January 2020
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Northern Health welcomes 2020 graduate nurses and midwives
Many new faces have been warmly welcomed to Northern Health, as 52 graduate nurses and midwives begin their careers today. Following a record number of applications received for Northern Health’s 2020 Graduate Nursing and Midwifery Programs, a total of 124 graduates will start throughout the year. This is a special year to begin their nursing careers, as 2020 is the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife – a year to recognise and showcase the crucial roles nurses and midwives have in the community to improve the health and wellbeing of patients and their families. Northern Health Chief Nursing…
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Grant success: CMAC device arrives to Anaesthesia
With the help of Northern Health Foundation, the Department of Anaesthesia has successfully obtained a grant for the CMAC video laryngoscope. Dr David Tsang, Anaesthetist, said the idea for applying for a CMAC, a device used to safely manage airways, came as a result of the need to provide timely help across the whole hospital. “One of the greatest challenges in airway management are usually not within theatre itself, but in other departments, like emergency and intensive care. In those departments, they already use CMAC, which is different from what we were using in theatre, so the idea was that…
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Giant Steps for innovation at Northern
At the recent Giant Steps Conference, our HRO Project Manager, Ariana Carrodus, presented on innovation in health care and our Ideas Lab. The Giant Steps 2019 – Towards better, safer care is a two-day health care quality and safety event, aimed at those who are interested in finding better and safer ways to deliver health care in Victoria. Ariana, who leads the Ideas Lab at Northern Health, says we are the only public health service in Victoria to have an Ideas Lab and people are interested to hear how it works. “The title of my presentation was, ‘What it takes…
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Our HRO and safety highlights
As an Executive Director of Quality, Safety and Transformation, I am proud to say 2019 was a big year for our organisation when it comes to the number of safety initiatives we have implemented. Not only has the year consolidated our understanding of a High Reliability Organisation (HRO) as it applies in the Australian health care setting and specifically, at Northern Health, but it has also delivered some significant initiatives that bring us closer to becoming a highly reliable organisation and achieving our goal of Trusted Care for our community. We’ve achieved many goals so far, but our journey is…
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New Outpatient Symptom Management Clinic at Bundoora Centre
The Northern Health Integrated Palliative Care Service now offers an outpatient Symptom Management Clinic, operating fortnightly at Bundoora Centre. The clinic is suitable for patients with an advanced and/or life-limiting condition who would benefit from specialist palliative care involvement such as linking in with a community palliative care team, optimising symptom management or facilitating psychosocial support and end-of-life decision making. The clinic is run in association with the Banksia Community Palliative Care Service and is funded by a grant from the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services. The clinic hopes to make it easier for patients with palliative care…
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March with Pride this February
This February, Northern Health are partnering with local organisations to celebrate Pride in the North! Along with DPV Health, Hume Whittlesea Primary Care Partnership, Nexus Community Health and The Kilmore and District Hospital, all staff, friends and family are invited to march together as part of Pride March Melbourne on Sunday 2 February. The first Melbourne Pride March was held in 1996, in St Kilda, with the aim to celebrate LGBTQIA+ in the community in a local and free event. This year the March will celebrate its 25th Anniversary. As part of the event, buses will provide free transport to…
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Northern Health staff supporting bushfire relief
“The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.” – Barack Obama Bushfires continue to threaten large areas of the Victorian community, with months of the bushfire season still ahead. Northern Health is proud of the number of staff helping out in the frontline, (see story here), and there are many others also keen to contribute in other ways to the affected communities. One key initiative was a morning tea fundraiser held on…
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Welcome 2020 interns!
This week, 40 new junior doctors commenced as medical interns at Northern Health. Dr John Ferguson, Chief Medical Officer, who warmly welcomed our new interns, said, “We are delighted to have them join us – they bring a wide range of backgrounds and the passion and commitment we are already seeing. We are very excited with this intake and we look forward to making them feel part of Northern Health.” Dr Carol Chong, Intern Training Supervisor, said she is very happy to welcome the interns. “The interns come from various clinical schools, including our own at Northern Health. The interns…