Dr Adam Semciw, Associate Professor of Allied Health, was recently awarded funding from the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) to develop a digital care pathway for patients attending the Emergency Department (ED) with back pain.

In collaboration with the Northern Health Allied Health Department, the Clinical Leadership, Effectiveness and Outcomes (CLEO) team and the School of Allied Health at La Trobe University, $149,000 has been allocated as part of the TAC’s Value-Based Healthcare Grant towards Dr Semciw’s project – ‘Co-design, implementation and evaluation of an innovative digital care pathway for patients presenting to the Emergency Department with back pain.’

“Back pain is a debilitating condition affecting one in six Australians, and is the second leading cause of disease burden,” Dr Semciw said.

“Our research responds to the urgent need for cost-effective, accessible, inclusive digital solutions in healthcare. Our study aims to co-develop, implement and evaluate a digital care pathway for back pain patients, including transport accident victims, who present to the ED at Northern Health, and are seen in our Northern Health Back Pain Hot Clinic.”

The project will undertaken in two phases, with phase one involving co-design and development.

“We will conduct a series of co-design workshops. Health practitioners, other health system workers and people seeking care for back pain in the ED will be engaged,” Dr Semciw said.

“Workshops will focus on understanding the lived experience of people with back pain and explore the acceptability, barriers, enablers and required adaptions of implementing a digital care pathway. We will also aim to understand the different types of educational resources that patients with back pain may benefit from engaging with.”

Phase two of the project involves implementation and evaluation.

“Patients will be tracked along their care journey and patient-reported outcomes (PROMs) will be collected over 12 weeks. Experiences will be collected from all participants to determine demand and acceptability using surveys,” Dr Semciw said.

“Semi-structured interviews will be conducted on a subset of participants to establish richer information on barriers and facilitators on this digital model of care.”

Approximately 1,700 patients with back pain present to the Northern Hospital Epping ED each year. Dr Semciw says the project will enable healthcare providers to work together with patients to determine an individualised treatment plan, which can potentially lead to faster and better recovery from low back pain.

“Patients with back pain are notoriously difficult to manage for a number of reasons, including the need to assess for and exclude life-threatening causation such as a ruptured aortic aneurism,” he said.

“Gaining more insight into what matters for patients is a key focus for this collaboration. Having more objective data on this will allow us to tailor further resources accordingly.”

The multi-disciplinary and multi-institution collaboration between the Allied Health Department and CLEO team at Northern Health, and the School of Allied Health at La Trobe University is an important aspect of the project.

“An innovative back pain clinic developed and run by Northern Health Physiotherapists Tom Collins and Nicole Alousis, provides a fantastic opportunity to develop and test such a platform, and aligns with a priority patient group for the TAC,” Dr Semciw said.

“They have teamed up with Dr Katharine See and Tracey Webster from the recently established CLEO team at Northern Health. The CLEO team have experience rolling out digital care pathways across other departments in Northern Health. Rounding out the team are our professional researchers and evaluators including myself as well as Dr Matthew King who formerly served on the clinical panel at the TAC, and our expert back pain researcher, Associate Professor Andrew Hahne. We have recently employed a Research Assistant (Milly Bell, La Trobe U) who will use her qualitative research experience during focus groups and workshops.”

“Together, we were able to develop a plan for implementation that was funded by the TAC.”

Featured image: L-R back row: Professor Andrew Hahne, Physiotherapy Discipline Lead and expert Back Pain Researcher, La Trobe University, Milly Bell, Research Assistant for BackTrac, La Trobe University, Dr Matthew King, Lecturer in Physiotherapy, La Trobe University, Dr Katharine See, Chief Health Outcomes Officer – CLEO, Natalie Tirant Executive Assistance – CLEO

L-R front row: Nicole Alousis, Physiotherapist, Back Pain Hot Clinic, Northern Health (Allied Health), Dr Adam Semciw, Associate Professor of Allied Health, La Trobe University and Northern Health (Allied Health), Elisha O’Dowd Effectiveness & Outcomes Manager – CLEO, Tracey Webster Director CLEO.

This morning, 145 Northern Health staff, Board members and guests gathered at Mantra Epping to celebrate International Women’s Day 2023.

Attendees were welcomed by Northern Health Executive Director, Pina Di Donato, who highlighted the importance of the event as an opportunity to discuss equal access to healthcare for our local community.

“Northern Health is always working towards fixing the gaps in the care provided to women in our region; equality isn’t a ‘nice to have’ – it’s a ‘must have’,” she said.

Among those in attendance was the Hon. Mary-Anne Thomas, Minister for Health, who spoke about the diverse and growing community in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, as well as acknowledging the challenges the pandemic has had on Northern Health over the past few years.

“I firmly believe that it’s my job to work with senior healthcare leaders to ensure we deliver equitable care to every woman. I want to ensure that our nurses, allied health staff and clinicians all have the opportunity to grow their careers so this can happen. We dedicate a lot of money and effort training our highly qualified nurses, and then about seven years in, or after they have children, they fall off a cliff. We need to look at this workforce and see what is making it so difficult for them to continue to utilise this expertise,” she said.

Ms Thomas also reiterated the importance of access to high-quality healthcare for women and the Victorian state government’s commitment to creating 20 new women’s health clinics that will provide comprehensive care for Victorians needing treatment and advice on issues like endometriosis, pelvic pain and menopause.

“We’ve come a long way in women’s health, but there is more to do – that’s why we will deliver new women’s health clinics, more sexual and reproductive health hubs and double the number of endometriosis surgeries,” she said.

Northern Health’s Operations Director, Outpatients, Kathryn Bartho, shared her touching cancer survival story with guests, recounting her diagnosis in January 2020 at age 32 and the journey of receiving treatment at her own workplace.

“I was lying in bed and felt a lump in my breast, so as a nurse I knew I had to get it checked out. My GP sent me for an ultrasound and during the ultrasound I kept asking “why are you clicking?” and “are you measuring something?”…I just knew she was clicking too much,” she said.

“I felt lost, confused and numb after my diagnosis. Within five weeks of finding that lump, I received my first chemotherapy session with my husband by my side, however due to COVID restrictions, he was one of the few people able to be with me throughout. The rest of my support team was made up of the amazing oncology doctors and nurses, holding my hand and being with me the whole time.”

Ms Bartho spoke glowingly of the care she received at Northern Health, telling how she was able to receive chemotherapy in the comfort of her own home and was able to work from home throughout her treatment.

“The journey was a rollercoaster. Seven weeks into my treatment, I succumbed to my hair loss and shaved my head, as did my husband in solidarity with me. I think it’s important to acknowledge that, in a global comparison, my cancer experience is unique, and that not all women have what I have. I’ve been very lucky to be surrounded by strong women all my life and encouraged to achieve, grow and learn at every opportunity,” she said.

“International Women’s Day is about celebrating women across the globe and the main message I want people to walk away with today is surround yourself with people that allow you to be you, that want to share in your success and celebrate your achievements. As women, standing together united we can achieve greatness.”

Pictured: Attendees at the Northern Health Foundation International Women’s Day event.

The Kath Atkinson Age Geriatric, Assessment and Management Unit (KAW GEM), is one of two units, along with the Kath Atkinson Wing Older Adults Mental Health Inpatient Unit, based in the Kath Atkinson Wing – KAW AGE at Bundoora Centre.

The unit is named in recognition of the outstanding contribution from Kathleen Atkinson to the former Bundoora Extended Care Centre (BECC). In 1972, Ms Atkinson worked tirelessly to help raise funds to build BECC, and in 1973, she formed the Preston Auxiliary, of which she was President.

The KAW GEM unit is a unique, 15-bed secure specialist geriatric assessment unit that provides care for individuals who are experiencing cognitive decline and medical illness.

The unit’s multidisciplinary team believe that care should be directed towards assisting the individual to regain a level of independence best suited to them. The staff are committed to providing quality care with an innovative approach.

KAW GEM NUM, Leanne Shannon says she is very proud to work with an amazing team.

“The nurses on the ward demonstrate patience, creativity and empathy in their approach to problem solving and patient care. This prevents escalation to behavioural crisis. The allied health team are thorough and practical and our expert neuropsychologists provide amazing support and management strategies,” she said.

“What happens as a result is a kind of magic. Where else would you find a senior nurse supporting a junior nurse while ballroom dancing with a patient, or a spontaneous chair aerobics class led by allied health and attended by smiling, giggling patients previously admitted from their residential care facilities due to unmanageable behaviours.”

The pandemic created some challenging times for the staff at KAW GEM, with patients having to be isolated and some not being able to comprehend why they were unable to see their loved ones. During this time, the staff implemented innovative ways to assist with communication, such as video chats with patients’ families.

KAW Occupational Therapist, Renee Catton, said the care provided is a very good example of patient-centred multidisciplinary care.

“Having video access during the pandemic was instrumental in providing comfort to patients. During this time, staff were all wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) and lost their human appearance, and for people with dementia that was incredibly difficult to adjust to,” she said.

With new and exciting projects coming up, the KAW AGE GEM Unit is proud of initiating Tree of Care – a project aimed at highlighting Northern Health’s values and objectives via a tree on the wall with its leaves featuring positive statements.

The staff are also in the process of designing and implementing responsive behaviours quick reference flip cards, designed as an on-the-spot point of reference for health professionals and care staff who work with people with dementia. These cards will address 10 common behaviours and recommended assessments.

KAW GEM Dr Naba Waheed said working for the ward has been both challenging and extremely rewarding.

“The best thing about this ward is the amazing care provided by the nurses and the NUM. The leadership I have seen here is unlike any other,” said Dr Waheed.

 Thank you to our staff at KAW GEM for all your hard work and dedication!

The National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards provide a nationally consistent statement of the level of care consumers can expect from health service organisations. The primary aims of the Standards are to protect the public from harm and to improve the quality of health service provision.

Standard 2: Partnering with Consumers, together with Standard 1: Clinical Governance, underpin the principles and expectations of the eight NSQHS Standards. The standard recognises the importance of involving patients in their own care and providing clear communication to them, as part of shared decision-making and person-centred care.

“In health care decision-making we need to consider the health care options – the pros and cons of treatment, the patient, and what is important to them. Bringing these together creates shared decision-making and results in the best decision for the patient,” said the Shared Decision Making and Consent Standard 2 Subcommittee Chair, Anne Marie Fabri.

Anne Marie met with Northern Health patient, Verdiana Filippi, to explore her experience of shared decision-making.

Verdiana was diagnosed with breast cancer following the discovery of a breast lump.

As Verdiana talked about her journey from diagnosis to treatment, she described multiple occasions where clinicians engaged in shared decision-making, enabling Verdiana to partner with clinicians in decision-making.

Verdiana was able to make decisions for herself, in the context of her values and life circumstances. Trustworthy clinicians and trustworthy communications were important components of Verdiana’s care.

“I never felt overwhelmed, and they never used huge words that I can’t understand. If I don’t understand something I always asked. I never felt like they were not telling me things, not saying everything they should have said,” said Verdiana.

The surgeon explained the recommended surgery, showed Verdiana pictures of proposed surgeries and provided information to read later.

“He made sure he went through everything to make it as easy as possible,” she said.

By sharing her fears about needles and asking about options for minimising needle punctures, she felt listened to by staff who found ways to work with her on this.

“The person in charge, she looked after me like I was her own daughter. I told her I am very scared of needles. I asked if there’s a chance they can put in a cannula and do a blood test from there.  She spoke to one of the nurses and did everything in one go and so I just had one needle,” said Verdiana.

“The Breast Care Nurse came to see me just before the operation and she bought me a little bag of things and she asked, “Are you okay?” and, “Is there anything I can do?” So that makes you feel very looked after… and if I had any question, there was someone there I could ask for.”

Staff took the time to get to know Verdiana, learn what is important to her, what worried her and earnt her trust.

“All the people made me feel very taken care of and confident. I never felt rushed. They took their time, and they were compassionate, and they always made me feel like a normal person; not a sick patient,” she said.

To find out more about Northern ‘Standard 2 Partnering with Consumers’ at Northern Health, click here

Featured image: Verdiana Filippi 

#WeAreNorthern

Meet Nikolajs Zeps, Director of Research

Q: Tell us about your Northern Health journey?

 A: I first did some work at Northern Health in July 2021 as Consultant to review the research activities. This led to a report delivered in November 2022. I came back again in June 2022, to assist with completing some of the recommendations and in December 2022, the role of Director of Research was advertised. I saw a great opportunity to work with Northern at that time, so applied and was very happy to be selected to do the role.

 Q: How would you describe Northern Health?

A: It is a vibrant, growing health service, with a hugely talented and dedicated workforce, that delivers essential services to its community.

Q: If you weren’t a Director of Research, what would you be doing instead?

A: I really enjoy cycling, so probably doing that through the beautiful countryside of Australia, and possibly also France, Spain and Italy following the grand tours.

Q: What are some things people don’t know about you?

A: That’s quite a broad question. I imagine people think I am English by origin, but in fact my parents were refugees from Latvia after the Second World War, and I didn’t speak English until I was 5 years old.

Q: What is your favourite place you have visited and why?

A: I still love Australia the most. It has such diversity and natural beauty. I am very grateful to be living here. In Victoria, I particularly like the high country around Bright, but also the Otway forests and the area at the top of Wilson’s Prom.

Today, Northern Health virtually held the first Quarterly Staff Recognition Awards for 2023, to formally celebrate and acknowledge the amazing work of our staff.

We had an outstanding response from our staff, with a number of nominations received across seven categories. Today’s ceremony awarded winners from 2022 Quarter 4 (October – December).

Debra Bourne, Acting Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer, opened the ceremony by acknowledging the contributions of the more than 7,500 staff across the health service.

“Our staff work a wide range of areas, departments and sites and are all committed to providing great care to our community each and every day,” she said.

“I would like to thank all of our staff, who show up every day to care for our community and deliver excellent service to the northern catchment.”

“The number and standard of nominations for these awards were very high. I would like to acknowledge and congratulate all staff who received a nomination. Your work is appreciated and valued by all of us at Northern Health.”

Michelle Fenwick, Executive Director, People and Culture, presented the winners with their awards.

“I am extremely proud to work in an organisation where staff are passionate and kind and turn up to work every day to provide outstanding care to our patients and community. We thank you all for your hard work,” she said.

Kristin Southwell, Senior Respiratory Scientists, was presented with the Above and Beyond Award, for providing extra care or support to a patient, family or work colleague.

The Clinical Excellence Award, which recognises a clinician or clinical team who are generous with knowledge, instils confidence in patients and colleagues, and achieved the best patient outcomes, was presented to Vikki Hannah, Heart Failure Nurse Practitioner.

The Patient Experience Award, presented to an individual or team who has made a significant achievement in improving the care experience, including showing kindness and compassion towards a patient, family or work colleague, was awarded to Dennis Espinosa, Respiratory Nurse Consultant.

Midwives Melanie Alcorn and Melanie Riseley, took home the Excellence in Safety Award, for making Northern Health safer for patients, visitors or staff.

Debra Hutchinson, Junior Medical Workforce Manager, Kel D’Acri, Junior Medical Workforce Coordinator and Josh Wallace, Decision Support, were jointly awarded the Innovation Award for implementing a better way to deliver care or service through a new idea or initiative.

The Rising Star Award, presented to a staff member who has great potential to grow and develop in their career at Northern Health, was won by Daniel Cazon, Emergency Mental Health Clinician.

Lastly, the Education Award was presented to Nicole Psaila, Postgraduate Program Coordinator/Perioperative Clinical Nurse Educator, for having exceptional skills and passion to pass on knowledge to others either in a clinical or administrative environments.

During the presentation, viewers sent messages of congratulation to our award winners.

“Congratulations Kris! Thank you for all that you do for us!” – Lauren Tampaline.

“Congratulations Vikki!” – Alison Davies.

“Congratulations to the Medical Workforce Team – improved satisfaction for our JMOs greatly. Proud of the team!” – Kean Kuan.

“Congratulations Mel and Mel!” – Kate Duggan.

“Congratulations Dennis!” – Madonna Sanchez.

“Fantastic role model, well done Nicole!” – Yvette Sage.

“Congratulations Daniel! We are proud of you as our rising star!” – Belinda Scott.

Congratulations once again to all our award winners and nominees! The Quarterly Staff Recognition Awards are proudly sponsored by BankVic and Northern Health Foundation.

To watch the ceremony recording, please click here.

Featured image shows our winners. L-R top row: Kristen Southwell, Vikki Hannah, Kel D’Acri, Josh Wallace, Debra Hutchinson, Melanie Alcorn and Melanie Riseley.

L-R bottom row: Dennis Espinosa, Nicole Psaila and Daniel Cazon.

 

The Preadmission Clinic at Northern Hospital Epping has introduced a new business model, which will provide a significant increase in capacity and multidisciplinary care for patients awaiting elective surgery.

Located in the Community Health building, clinics will take place Monday to Friday, in a dedicated preadmission clinic space.

Under the new business model, patients who are awaiting elective surgery will be screened with a health questionnaire and assigned to a pathway that reflects their risk level in the perioperative period. For those patients who are having more involved surgery, they may need to attend one of the three levels of clinics under the new business model: high risk preadmission clinic, anaesthesia preadmission clinic and complex-decision making clinic.

The new Preadmission Clinic process is designed to increase the capacity and capability of the perioperative medicine service, ensuring patients are in the best possible health prior to surgery. The aim is to see fewer complications after surgery, get patients home sooner, and ensure a safe transition back to patients’ usual activities.

The new business model will achieve this by increasing clinic appointments by 50 per cent, more than doubling the number of consultant-lead clinics and introducing multidisciplinary team assessments in all clinics.

“We are excited to be joined by our pharmacy colleagues in preadmission clinic and are grateful for their guidance and expertise in the perioperative management of medications,” said Northern Health, Perioperative Medicine Lead, Jamie Mackay.

“Malnutrition is unfortunately very common among patients undergoing surgery and leads to a much greater risk of infection and poor wound healing. By including dieticians in the preadmission team, we can identify the patients at risk and ensure they have the best possible care to improve their nutrition at the time of their surgery.”

Northern Health, Deputy Director, Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Dr Amanda Baric, says that she is very excited to be part of this new model and she looks forward to better patient outcomes at Northern Health.

“This new preadmission model will allow for greater access to comprehensive assessment of our increasingly complex preoperative patients. The multidisciplinary model provides us with an opportunity to work with multiple disciplines to improve fitness for surgery and recovery after surgical care.”

“It’s been a privilege to be involved in the implementation of the first multidisciplinary preadmission clinic at Northern Health with the aim to provide safer, reliable and coordinated care for our preoperative community,” said Northern Health Active Elective Surgery Access Manager, Shan S Law.

Pictured: The Preadmission Clinic team 

At Northern Health, Support Services is the behind-the-scenes team that keep our health service functioning through cleaning, food service, waste management and so much more.

Support Services has a total of 380 EFT employees across four campuses, with the majority of staff based at Northern Hospital, followed by Broadmeadows Hospital, Bundoora Centre and Craigieburn Centre.

Amongst the hundreds of dedicated Support Services staff across our health service, is Ljuba Vulic.

Ljuba has been with the department for almost 50 years and is a valued member of the team.

“I love working with people, both staff and patients. I am very passionate about helping patients and the support I get from my manager and my colleagues keeps me coming to work every day. We are like one big family here,” she said.

“I first started working at Greenvale Geriatric Centre in 1973. Once Greenvale closed, I got relocated to Broadmeadows Hospital and have been here ever since. I worked for many years in the Palliative Care Unit before they relocated it to Northern Hospital. I used to work half-shifts between the kitchen and the wards, now I just work as a Patient Service Assistant (PSA).”

 The pandemic has had a huge impact on health services across Victoria, and for the Support Services team here at Northern Health, it brought many challenges, as well as achievements.

“We have become experts at flipping wards on very short notice,” said Greg Warman, Director Support Services.

“We transitioned all our cleaners and PSAs to heightened precautions for cleaning, in particular cleaning of high touch wards and public areas, including car parks and pay machines.”

During this time, the team provided ad-hoc COVID-19 cleaning services to all areas 24/7, as well as PPE spotters on each of the COVID wards and ED.

The department also provided staff for the Concierge Service and facilitated night meals to staff, as part of the State Government’s support for the healthcare workforce in recognition of ongoing demand pressures during the pandemic.

“To be honest, there wouldn’t be a hospital if any of the support service functions were to cease. No food delivered, no cleaning, no waste collection, no bed sheets or blankets,” said Greg.

“The Support Service staff are crucial in ensuring the health service provides safe and timely care to our patients.”

With Northern Health’s continuous growth over the years, the Support Services team has been involved in all the changes to date, such as opening the Main Ward Block in 2021 and relocating Day Oncology in 2022. The team assisted with setting up the wards ready to accept patients and moving patients into the wards.

The Support Services team is also working with the design teams for the expanded services at the Craigieburn Centre and the new Whittlesea Community Hospital.

Thank you to all our Support Services staff for all that you do for Northern Health!

Pictured the Support Services Management Team (from left to right): Saj Amerasinghe, Wendy Nicol, Greg Warman, Deb Clark, Steve Carnell, Sandra Molinaro, Miguel Barras