2021
-
Healthy meals on the menu
Northern Health patients now have more fresh and healthy meal varieties as our kitchen staff go live with cooking fresh vegetables in their new state of the art industrial kitchen, with three new steamers utilised for this purpose. Our food services department transitioned into the new kitchen in February, which was one of the first areas to open as part of the Stage 2 of the Northern Hospital Expansion Project. Tina Smith, ISS Catering Manager, said her team received feedback from patient surveys about what they would like to see on the menu in regards to fresh and healthier meal…
-
Interprofessional Passport for Allied Health students
Northern Health Allied Health students and graduates have access to an Interprofessional Passport, designed for students and early career clinicians across all professions including allied health, nursing and medical. The passport is a learner-led and clinically-based suite for interprofessional learning activities. It has been designed to help students and early career clinicians better understand their role, the role of others and how to work collaboratively in a team to deliver safe and trusted care to our community. Talin Gochian, Interprofessional Educator – Allied Health, highlighted the importance of interprofessional practice. “Today’s patients have increasingly complex needs. In order for us…
-
Looking ahead: How will the EMR change our ward rounds?
Northern Health staff are constantly adapting the way we conduct ward rounds to meet new and changing circumstances constantly. With the implementation of our Electronic Medical Record (EMR), the primary function and purpose of the ward rounds will not change with the EMR, but the tools our staff use to access and document information will be different. Currently, we may refer to various paper forms, such as medication chart, plan of care, and observation chart for decision making. One of the benefits that the EMR will bring is a more streamlined process of information retrieval. Other than holding information from…
-
Put lymphoma in the limelight
The community is encouraged to put lymphoma in the limelight during September, as part of Lymphoma Awareness Month. Yesterday also marked World Lymphoma Awareness Day, which is celebrated every year on 15 September to raise awareness of cancers of the lymphatic system. According to Lymphoma Australia – a charity dedicated to supporting lymphoma patients, carers and health professionals – there is a new lymphoma diagnosis every two hours in Australia. However, lymphoma is currently classed as a low priority cancer in Australia. Lymphoma Australia aims to improve community awareness to assist in early diagnosis and access to the best possible…
-
Meet your Wellbeing team
Northern Health has a new Wellbeing team that consists of three team members – Stephen Whittaker, Wellbeing Team Leader, Renee Camilleri, Wellbeing Advisor, and Casey O’Brien, Wellbeing Project Psychologist. The team will be working to implement initiatives throughout the organisation to Protect, Promote and Support our staff’s mental health and wellbeing, with the ultimate goal of giving our staff the best opportunity to THRIVE. Many of you would have seen the story on Stephen Whittaker back in June. Right now, the team are very focused on supporting staff in the midst of the current Covid-19 situation across Melbourne, making ‘Wellbeing…
-
World Sepsis Day: Stop sepsis, save lives
Yesterday was World Sepsis Day (WSD), an initiative by the Global Sepsis Alliance to spread community awareness about sepsis, and strategies in infection prevention and early recognition. WSD is held on 13 September every year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against sepsis. Sepsis arises when the body’s response to an infection injures its own tissues and organs. It may lead to shock, multi-organ failure and death, especially if not recognised early and treated promptly. Sepsis is a global health crisis. It affects between 47 and 50 million people worldwide every year and at…
-
Medtasker data showing success
The ‘preMETs on Medtasker’ project was launched 13 April 2021, moving preMET calls from the paging system to Medtasker and allowing direct communication between clinical staff i.e. nurse to doctor, in line with Standard 8. Sandy Ayuob, Medtasker Project Officer, explains benefits of this change include lessening the workload for Switchboard, a faster and more reliable two-way communication, and the ability to record and review data, with time-stamped information. To monitor the progress of the project, the team conducted a pre-implementation and post-implementation survey. “In the pre-implementation survey, we wanted to find out what staff thoughts were on moving preMets…
-
Can a conversation be life-saving?
This month, we marked ‘R U OK? Day’, a day dedicated to checking in on your loved ones, your colleagues and on yourself as well. This year’s theme, “Are they really OK? Ask them today”, invites us to dig deeper and go past the usual “I’m OK, how are you?” The current pandemic has brought many challenges to our staff – both at work and at home. One of our colleagues, Dr Vinita Rane, wrote a letter to share how the pandemic has impacted her and her family: I am someone who struggles to name a favourite song, or favourite…