Recently, there have been a number of cyber-attacks on prominent service providers – from telcos to health insurance providers.

These breaches resulted in personal data including names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers, and email addresses of millions of users being exposed.

Ironically, many of them happened during Cyber Security Awareness Month.

The sobering fact is that there may be more. The Australian Cyber Security Centre received 67,500 reports in the 2020-21 financial year – up 13 per cent from the previous year. That is roughly one report every eight minutes.

Our Chief Information Officer, David Calvo, tells us that as a sector reliant on technology, we are just as vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

“Hospitals are increasingly reliant on computer systems to store and manage patient records, schedule appointments, and communicate with patients and other healthcare providers,” said David.

“However, these systems are also vulnerable to cyber-attacks that could jeopardise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of patient data. A breach could result in the disclosure of sensitive patient information, the disruption of hospital operations and the loss of patient trust.”

“We all play a role in preventing this from happening and awareness is the best way for staff to understand how to protect their patients’ information from being accessed or stolen,” David said.

Northern Health provides a cyber security training module with this in mind, found here. The training module gets updated regularly to ensure Northern Health keeps up to date with the latest threats, like scams or phishing attacks. Phishing starts with a fraudulent email or other communication that is designed to lure a person into clicking on a link or giving personal information. The message is made to look as though it comes from a trusted sender.

The training helps our staff to understand how to protect themselves and our health service from online threats. It also helps to raise awareness of the importance of cyber security in the workplace.

The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) team is working in conjunction with the Department of Health to run a phishing awareness campaign that will commence in the coming months, to educate our staff on how to identify emails that could create a security breach.

Registrations are now open to staff for the Speaking Up for Safety (SUFS) program.

The SUFS program is a series of one-hour workshops designed to equip staff with the skills and confidence to escalate concerns around patient and/or staff safety with assertiveness and respect. The program aims to build and normalise a culture where we feel comfortable to check on each other, and to welcome being checked on, with the aim of preventing unintended harm.

Bianca Fazzari, People Experience Business Partner, People and Culture, said, “creating a culture of safety where staff feel empowered and comfortable to raise concerns is essential at Northern Health. The Safety CODE (Checks, Options, Demands, Elevates) is a proactive tool that enables staff to speak up before mistakes happen to prevent unintended harm to patients and/or staff.”

Working in partnership with the Cognitive Institute to deliver an evidence-based model that enables staff to raise safety concerns, Northern Health will roll out Speaking Up for Safety workshops. These workshops will enable staff to explore ethical considerations that may impact them as they consider the decision to speak up for safety, as well as improve confidence, skills and develop a common language, using the Safety CODE to speak up for safety with collegiate communication as a first approach.

The workshops will be delivered face-to-face across Northern Hospital Epping, Broadmeadows Hospital, Bundoora Centre and Craigieburn Centre over the next 12-18 months by 15 Northern Health employees who have been accredited to deliver the program.

“We strongly encourage all staff to attend the workshops so that we can build a culture where everybody feels comfortable to speak up for safety. Doing so is critical to the delivery of quality patient care and a positive employee experience,” Bianca said.

For registrations and further information on the program, please visit the Intranet.

Featured image: Some of the Northern Health SUFS trainers.

Tomorrow is International Pathology Day (IPD). The day was first marked in Sydney 10 years ago, and has continued to grow in popularity within the international pathology and medical community.

As part of the celebration, Royal College of Pathologists Australasia is revisiting milestones in pathology from the last decade. You can find more information here.

Pathology plays a critical role in healthcare and is a medical specialty in its own right. It is something all doctors and nurses rely on to determine the cause and nature of diseases by examining and testing body tissues and bodily fluids (e.g. blood, urine). Pathology also helps in preventing diseases, and almost 1,000 pathology tests are performed every minute in Australia.

The importance of pathology became even more clear during the COVID-19 pandemic, following a massive increase in swab collection sites and testing capacity. Victoria reached 92,262 tests per day in December 2021, and Northern Pathology Victoria (NPV) performed 2,136 tests in a 24-hour period.

“Bringing pathology in-house has greatly improved the quality of care we can offer. This was evident in the excellent PCR turnaround times during the early periods of the pandemic,” said A/Prof. Prahlad Ho, Divisional Director-Cancer Services and Specialist Clinics, Program Director-Diagnostic Services.

Pathology also plays a critical role in advancing medicine and improving patient outcomes, as both a diagnostic service and by supporting clinical research.

NPV collects samples from pregnant women at Northern Health for the whole-of-state Generation Victoria research project, which aims to create a large group dataset for future discovery and interventional research. Our scientists have also presented at national scientific meetings, such as the Australasian Association for Clinical Biochemistry (Rachelle Liwayan on using a web application to assist clinicians in screening for primary aldosteronism) and Australian Society of Microbiology (Mikayla Kingston on a case of Echinococcus and H. pylori).

In addition, NPV supports the various cancer clinical trials running at Northern Health.

To further support our community, NPV opened a new collection centre at Mill Park in June 2022. The Epping Collection Centre is also open on Sunday mornings from 9 am to 1 pm.

NPV will have a table in the Northern Hospital Epping front foyer tomorrow morning, where you can meet the team while helping yourself to some tasty treats!

Today, the Bundoora Aged Persons Mental Health Unit (APMHU) and Assessment and Treatment Services (APATT) transferred to Northern Health.

From today, Northern Health will be providing the assessment of, and treatment for, all persons at the APMHU and APATT.

The Royal Commission emphasised the importance of services being more closely aligned with their local major public hospital, and the communities in which they reside, including residential aged care facilities. For the APMHU and APATT, this is Northern Health.

For consumers, there will be no change to the care they receive and the services they access. Northern Health and The Royal Melbourne Hospital are working together to ensure a seamless transfer process, with the aim of ensuring that the staffing arrangements remain unchanged.

As Lynette Stephens, APATT Service Manager, said, “We are about to shift under a progressive network, and step out as Northern Health’s aged mental health service.” Read more here.

Belinda Scott, Executive Director, Mental Health, is excited, “about the challenges and the opportunity to be involved in the reform of the service system for consumers experiencing mental ill health and their families and carers.”

“I am also thrilled at the opportunity to lead an amazing team to improve outcomes for consumer, carers and families,” she adds.

Join us in welcoming the teams from APMHU and APATT!

 

Main image shows Karen, Mental Health Nurse, and patient.

Kirralee Jensen, Bundoora Centre Director of Nursing, has just returned from flood-affected Euroa and Echuca. She led a team of fourteen nurses across four different Melbourne metropolitan hospitals, to support our regional health services. Five of the fourteen staff, Crystal Devenish, Kylie Pratt, Maddison Ryan, Mary Palapathwala, and Shamini Ramananthan are nurses from Northern Health.

“It was outstanding to see the response from Northern Health, Austin Health, St Vincent’s Hospital and Royal Melbourne Hospital,” said Kirralee.

The nurses were first deployed to Euroa Health. Over 65 per cent of Euroa Health staff were impacted by floods and road closures, resulting in them being unable to attend work. The presence of metropolitan nursing staff meant that patients and residents at Euroa Health could safely be cared for.

“Reflecting on our time in Euroa, we all felt honoured to be able to assist our regional colleagues during this time. From the first day of our arrival, we were warmly welcomed by the Euroa team, as well as the Euroa community, and we experienced country hospitality at its best.  It was a collaboration of city and country nurses, working towards the same goal of delivering safe care to the patients and residents at Euroa Health. It was a privilege to lead such an amazing and dedicated team of staff,” said Kirralee.

Following ten days in Euroa, the Northern Heath team continued on to Echuca Regional Health, a town severely affected by the current flood crisis.

“Although Echuca’s staffing was less acute by the time we arrived, it was a heart-warming experience to spend the time at a regional hospital with very dedicated staff. The devastation and destruction of flood waters was obvious as we drove through Rochester and arrived in Echuca. The loss people have experienced and endured during the crisis is immeasurable. It is just heartbreaking,” Kirralee said.

“I feel both honoured and privileged to have been able to help both Euroa and Echuca during these times. To be able to contribute positively to affected communities and lead a team of compassionate and dedicated nurses willing to go above and beyond their usual roles can be listed as a highlight in my nursing career. I would like to thank ‘Team Northern’, Crystal, Maddison, Kylie, Mary and Shamini for their commitment and compassion, and the outstanding care they delivered during their time at Euroa and Echuca,” said Kirralee.

“You all displayed the importance of our Northern Health values of safe, kind and together, each and every day, thank you!”

Main image shows from left to right – Maddison Ryan, Mary Palapathwala, Kirralee Jensen, Shamini Ramananthan, Kylie Pratt and Crystal Devenish.

 

 

Next Monday, we officially welcome the staff of the Kath Atkinson Wing (KAW), Aged Persons Mental Health Unit and the Aged Psychiatry Assessment and Treatment Team (APATT).

Today we speak to Stav Ropkas, Acting NUM, Aged Persons Mental Health Unit (APMHU) and  Lynette Stephens, APATT Service Manager on their role in the transition.

Stav sees her role as manager as “providing leadership and ensuring high quality of care for consumers in our 15 bed aged person’s acute mental health unit”.  Lynette says that to be the APATT service manager is a privilege. She says, “My role is to support my team to ensure we continue to deliver the best care outcomes for our consumers and their carers.”

It is not an easy role and Stav admits that, on occasions, it can be overwhelming. Lynette sees the challenge as “supporting and leading clinicians as we move though change.” She adds, “Despite the present staffing crisis across Victoria, we are a team committed to achieving the best outcomes for our consumers.”

A typical day for Stav, starts with, “Meeting in the morning with a multidisciplinary team to discuss best plan of care for the consumer,”.  Lynette says it is “juggling a few hats” and “supporting colleagues clinically when required, so we can continue to deliver a great service.”

What excites Stav the most about her role, is, “Working with a great team who work well together. I am learning something new every day.”

For Lynette it is the fact that, “We are about to shift under a progressive network and step out as the Northern Health’s aged mental health service.”

“It is an exciting time to step out as Northern Health’s own older persons specialised mental health service based at Bundoora Centre,” says Lynette.

A warm welcome to Stav, Lynette and the teams from Kath Atkinson Wing (KAW), Aged Mental Health Unit and the Aged Psychiatry Assessment and Treatment Team (APATT).

For today’s ‘Get to know’ profile, we caught up with Steve Manolas, the new Director of General Surgery.

What is your coffee order?

I usually have a flat white.

Tell us about your time/career so far at Northern Health?

I have been part of Northern Health and PANCH’s history since 1991. Initially, I started as a senior Registrar/Fellow, and then went on to become a general surgeon.

During this time, I started an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) service at PANCH, which continued at Northern Health from 1998.

Although initially my work was very general, I had an interest in thyroid surgery. When I became Head of Unit for Surg 3, I developed this unit into the Endocrine Surgical Unit with Upper GI, under the same umbrella.

As the Director of General Surgery, what does a working day look like for you?

This role has very quickly expanded my understanding of the hospital processes behind the scenes. I have a new understanding of all the effort that goes in to supporting the clinical side that we sometimes take for granted.

What are you looking forward to the most in this new role?

I am very interested in helping General Surgery expand and build on the good work that has been done so far.

What was your career before Northern Health?

I spent my junior years in medicine at Western Hospital, then at Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital for all my surgical training.

After my Fellowship, I spent about two years in Gloucester, England, developing my ERCP skills and progressing my endocrine interests.

I then returned to PANCH in 1991, and subsequently Northern Health.

If you could describe Northern Health in one sentence, what would it be?

Northern Health has been a friendly and supportive place to work, and this is due to the people that we work with every day, from the front desk staff, cleaners, nurses, and colleagues – you enjoy coming into work.

The recent floods in Victoria pose a risk of increased mosquito breeding.

Mosquitoes can carry a number of diseases that can make people very ill and, in severe cases, can even cause death.

Simple precautions can help protect you and your loved ones against mosquitoes and the diseases they may carry.

Cover up by wearing long, loose-fitting clothing as mosquitoes can bite through tight clothing. Use repellents that contain picaridin or DEET on all exposed skin. Use mosquito nets or insect screens. Use ‘knockdown’ fly spray, mosquito coils or plug-in repellent where you gather to sit or eat. Limit outdoor exposure and move indoor if possible. If you are on holidays, make sure your accommodation is fitted with mosquito netting or screens.

Children are also vulnerable to mosquito bites. It is important they wear long, loose-fitting clothing when outdoors, and apply a thin even layer of mosquito repellent to all exposed skin, avoiding hands, eyes and mouth. Choose a lower strength repellent for young children and babies – no more than 20 per cent picaridin or DEET. Parents can drape a mosquito net over prams, stroller or infant carriers.

Mosquitoes can breed in even the tiniest amount of stagnant water. It is best to stay away from these places. If you are in a place where this is stagnant water – taking part in recovery efforts for instance – make sure you wear long, loose-fitting clothes and use repellents.

Elisha O’Dowd, Nurse Unit Manager, Infection Prevention and Surveillance, said, “Three years of La Nina weather patterns have triggered a rise in population of mosquitoes and vector-borne diseases. As we approach more rainy, warm weather, it is vitally important to protect ourselves and our families,” she said.

Associate Professor Joe Rotella said, “Prevention is key. For families who enjoy the great outdoors, consider travelling to areas further removed from the floods to minimise exposure to mosquitoes and possible disease. Furthermore, be mindful that mosquitoes will be more prevalent around local streams and creeks that may have increased in size after heavy rainfall.”

“Symptoms of diseases spread by mosquito include fever, headache, rash and sore/swollen joints. If you attend mosquito-prone areas and then develop these symptoms, please see your GP. Alternatively, you can speak to the Victorian Virtual ED here.”

To learn more about how you can protect yourself and your family, click here.