July 2019
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Going Above and Beyond: Kathryn Bartho
Kathryn Bartho, Director, Revenue and Financial Projects, received the ‘Above and Beyond’ award at the Quarterly Staff Recognition Awards. Kathryn’s role is to optimise revenue across the organisation and ensure patients are provided with informed financial information. She was nominated by Chief Financial Officer, Basil Ireland, who says, “Kath marries clinical understanding with commercial, finance, vendor management, communication and people skills.” “She is the most versatile person I have ever worked with, and from a technical and communication perspective, has had an extremely positive impact on the RosterOn upgrade, Q-Flow implementation, automated bed fee and doctor consult billings, and Computer…
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Victorian-first intravascular ultrasound service for venous disease at Northern Hospital
Yesterday we welcomed Channel 7 News to Northern Hospital Epping to interview Vascular Surgeon, Iman Bayat, about his use of cutting-edge intravascular ultrasound technology to treat venous disease. Northern Health is leading the state in the field of complex venous disorders, as the first hospital in Victoria to offer intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) as a regular service to patients. In order for veins to function normally, they need to be clear of blockages. Veins can be acutely blocked by commonly known conditions like deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Many advances have been made in minimal invasive treatment of blocked arteries. One major…
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He ain’t heavy: Manual Handling Risk Improvement Program
Upali and Somaratne are Patient Service Assistants (PSAs) who are always smiling, right through an eight hour work day. Their typical day includes mopping floors, restocking trolleys and store rooms, cleaning bathrooms and making beds – everything required to prepare the room for the next patient. Today their smiles are broader than usual. They have just been through week eight of a Manual Handling Risk Improvement Program, run by our Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) team in conjunction with Exercise Movement Professionals (EMP). They say they have learnt a lot and can already see an improvement. “Particularly, when the EMP…
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Staying Well: Acute to Community Coordination Team
Are you worried your patient may not manage in the community after they go home from hospital? The Acute to Community Coordination Team (previously known as DPSS) are helping Northern Health patients on their ‘Staying Well’ pathway and will have a solution. The team reviews patients in all areas of Northern Hospital, who have had unplanned admissions (three or more in the previous six months), are at risk of readmission or failed discharge, or who they worry may not be able to cope at home. These patients are referred to as Healthlinks patients, meaning the patient has had three or…
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Last 1000 Days
Professor Brian Dolan is on a mission. First, he started a global social movement called #EndPJparalysis, which gained over 400 million impressions on Twitter and was all about encouraging patients to get up, dressed and moving, to reduce the risk of deconditioning of patients while in hospital. Now, he is on a campaign to make patient time the most important currency in health care. Northern Health was privileged to hear Prof. Dolan, voted one of the 20 most influential people in the 70-year history of the National Health Service (NHS) UK, speak to our staff on this subject. Debra Bourne,…
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Grateful patient shares his story
45 year old father of three, Adrian Nandapi says it’s great to be alive, literally. Two months ago he was in the fight of his life. Whilst on holiday in Fiji with his family, Adrian suffered a scratch on the shinbone of his right leg. 36 hours later, his family flew home to Australia and his leg had become noticeably swollen. In the hours that followed, his body went into septic shock and he was rushed to the Northern Hospital’s emergency department for life-saving treatment and surgeries. After being admitted to our intensive care unit, Adrian’s family were informed he…
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Grant expands Northern Health ENT services
Our Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Surgery Department is delighted to have recently received a grant from the Northern Health Foundation, allowing them to purchase surgical equipment to introduce complex ear surgery to the services offered at Northern Health. Director of Ear, Nose & Throat Services, Dr Deborah Amott said, “Many people in our community need specialist ear surgery due to chronic ear disease. This surgery enables children to hear properly during their education, and adults to increase their participation in the workplace, education, and taking care of their own families, removing the burden of recurrent ear infections, pain and…
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Quarterly Staff Recognition Awards
This morning, Northern Health celebrated the fourth Quarterly Staff Recognition Awards. In this round of awards, there was a record number of 77 nominations, making it very difficult for the Executive Judging Panel to choose just one winner for each category. The six categories are; Clinical Excellence – a clinician or clinical team generous with knowledge, who instils confidence in patients and colleagues, and achieves the best patient experience outcomes; Patient Experience – an individual or team who has made a significant achievement in improving the care experience, including showing kindness and compassion towards a patient or their family; Excellence…