Northern Health has this morning commenced operating a new COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic at the Plenty Ranges Arts & Convention Centre (PRACC) in South Morang.

PRACC is located at 35 Ferres Boulevard, South Morang and will be open from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm, seven days a week.

Jan Kourlis, pictured above who was first in line said after her receiving her vaccination, “The staff were fabulous, they told me exactly what you need to know and I recommend it highly!”

The Vaccination Clinic at Northern Hospital Epping will operate until Sunday, June 20. Any bookings made for after this date, will be transferred through to PRACC. The Staff Vaccination Clinic at the Main Ward Block at Northern Hospital Epping will continue to run as normal.

Debra Bourne, Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, said “The response of multiple teams at Northern Health to enable us to establish a large COVID vaccination unit off site in such a short period of time has been remarkable. It was a wonderful example of staff living our values and working together to overcoming multiple hurdles to create a service in such a short time frame. I am extremely thankful for the hard work that they all have shown”.

We take this time to thank all the hard working and dedicated staff at the Northern Hospital Epping Vaccination Clinic. Your hard work does not go unnoticed! We are also grateful to our community for coming forward to get vaccinated – you are all playing your part in the fight against COVID-19.

A big thank you to the many staff involved in the transition and preparation of the new vaccination clinic. This would not be made possible without your continued dedication!

Getting to PRACC 

There are 600 free car park spaces at the centre. Please be mindful of signage as some areas have restrictions or require permits.

PRACC is about a 500m walk from South Morang station, via the Mernda train line.

There are wheelchair accessible toilets, ramps and lifts throughout the venue. Braille is provided on on all room door signage. PRACC is guide dog friendly and welcomes any registered assistance dogs into all areas of the building.

The clinic will be closed on Monday June 14, a public holiday.

Please watch the video message below from Madelaine Flynn, Director Infection Prevention:

They say the best ideas come from simple insights.

‘What’s the Big Idea?’ invites staff to submit their creative ideas that will be turned into successful projects in just 90 days.

Ariana Carrodus, Project Manager, explained the team is looking for ideas that help answer the most burning questions.

“We are looking for innovative and creative ideas that can give answers to questions like: Who can we stop from coming to hospital? Where would we send them? How can your current team operate differently? How do we reduce length of stay and support patients in the community? What do we need to change so patients stay well at home? and similar,” she said.

In the middle of last year, during lockdowns one and two, Siva Sivarajah, Chief Executive, asked for ideas on how we can develop new models of care, in response to the pandemic. Last year brought numerous changes to the organisation quickly, and the time was right to work on additional transformation ideas.

“Staff started presenting their ideas in a ‘sprint’ manner – as the aim was to make things happen in 8 to 12 weeks. Our Virtual ED triage, launched in October last week, was just one of the ideas. We are now receiving great feedback from patients with this project receiving significant media attention. Other successful projects include Eve, an app for mums in the north, Chemo at Home service and the Musculoskeletal Wellness Project – an online physiotherapy service,” Ariana explained.

Cassie Bramston, Project Officer, said, this year, the call for ideas is open to everyone, organisation-wide.

“We are really interested in ideas from people on the ground. As a clinician myself, I know we do a lot of amazing things across the organisation and this is an opportunity to get more support around it and really implement them at a wider level,” she said.

From Wednesday, 16 June, the IdeasScale portal will be open for new ideas. Staff can not only put new ideas, but also review other people’s ideas, add a comment of support or join an idea group.

“The ideas will then be reviewed by the Innovation Assembly, a multi-disciplinary team with an Executive Sponsor, who will help filter through the projects. Throughout the process, ideas will be shortlisted twice, and the Assembly will pick the final four. Those four will then work on shaping their idea to present to Siva Sivarajah, our Chief Executive,” Cassie said.

The candidates will receive professional support to put their idea into practice. Over the eight weeks, the four successful applicants will be assigned a Business Manager and a Coach and will receive Project Office support, as well as regular catch-ups and training on how to complete a business case, how to implement a research component, and more.

“A really important thing to say is that there is no such thing as a silly idea, and you don’t need any experience to engage with this process. If you are concerned about never doing a project before, you will be supported every step of the way, as we are passionate about setting people up for success. This is also about building capability around the organisation to do rapid innovation improvements. If you are wondering whether to put an idea in, we are saying – 100 per cent do it. Even the smallest ideas can bring amazing change and transformation,” Ariana added.

Please note, ideas will be accepted through IdeasScale from Wednesday, 16 June. Keep an eye on the Intranet for more information or email bigidea@nh.org.au.

Northern Health Foundation has launched their 2021 Tax Appeal, seeking support from our community to raise funds for life-changing Ophthalmology equipment at Northern Health.

The team are aiming to purchase a new Phacoemulsification Machine and Ophthalmic Microscope for cataract surgical procedures.

The thought of losing your eyesight can be a terrifying and daunting prospect. Around 11 per cent of people over 40 years of age experience cataracts – a number that will rise as our community ages and our population increases. When a person experiences a cataract, there is a clouding in the normally clear lens of the eye, which causes vision to become proportionately reduced. If left untreated, cataracts will cause continual loss of vision and can lead to legal blindness or even total blindness.

Here at Northern Health, our Ophthalmology Surgical teams perform over 1,400 operations every year. Our community’s need for Ophthalmology Services continues to grow at a rapid pace.

With 2020 being a year like no other, we, like all other health services, faced significant challenges and adversity. Throughout the height of COVID-19, health services across our country were required to defer their elective surgery lists. Today, as the number of patients increase across the service, Dr Suheb Ahmed, Head of Ophthalmology, and his team are working tirelessly to bring this life-changing cataract surgery to each and every one of them.

“I am very privileged to do what I do. Having an impact on so many lives, by performing cataract surgery, makes me truly love what I do. Securing the funds needed to purchase both the latest Phacoemulsification Machine and Ophthalmology Microscope will give our patients in the north access to the very best in cataract surgical procedures anywhere in Australia,” Dr Ahmed said.

By introducing this new equipment, Northern Health will alleviate the need for patients in our northern community, and some regional areas of Victoria, to be referred to other health services for their care. With community support, we will provide additional services and subsequently increase the number of cataract surgical procedures we can perform, bringing with it reduced risks and improved efficiencies. Patients will receive the safest, most efficient life-changing surgery, here in their own community.

“Introducing the latest in medical technology will also put us on the front foot when attracting new surgeons. The ability to train our registrars and fellows, not only on the best equipment, but by some of the best cataract surgeons, will put us ahead of the game,” added Dr Ahmed.

Northern Health patient Richard O’Hea explains the significant impact cataracts had on his life prior to being treated.

“My vision was very blurry. If I watched TV, I needed to wear really strong glasses – and reading captions was impossible. It was like I was always in a fog – I would constantly be rubbing my eyes thinking they had dirt in them. So, when I was finally diagnosed as having cataracts, I knew that I needed to be really proactive about getting it seen to,” Richard explained.

“I’m a really active person – the last thing I wanted was to progressively go blind. I renovate houses and want to continue to do so until I die. I use a lot of power tools and saws, not something you want to be using when your vision is impaired! The whole process at Northern Health – the operation, the staff from the moment I walked in the door – was fantastic,” Richard added.

Linda Romano, Divisional Director, Nursing – Surgical Services encourages our community to get behind such an important cause.

“I am often reminded of Fred Hollows when he once said – its obscene to let people go blind when they don’t have to,” she said.

Featured Image: Dr Suheb Ahmed, Head of Ophthalmology

To donate to this campaign, please click here. 

To achieve our overall vision of ‘A healthier community, making a difference for every person, every day’, we require a workforce that reflects the Australian community we serve and a workplace which is inclusive and empowers everyone to contribute their best.

At the end of last year, the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee finalised Northern Health’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan 2020-24 which I am pleased to present to you today.

The plan outlines our commitment to our staff and the northern community, breaking down barriers that stop individuals from feeling fully included.

Our focus is on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Refugees and Asylum Seekers, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities, people with disabilities and LGBTIQA+ communities. It outlines our commitment to our staff – We are committed to providing a positive and safe workplace where inclusion is a priority and diversity is celebrated. We are committed to providing employees, patients, volunteers, contractors and visitors with a diverse, inclusive and safe environment. 

Our journey began in 2018, and, since then, we’ve increased the diversity of our workforce and have worked towards ensuring we are a safe and inclusive workplace. Some of the key achievements include developing diversity awareness training for all staff, holding Refugee and Asylum Seeker study days, celebrating International Day of Persons with a Disability, participating in PRIDE and launching the Northern Health Reconciliation Action Plan.

A workplace that is respectful, courteous, and fair and that values individual differences is a core aspect of building a positive workplace culture. When we treat everyone equally, we treat everyone the same, but when we treat everyone equitably, we focus on individualistic needs. In a diverse workplace, differences exist, and people require support in different ways.

Equity acknowledges everyone has different needs, experiences, and opportunities, while diversity is central to innovation and brings forth new and better ways of doing things, it helps us to harness the benefits of technology and improve the efficiency and quality of our services. Inclusion is the key to unlocking this potential.

When we value workplace diversity and inclusion, we see benefits such as higher employee engagement, improved performance, greater innovation, retention of talent, improved employee wellbeing and lower levels of unlawful behaviour such as harassment and discrimination.

When we talk about diversity at Northern Health, we recognise and celebrate the many people who use and deliver our services and the different characteristics, backgrounds, abilities, beliefs and needs all create unique opportunities and challenges.

However, it is not enough to acknowledge and celebrate diversity. When we talk about inclusion, we are committing to work with this diversity, creating an open, respectful culture and directly involving people at all stages of their health care. Our goal is to reflect the diverse community we serve and create a workplace where everyone feels included.

We will embrace the individual skills, experiences and perspectives that our staff bring and harness these to deliver an improved patient experience and service delivery. Creating this is everyone’s responsibility and we invite you to actively participate in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion as a member of one of the five sub-committees or as a Champion.

If you wish to be involved in this work, please complete this short survey and our team will get in touch with you.

Michelle Fenwick
Executive Director, People and Culture

On Sunday, 23 May, Northern Health marched at Pride March to show support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and asexual (LGBTIQA+) community.

This is the second year Northern Health took part in the march as part of Pride in the North in collaboration with DPV Health, Nexus Health, Sunbury Cobaw Community Health, Kilmore District Health and Hume-Whittlesea Primary Care Partnership.

Electra Ulrich, co-chair of the LGBTIQA+ Working Group, took part in the march. She said as someone who identifies as part of the rainbow community, Pride March held an important personal meaning.

“I have gone to a number of Pride Marches when I was younger, and to be marching as part of my work at Northern Health, sends a message to the community, but also to one internally for me, that I can be myself at work, that I don’t need to hide and that I am accepted. I hope that other staff members and the consumers of our health service hear that too,” she said.

“It’s such an important message to give to our staff and community – that we respect and celebrate the rainbow community. The recent ‘Private Lives 3’ research in LGBTIQA+ health in Australia, conducted by La Trobe University, showed that 63.9 per cent of LGBTIQA+ people surveyed thought it was very important or extremely important that a health service is known to be LGBTIQA+ inclusive.”

“This is such an important message because unless we are proactively saying this, we cannot assume people know.”

Chrissy Nicolaidis, co-chair of the LGBTIQA+ Working Group, also marched on the day. She said it was an important message to the LGBTIQA+ community that health services are inclusive.

“We know that members of the LGBTIQA+ community don’t always feel safe accessing healthcare. We hope that health and community organisations in the north marching together to show our support will allow members of the community to feel more confident to access these services.”

Another marcher on the day, Sherrilyn Ballard, Consumer Participation Coordinator, said, “It was uplifting to march alongside my Northern Health colleagues as part of the Pride in the North group. I felt we were there to affirm our collective support and commitment to the LGBTIQA+ community members in accessing inclusive and safe services with us every day.”

Rachael Evans, Associate Director Dietetics, also took part in Pride March, and said the day was full of colour and fun.

“I was impressed with the wide cross section of organisations supporting Pride. I also like how Northern Health collaborates with partner organisations from Melbourne’s north. I think this adds strength and consistency to the messaging,” she said.

“It’s important for Northern Health to march at Pride March to publicly demonstrate that Northern Health actively supports LGBTIQIA+ staff and community members and to promote Northern Health as a safe and inclusive employer and healthcare provider for LGBTQIA+ staff and patients.”

If you are interested in being involved in the LGBTIQA+ Working Group, email LGBTQIA+Enquires@nh.org.au.

Featured image: Electra Ulrich and Chrissy Nicolaidis, co-chairs of the LGBTIQA+ Working Group

 

Simon Doyle, our new Director of Partnerships, has worked at many health services across the country, but he says the people at Northern Health are “particularly forward thinking” in designing how their services are run.

“I love hearing about pockets of innovation in different departments and hearing how passionate our people are about driving improvement. Part of my role is connecting these pockets across the organisation and with other external partners, and it’s great to see ideas become success stories,” Simon said.

Simon has been in the new role since February, but his Northern Health journey began in 2015 as an Emergency Medicine Registrar, after he moved to Australia from the UK. After three years at Northern Health, Simon decided to gain experience in healthcare management. Simon also works part time, one day a week, at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne as an Emergency Medicine Registrar.

“Before starting my role as Director of Partnerships, I worked as a Healthcare Management Consultant. This role took me around Australia and allowed me to be involved in some really progressive work which demonstrated what can be achieved in the public healthcare system,” Simon said.

“I gained experience in all kinds of healthcare management, from process and performance improvement to financial budgeting and strategic planning. I always knew I wanted to come back into healthcare itself, and the opportunity at Northern Hospital came at a perfect time. It’s great to be able to maintain both skillsets. I love the challenges that come with non-clinical roles in a busy health service, but I still love the hands-on patient care.”

“It’s great to be back at Northern Health and it’s fantastic to work with lots of familiar faces. Knowing lots of people made it really easy to transition back into life at Northern Health.”

A typical day for Simon tends to be busy meeting with internal and external stakeholders for a wide variety of projects.

“I meet regularly with partners such as primary health networks to understand how our priorities overlap and to design and deliver on projects that are mutually beneficial, and that help improve our shared patients’ experiences,” Simon said.

“Other partners include tech companies, education facilities, local councils, non-governmental organisations and other health services. The day tends to go very quickly, but it’s great to meet with such a wide variety of people from all kinds of backgrounds.”

Featured image: Simon Doyle, Director of Partnerships

Today is Crazy Socks 4 Docs Day, dedicated to breaking down the stigma around mental health in doctors. On this day, held every year on the first Friday of June, doctors and their colleagues wear their craziest socks to encourage conversations around mental health.

Dr Wanda Stelmach, Chief Medical Officer, said Crazy Socks 4 Docs Day reminds us to pause and think about our inner health, our friends and work mates.

“It’s hard to look after our health with all the pressure of work, but we need to get that balance between work, family and self. Take time each week to pause and reflect, and ask yourself what have you done to nurture yourself? Get together with friends and ask each other the same question! We’re there to support each other,” she said.

For Dr Dean Pritchard, Deputy Director Emergency Department, said Crazy Socks 4 Docs is a day for doctors to reflect on ourselves as humans — ordinary humans who have signed up to do extraordinary things.

“From the heat of resuscitation to the complexity of our wards – we soldier through to achieve the best for our patients. But rarely do we stop to check in on ourselves, heal our wounds, and understand the enormity of our role in patient’s lives,” he said.

This Crazy Socks 4 Docs Day, Dr Pritchard encourages everyone to wear their loudest socks with pride, on the outside.

“Keep doing the amazing work you do, speak up when you’re feeling low, and be there to support your team. Together, we can achieve extraordinary things!”

His colleague, Dr Rachael Coutts, Associate Director, Medical Education and Emergency Physician added: “Crazy Socks 4 Docs is also a day we get to say to our clinical staff – we see and hear you and acknowledge the work you do.” 

Stephen Whittaker, Wellbeing Team Leader, added: “The mental wellbeing of our doctors – and all staff in our health service – is of huge importance to us all at Northern Health. Without it, we cannot be the best we can be to provide the highest quality care needed for our patients. Crazy Socks 4 Docs Day is just one day where we can acknowledge the difficult nature of the work our doctors – and all staff – do at Northern Health. It’s a day where we say thank you for that incredible work and a day where we aim to make conversations about mental health and wellbeing a part of our every day.”

In collaboration with Northern Health Foundation, a local ethical sock manufacturer, ‘Soxy Beast’, generously donated their crazy socks, for the second year in a row.

Giuliano Pietrolungo, Soxy Beast Director, said it is the cause that resonates with his team and motivates the donation.

“We are donating almost 500 pairs of socks this year and we have nothing but admiration for hospital workers, and that was before we added to the mix a global pandemic. We applaud each and every one of you at Northern Health and greatly appreciate what you do. We are happy to be supporting the Crazy Socks 4 Docs Day. We hope that our socks add a bold splash of colour to the day, put smiles on faces and, most importantly, help to raise awareness surrounding the importance of mental health in medical staff,” Giuliano added.

To view the #CrazySocks4Docs gallery and to see the winner of the competition, please click here.

 

Increasingly hospitals are recognising the interaction between health care and environmental degradation and are attempting to break it.

This starts with an awareness around the ‘inputs’ and ‘outputs’ of a hospital i.e. energy, water and consumables go in, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste come out.

The waste coming out of a hospital has impacts on the air, water and land and this, in turn, has impacts on public health, leading to increased health care provision requirements. The cycle goes on.

Reducing the environmental impact our operational activities have on the environment can increase staff morale and ultimately contribute to the health of our community.

Since July last year, Northern Health has recycled 321 kilograms fluorescent tubes, 5,742 kilograms  wooden pallets, (320 actual pallets), 300 kilograms toners, 3,325 kilograms mattresses (119 actual mattresses), 848 kilograms of  PVC, 850 kilograms of Kimguard, 9,409 kilograms of organics, 26,300 kilograms of metal and 16,088 kilograms of e-waste.

Sandra Molinaro, Manager Support Services at Northern Health, says, “To date, this financial year, we are tracking at 37.5 per cent recycling. Northern Health has already diverted 63,683 kilograms from landfill, which is almost double from the previous year. We have had a cost saving of $30,000. In the 2019/20 financial year, we saved $15,000.”

“This has resulted in Northern Health diverting 45 large skips of waste away from landfill and the waste either recycled, donated or repurposed.”

World Environment Day is celebrated annually on 5 June and encourages worldwide awareness and action to protect our environment. This year’s theme is ‘Ecosystem Restoration’.

Northern Health is asking our staff to pledge their support and commitment to minimising waste for at least one day. This can be done by changing your own bin or, better yet, taking your waste home with you, bringing in a reusable coffee mug and remembering to turn off lights and computer when not in use.

Says Sandra, “These small changes can have a big impact!”

Featured image shows Sandra Molinaro with polystyrene boxes awaiting recycling.