuals and families affected by cancer.

What started out as a cold Oak’s Day morning turned into a beautiful, sunny afternoon at Kilmore Racing Club. On Thursday, 9 November, Bev Carman hosted a beautiful Oak’s Day luncheon, which included the highly-anticipated Fashion on the Field parade. Guests strutted their stuff down the runway in support of raising funds for cancer. Thank you, Bev, for your display of kindness and dedication to those battling this disease with yet another successful event which raised over $7,000.

Executive Director of Public Affairs and Foundation, Pina Di Donato, was privileged to attend the three events and expressed gratitude for the unwavering commitment and selfless efforts of the three patrons.

“We are very fortunate to have such amazing support from our patrons. Not only have their efforts over the years touched many lives, but they have created a ripple of hope throughout our northern community. It is with immense gratitude that we extend our sincere thanks to each patron who has devoted time, energy, and passion to make a difference in the lives of those affected by cancer.”

“Proceeds from the three events will enable work to begin on the very first Cancer Wellness Room for our health service. This is a very exciting time at Northern Health,” says Pina Di Donato.

We look forward to seeing the impact of their fundraising efforts continue to make a positive difference to our patients, staff, and our community.

 

The introduction of the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) was a transformative change for all staff delivering inpatient, emergency, surgical and maternity care. It takes time to embed the new way of working and juggling the demands of patient care, and it was timely to conduct a pulse check with staff via a survey.

Thank you to 371 staff who completed the EMR pulse check. Seventy five per cent of respondents were from Northern Hospital Epping, 12 per cent from Broadmeadows Hospital, nine per cent from Bundoora Centre, and the remainder from Craigieburn or worked across sites. Seventy per cent of respondents were using the EMR daily and 26 per cent a few times a week.

Overall, our staff have given the EMR three stars.

‘Thank you to those staff who took the time to fill out the survey, it was a good result to receive a positive rating from staff. Noting we are only at the beginning of leveraging the EMR for patient care at Northern Health not at the end,” said Trish Aldridge, EMR Program Director.

Using the EMR is more than a new skill, it is a whole change in the way we document and communicate about patient care processes.

• 82 per cent of staff feel more confident in using the EMR, than when it first went live.
• 71 per cent of staff were able to use the EMR for patient care (19 per cent neither agreed nor disagreed).
• 75 per cent of staff felt either neutral or positive about the EMR.
• 43 per cent of staff would like more training to use the EMR.

Overall, the survey results reflect are what is expected at such an early stage of embedding new work flows.

‘The EMR team is looking forward to partnering with our divisions and departments to improve the EMR,” said Ms Aldridge.

“The EMR team is designing business as usual processes and recruiting the team for this work. Our advice to staff who want to continue to develop their efficiency in using the EMR, reach out to your super users and educators, ask questions, check out the QRGs for workflows you don’t do that often.”

The Digital Training team are available for EMR refreshers, please email your requests to NH-EMRQuestions@nh.org.au.

Representatives from Northern Health were privileged to attend the 2023 Victorian Public Healthcare Awards last night, to celebrate the incredible collective achievements of the Victorian Public Health Service.

Northern Health were finalists in three categories: Celebrating Innovation in Health Care, Excellence in Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing, and Health Volunteer/Team of the Year.

We are proud to announce that The Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED)- Paediatric Service were winners in their category Celebrating Innovation in Health Care.

The Victorian Virtual Emergency Department’s paediatric service has revolutionised emergency care for kids and their families. It offers specialized paediatric care through consultations. This approach aims to alleviate the challenges faced by families when visiting physical Emergency Departments, such as travel, long wait times, and associated costs. It also relieves pressure on emergency wait rooms and ensures even those in remote areas receive vital support, treating more children from the comfort of their home.

Congratulations to all of our finalists.  The Aboriginal Support Unit, Narrun Wilip-giin was a finalist in the Excellence in Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing category, nominated for the introduction of executive yarning circles and a possum-skin baby wrap project that have been instrumental in giving a voice to Aboriginal staff and patients. And Busy Fingers Auxiliary who have raised more than 3 million dollars for Northern Health Bundoora in their 50 years of service was a finalist in the Health Volunteer/Team of the Year category.

They are just a small sample of the amazing work and outstanding initiatives being driven by our dedicated staff at Northern Health, each and every day.

Pictured in featured Image: (L-R) Board Chair, Jennifer Williams AM, Loren Sher, Joanna Lawrence, and Chief Executive, Siva Sivaraja. 

This week, Northern Health celebrates Perioperative Nurses Week!

Here at Northern Health, our perioperative nurses work behind closed doors in the operating suites, providing exceptional care to patients before, during, and after surgeries. They’re highly skilled, compassionate, and always up for a challenge. Stationed across Northern Hospital Epping, Broadmeadows Hospital and Kilmore District Hospital, these nurses use their expertise to ensure safe and trusted care for surgical patients from admission to recovery.

“Perioperative staff are the hidden heroes in healthcare. Mostly tucked away in restricted areas, Theatres, Endoscopy, Bookings and CSSD, they treat patients who are often at their most vulnerable. They are dedicated, resilient, caring, hardworking and have a great sense of humour. They inspire me and make coming to work a pleasure,” said Tracey Wyllie, Director of Operations – Perioperative Services, Northern Health.

We take this time to acknowledge the wonderful work of our perioperative nurses all year round.

This week, the celebrations kicked off with a crazy socks day, complemented by team huddles and sharing work selfies to highlight team unity. Mid-week activities included fun challenges like guessing the number of lollies in the jar and sharing the best slogans on keep cups.

Tomorrow, the week will conclude with a team luncheon, fostering a festive atmosphere as staff bring plates to share.

“Perioperative Nurses Week is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the amazing work our perioperative team do, all year round, providing a valuable service to our community,” said Lana Dent, Nurse Unit Manager – Scrub Scout, General Operating Theatre, Northern Health.

“The Perioperative team love participating in the fun activities run throughout the week,” she said.

Here’s to our remarkable perioperative nurses—thank you for your outstanding service!