October 2021
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Happy Birthday Virtual ED!
Our Virtual Emergency Department (ED) Triage service, an Australian-first, is celebrating its 1st birthday. At its launch a year ago, Dr Loren Sher, Emergency Physician, explained this service will enable patients to talk to our ED nurses and doctors from their home or work. “If a patient has a non-life-threatening emergency, they can connect virtually with our ED staff, who will be able to provide medical advice,” she explained at the launch. Patients living in Northern Health’s catchment area, as well as local General Practitioners (GPs), benefit from this service. The service has now expanded its working hours and is…
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Malnutrition rates significantly reduced
Malnutrition Week Australia New Zealand (ANZ) is marked from 4 – 8 October 2021, with the goal to ‘help fight malnutrition by getting involved and raising awareness’. Northern Health has made significant gains in identifying and managing patients at malnutrition risk. This week is an opportunity to celebrate our achievements in reducing malnutrition prevalence amongst our inpatients. Steph Yap, Dietitian, explained that for the last three years, the dietetics department has undertaken malnutrition prevalence studies to understand how many of our inpatients are malnourished at one point in time. “Malnutrition rates have significantly decreased across both the acute and subacute…
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Mindfulness sessions are back
This is a unique time for all of us, and that is why it is important to take extra care of our wellbeing and mental health. To support you on that journey, the Wellbeing team are excited to announce virtual “Collective pause” mindfulness sessions. These expert-led sessions start from today, 5 October, and will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, at alternating morning and afternoon times. The first mindfulness session will be the all familiar ‘TREAT Rest and Recovery’, led by Jo Gibbs, who will guide staff through a gentle movement and rest practice, aimed at providing relaxation, fatigue management…
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Working together to beat COVID-19
Jacqui Harper, Nurse Unit Manager (NUM) COVID Ward 20 at Northern Hospital Epping, spoke at the Victorian Premier’s COVID-19 media conference on Sunday, along with Michelle Spence, NUM Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH). Jacqui and Michelle were invited to help spread the word on the importance of being fully vaccinated. ‘‘COVID-19 is a terrible illness,’’ Jacqui said. ‘‘The patients we see coming into our hospitals are seriously, seriously ill. The clinical deterioration is so sudden.’’ Jacqui said she’s witnessed patients go from “sitting in a chair one minute” to saying their goodbyes an hour later. “They…
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It’s thunderstorm asthma season
Spring is here, and this favourite season often brings thunderstorms and pollen in the air. During grass pollen season, from October through to December, people may notice an increase in asthma and hay fever. These months also bring the chance of thunderstorm asthma. Kirin Channa, Emergency Physician, explained thunderstorm asthma is thought to be triggered by a unique combination of high amounts of grass pollen in the air and a certain type of thunderstorm. “For people who have asthma or hay fever, this can trigger severe asthma symptoms. This can become very severe, very quickly and many people may require…