August 2021
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Peripheral Parenteral Nutrition (PPN) rolled out at Northern Hospital
Last week, Peripheral Parenteral Nutrition (PPN) was rolled out at Northern Hospital Epping, on Ward 16 and the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Stella Mexias, Dietitian, explained the new service aims to reduce malnutrition in patients, and complications associated with it, such as increased length of stay. “We have rolled out Peripheral Parenteral Nutrition (PPN), which is different than Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN). PPN is used for patients who may not be tolerating oral diet or enteral nutrition (e.g. NG feeds) or when there is a delay in TPN commencing. Patients can receive nutrition without delay or a top-up while their…
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New FollowMe desktop is here
A new, faster FollowMe desktop is coming to Northern Health staff, commencing from tonight at 6 pm (Friday). David Ryan, CIO, explained the new desktops will be based on Windows 10, compared to the current ones which are running Windows 7, and are expected to work faster, reduce any lagging and will also be able to run Microsoft Teams. The log-in page will also have a new look. “A better user experience is coming, along with up-to-date software and latest Office apps and integrated MS Teams. The new desktop will also be more compliant and more secure. The users that…
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New operating theatres now open at Northern Hospital
Last week, three new operating theatres, including one hybrid theatre, became operational at Northern Hospital Epping. The new theatres and new recovery area, which was opened on 19 July, form part of the Stage 2 Northern Hospital Expansion Project. The new theatres are large, state of the art and are all set up for video conferencing for teaching purposes – equipped with the latest technology, including fluid warmers. Our brand new hybrid theatre is also state of the art, set up for continual radiology screening with C-arm and a control room. The new recovery area is now set up to…
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Our haematology in Top 5 Australian research
The 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis brought together thousands of the world’s leading experts on thrombosis, haemostasis and vascular biology. Held online in mid-July, the conference saw presentations from all over the world, with two of Northern Health’s presentations recognised as “Top 5 Australian Research” by ‘The Limbic’. Dr Brandon Lui, a resident at Northern Health, was one of the participants at the conference. He started here as a student in 2017 and, in his final year, commenced research with the Haematology Department. “The conference we presented at one of the main conferences…
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Nursing & Medical: What will the EMR mean for me?
The second ‘sprint’ of our Electronic Medical Record (EMR) project was recently completed on 23 July. More than 100 workshops and meetings were held over this second sprint since 31 May 2021. With the implementation of the EMR, it is critical that the EMR system is designed and built to be ‘fit for purpose’ for us in providing exceptional care to our patients. By adopting the iterative approach in these workshops, this allowed our Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to see the clinical workflows incrementally, as they are being built. This approach has the advantage that potential risks or concerns can…
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h-trak live at Broadmeadows Hospital
h-trak is a fully integrated system in a handheld device that records prostheses and procedure codes in real time. It is an ordering system for prostheses in theatres, and it improves ordering, tracking and management of stock by removing manual processes. The system was implemented at Northern Hospital Epping Operating Theatres in June and is now going live at Broadmeadows Hospital Operating Theatres. Debbi Strappazzon, Acting Nurse Unit Manager, Operating Theatres, said the system will reduce the amount of paperwork used by staff. “Staff can actually scan the prostheses at the point of a patient’s operation, so they are not…