They came together. Twenty-three individuals – staff members, our partners, a cancer patient and her daughter. Each with a different personal reason. All sharing a common goal. To make a difference to patients with cancer. To them, their sacrifice didn’t compare to that of the people who would ultimately benefit from their efforts.

While they went ‘Dry’ for a good cause, they reaped many other rewards.

Firstly, they tripled last year’s effort, raising a grand total of $31,199. Secondly, they finished seventh (out of 100) on the overall leader board. And most importantly, they raised enough money to purchase another car for the Day Oncology Unit at Northern Health. This means that more cancer and haematology patients can be administered their chemotherapy and other supportive treatments within the safety and comfort of their own homes. A service that is extremely important right now.

Melissa Gwynne, Nurse Unit Manager, Day Oncology, is thrilled at the success of the Dry July fundraising campaign and the opportunity to purchase a new car for the NOAH@Home Program, which launched last year. “Another vehicle will enable us to expand our geographical parameters to include areas such as Kilmore, Wandong, and Broadford,” says Melissa.

No-one is prouder than team leader, and our very own Fundraising and Relationships Manager, Josie Verga, who cheered along her teammates every step of the way, keeping them focused on the goal. “Every team member is a winner. Giving up alcohol during July, and especially during lockdown, is an admirable achievement,” says Josie.

She also acknowledges the amazing support of Aware Super, Readings Cinema, Melbourne Markets, and Quest Apartments, who provided incentives and prizes for the team.

There’s nothing like some healthy competition and an inspiring vision to bring people together. Because ‘together’ is how great work gets done.

As expressed by team member and Divisional Director, Nursing and Surgical Services, Linda Romano, “I am so happy the group demonstrated our health service values of ‘together’ with this one.”

The team encourages other staff members to get on board next year. Apart from the wonderful result, members experienced many other benefits to their health and wellbeing. They also had a lot of fun in the process. Sounds like everyone was a winner!

Congratulations to the Dry July team. Thank you for showing us what can be achieved by working together. We are excited to see what next year will bring… Cheers!

Today, Northern Health’s second Quarterly Staff Recognition Awards ceremony for 2021, showcasing the brilliant achievements of our dedicated staff, was held online.

More than 170 nominations, for six categories, were submitted by the winner’s colleagues.

Siva Sivarajah, Chief Executive, opened the virtual presentation. He said the awards recognised the “outstanding contributions by our employees and celebrate staff excellence.”

“Northern Health has over 5,700 staff who work across a wide range of areas who are committed to providing great care,” Siva said.

“Through these awards, we recognise staff for their hard work and dedication to our patients, staff and community. Award winners today are staff who exemplify a strong and positive workplace culture and commitment to our patients.”

Najeeb Mohammed, Physiotherapist, was awarded the Above and Beyond Award, for going above and beyond to provide care or support to a patient, family or work colleague.

Najeeb was nominated by Julie Torres, Clinical Lead Physiotherapy, and Rachael Evans, Associate Director Allied Health, for his work in GEM at Kilmore.

The Clinical Excellence Award, for a person or team who are generous with knowledge, instill confidence in patients and colleagues, and achieve the best patient experience outcome, was presented to the Transcultural and Language Services (TALS) team.

The TALS team was nominated by Russell Hodgson, General Surgeon.

Ariana Carrodus, Project Manager, won the Innovation Award, for implementing a better way to deliver care or service through a new idea or initiative. Ariana was nominated by Laura Hughes, Project Manager.

The Excellence in Safety Award was presented to our COVID-19 vaccination team, for making Northern Health safer for patients, visitors and staff. The team was nominated by Nicole Campbell, Clinical Nurse Consultant, Infection Prevention.

Tracey Webster, Telehealth Project Officer, was presented with the Patient Experience Award, for making a significant achievement in improving the care experience, including showing kindness and compassion towards a patient, family or work colleague. Tracey was nominated by Talin Gochian, Interprofessional Educator.

And lastly, Lisa Bannan, Ward Clerk, took home the Rising Star Award, for having potential to grow and develop their career at Northern Health. Lisa was nominated by Courtney Cheong, Registered Nurse.

Congratulations to all the award winners.

The Staff Awards are sponsored by BankVic and Northern Health Foundation.

To watch the ceremony, please click here.

Featured image: L-R top row: Ariana Carrodus, Project Manager, Tracey Webster, Telehealth Project Officer, Yue Hue, TALS Interpreter.

L-R bottom row: Najeeb Mohammed, Physiotherapist, Lisa Bannan, Ward Clerk, Luma Gashi, COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic Nurse Unit Manager

To support and protect patients in the community, Northern Health’s Virtual Emergency Department (ED) is extending its working hours to 11.30 pm, instead of the usual 9.30 pm.

Dr Loren Sher, Emergency Physician, explained this temporary change is made so that residents in the north can have increased emergency access to virtual nursing and medical care.

“In many instances, we will be able manage a patient’s condition at home. Patients that need to attend the ED will be advised when it’s best to attend for their condition and will be given advice on how to manage their condition at home until they are seen in ED. This way, patients will spend least amount of time in the waiting room and the Emergency Department,” she said.

The Virtual ED also reduces the risk of COVID-19 exposure and helps our medical teams deliver quicker care to all patients. The virtual emergency staff will also be providing care for patients with COVID-19 in the community.

“With the current COVID-19 situation, we know our community are worried about accessing emergency care, so we are happy to provide some advice on how and when to come in. When it comes to patients in the community who currently have COVID-19, and they can contact us about their symptoms, especially if they think the symptoms are getting worse and we can asses and advise them,” Dr Sher said.

Currently, Northern Health has an excellent COVID-19 support program that looks after positive patients in the community, with the service operating during business hours. The extended hours of the Virtual ED mean that COVID-19 positive patients will now get support out of these hours.

“We have started working with our COVID-watch team, the hospital team that monitors COVID-19 patients in the community, and we will be helping them to provide an extended service for these patients. The Virtual ED is a way to get help out of hours, into the late evening,” said Miriam Woods, ED Nurse.

The Virtual ED is open to anyone living in our northern suburbs, and at this stage, patients don’t need to have a Medicare card to use this service.

Northern Health’s Virtual ED will be open from 1 pm – 11.30 pm during the COVID Peak period.

To access the Virtual ED, please head to: nh.org.au/ed

Person centred services and care takes into consideration all influences on a person’s health and wellbeing. Lack of adequate social support can lead to unnecessary health service usage.

The last 12 months have been challenging for everyone, particularly those who feel isolated and those who live alone. HOW-R-U? is a program that offers weekly social support via a telephone call provided by a volunteer. It has been delivered through a collaboration between Northern Health and Bolton Clarke as part of a Better Care Victoria grant, and aims to reduce symptoms of isolation, loneliness and depression through an improvement in mood and quality of life.

Volunteers encourage participants to make connections within their local communities based on interests chatted about during the calls. For example, the participant has indicated that they enjoy walking, but is hesitant to walk alone. The volunteer can then provide information on local walking groups. Even if the participant doesn’t make these wider connections, it is hoped the mood of the participant improves thus having a positive impact on their wellbeing.

Initially the project used external volunteers from Bolton Clarke, but from March this year the program transitioned to using the services of our own wonderful Northern Health volunteers.

Sharryn Beard, Partnerships Manager says, “It has been wonderful to have the Northern Health volunteers conducting the calls, which has also given them a purpose.”

“Now that  the project is ongoing is such a fantastic outcome for the wellbeing of our community, and that’s due to the Volunteer Services Teams support and their belief in the program,” says Sharryn.

Recently, staff from the Community Services teams were surveyed about the HOW-R-U? program. Staff reported that they believe clients “really appreciate having someone checking on them” and that when the client makes a real connection it is very useful.

Says Henni Wade, Manager Volunteer Services, “We recently even recruited a few interstate volunteers. The participants and volunteers don’t meet face to face, so being local isn’t really a requirement.”

“We are also looking into a good old-fashioned ‘pen-pal’ program for these participants who wish to continue past the 12 week program,“ she adds.

To refer a patient to the HOW-R-U? program, clinicians need to make a clinical judgement on whether their patients would benefit from the program and ensure that the referred patient consents to the calls. Send an email to volunteer@nh.org.au or for more information call 8405 8971.

 

Featured image shows Eric Seychell, one of our HOW-R-U Volunteers.

 

Wear it Purple Day is an annual lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and asexual (LGBTIQA+) awareness day aimed at young people.

On the day, this year held on Friday, 27 August, the community is encouraged to wear purple to celebrate and acknowledge diversity among young people in the LGBTIQA+ community.

Wear it Purple Day was founded in 2010 in response to teenage suicides in the LGBTIQA+ community, following bullying from the “lack of acceptance” of their sexuality or gender identity.

This year’s theme is ‘Start the Conversation, Keep it Going’ – focusing on the conversations people have about sexual orientation and gender identity. It also aims to remind people that the issues and topics of Wear it Purple Day should be spoken about every day.

Simon Doyle, LGBTIQA+ Working Group member, highlighted the importance of the day.

“The story behind it is to ensure that members of the community feel that they are allowed to be proud, that they are welcomed and celebrated. It is a really easy way of showing that,” Simon said.

“Wear it Purple Day is that element of visibility, which is something that is so simple, but can make someone feel safe.”

“We encourage all of our members of staff that if they want to participate, to wear something purple, whether it be big or small.”

Christine Nicolaidis, Co-chair LGBTIQA+ Working Group, said it was important for Northern Health to embrace the day to ensure patients and consumers felt safe at the health service.

“We know that members in our community identify as part of the rainbow community, and we know that those members of the community often feel unsafe in accessing health services and have a disparity in health outcomes,” she said.

“We want to make the community know that we are aiming to be a safe organisation for this group of people.”

Simon, who is part of the LGBTIQA+ community, says Wear it Purple Day is simple and easy way for a young person in the LGBTIQA+ community to feel welcomed and safe.

“I identify as gay. Something as straightforward as seeing someone who may be gay or not, participate would have made me feel really welcome and safe, and that is something I didn’t really have when I was younger, so I think it is really important that now we are able to celebrate those things, it is done more often,” he said.

“It isn’t just a day. It’s a great reminder to start having those important conversations with our young people, friends and family, with our colleagues and to continue that throughout the year.”

“It’s something that I have been personally very passionate about my whole life. It is really important to make workplaces and big organisations feel inclusive for those that work there and are consumers.”

Featured image: Christine Nicolaidis, Co-chair LGBTIQA+ Working Group and Simon Doyle, LGBTIQA+ Working Group member.

Our National Standards Accreditation survey commenced in mid-May and was paused due to a COVID-19 lockdown, affecting interstate surveyors. Last week, the survey resumed with a combination of on-site and online surveyors, and was completed yesterday with a virtual summation.

The survey team announced that Northern Health has been assessed as meeting all the requirements of the National Standards. They found no requirement to write formal recommendations against the actions contained in the National Standards.

Siva Sivarajah, Chief Executive, congratulated Northern Health on this achievement.

“Surveyors were impressed with the knowledge of our clinical and non-clinical staff in keeping patients safe, as well as systems for staff safety. They were pleased with the opportunity to engage with staff on the floor, and were delighted to see the amount of enthusiasm amongst our staff,” Siva said.

They were just as impressed by the way staff came forward in telling surveyors what they are doing well and what they are working on to improve. Northern Health was specifically commended on the commitment to Safety and Quality and continuous improvement.

In congratulating staff on this great outcome for Northern Health, Siva made special mention of Maree Glynn and Marisa Argetto, “for their tireless and dedicated work in preparing for the survey.”

“I would also like to acknowledge the work of the Chairs of the Standards Committees, our medical, nursing and allied health leadership, and to Bill Shearer, our Executive Lead for Quality,” Siva added.

Northern Health’s Board Chair, Jennifer Williams, also congratulated and thanked all staff on behalf of the Northern Health Board of Directors, for the work in preparing for the survey, and the ongoing commitment to the safe care of our patients.

Maree Glynn, Director of Clinical Practice Improvement, said it was very affirming to have such positive feedback from a very experienced survey team.

“Our motto has been that Quality and Safety is everybody’s business and that was evident from the very positive feedback from all our surveyors across all of our sites. They were so impressed with the visits to all of our wards and departments, and the positive conversations they had with staff, patients and the clinical leadership at Northern Health.”

“I want to thank all the staff that worked tirelessly to support a successful accreditation outcome and those who generously gave their time to talk so proudly about their service and the care they deliver.”

During the virtual summation, Northern Health was acknowledged for its “best it can be care”, with safety and personalised care for all patients, no matter their background, or how ill or well they were, at the front and centre of our minds.

Northern Health was also applauded for its management during COVID-19 outbreaks and keeping staff, patients and the community safe.

“Although we were challenged by the event of a COVID-19 outbreak in May, none of the surveyors wanted to leave because we felt unsafe. We absolutely felt safe and we have continued to be impressed,” a surveyor said.

Featured image: Laura Hughes, Project Manager/HRO and Naveeni Natkunarajah, NUM during a virtual ward survey

Anthony Gust, our new Executive Director Digital Health, is on a journey.

He believes our investment over the past few years in upgrading our server, the Wide Area Network and FollowMe desktop, purchasing over one thousand new computers for staff, hiring a dedicated digital health executive, and many other projects, “has positioned Northern Health well and we are ready to start the next part of our journey.”

Anthony’s role will lead and champion Northern Health’s commitment to leveraging technology for increasing results and develop Northern Health’s Digital Strategy and manage areas including: Decision Support Unit, Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and the Information Technology (IT) Department.

Anthony is developing a Digital Strategy to map out this journey. He says, “The key will be managing to continue to build our foundations, focusing on improving business as usual and being innovative, as well as implementing large initiatives such as EMR.”

Anthony has worked at Northern Health for the past three years, as the Director of Data Science & Analytics. Prior to joining Northern Health, Anthony worked within the healthcare industry and in senior management positions for over 20 years.

In his time at the Department of Health and Human Services as an Associate Director, Anthony was responsible for data linkages, modelling and forecasting – focusing on building teams, modelling, infrastructure and policy. He was also the Executive Director, Quality & Safety, Performance, EMR, IT and Innovation at Peninsula Health, Associate Director at KPMG and Director, Business Intelligence at Monash Health.

His appointment comes at an important time for Northern Health. As Anthony points out, “The demand for hospital services has historically outgrown population increases, as well as ageing of the population by approximately 50 per cent. Northern Health sits within one of the fasting growing areas of Victoria and demand for services is only going to increase. The importance of technology and, in particular, how we continue to partner with our community, will continue to increase.”

“In practical terms, we are already exploring the possibilities with simulation, Virtual Emergency Department, the Staying Well Program which focuses on our most vulnerable patients, a musculoskeletal website that aims to improve outcomes for patients waiting for surgery. At the core is how we can innovate in this space,” says Anthony.

Anthony believes the increasing demand for services in the north is placing a greater demand on our staff and systems.

“This demand also creates opportunities for funding and focuses us on being innovative,” he says.

Anthony is clear – it is the staff and culture at Northern Health that is the ‘secret sauce’.

“In past roles, I have been privileged to work with amazing people. I have seen this in spades also at Northern Health – how we can be agile and be creative, especially during the pandemic. I look forward to working with them. The goal is to provide our staff and patients with the best service we can.”

Featured image: Anthony Gust

Speech Pathology Week, celebrated 22-28 August, seeks to promote the speech pathology profession and the work done by speech pathologists with the 1.2 million Australians who have a communication disability. The theme for this year is: Communication is everyone’s right.

As part of Northern Health’s commitment to breaking down barriers for those living with a communication disability, we have implemented the Communication Access training program through Scope. After undertaking this training, the service is assessed and if successful, it gets awarded with the Communication Access Symbol.

At Northern Health, Henry’s Cafe and the front reception at Northern Hospital are accredited by ‘Scope’ to communicate with people with communication disability.

Hien Pham, a Speech Pathologist who has been instrumental in the roll out of this program, explains “What that means is that if someone has a communication disability and they see that symbol, they know that the staff have an understanding of their disability and are aware of different ways to communicate”.

“Communication impairment is different for different people – one person might use a high-tech device to communicate, while another might just use thumbs up or down, so staff need to adapt to that person’s communication style” she added.

In line with this year’s theme Speech Pathology have collaborated with the Northern Health Disability Action group to find practical ways to upskill Northern Health staff.

The Communication Access program aligns with the Northern Health 2018 – 2022 Disability Action Plan with Northern Health’s Disability Liaison officer Simone Ortiz adding: “Successfully obtaining two packages from ‘Scope’: Communication Access and Disability Inclusion, will allow Northern Health staff to develop a better understanding and approach to working and communicating with people with disabilities. This online package for our staff and those who work at Henry’s café addresses our goals of promoting inclusion and participation as well as achieving tangible changes in attitudes and practices which discriminate against persons with disability. Our disability sub-committee is excited about this progress and also appreciate the work and contributions of our speech pathologists for their work and passion towards improving communication.”

Stephanie Bennetts, Speech Pathologist added that this is a great example of how Northern Health is accommodating patients with the communication impairment and adapting our environment to suit the needs of our community.

“One in 500 people have a communication disability.  It is important that we as a health service make sure we are accommodating these patients.  Wheelchair ramps are normalised for people with physical disability so this is a way of normalising supports, like communication boards for people with communication disability” she said.

Henry’s Café and front desk reception staff at the Northern Hospital have previously been accredited with this symbol. The team are excited to continue with the commitment to Communication Access – with re-accreditation planned this year and the introduction of a new online training module for staff.

“This shift to online training will allow us to maintain our credentialing even with the barriers COVID-19 has created,” she concluded.

Featured image: Front reception staff member Elizabeth with Hien, Speech Pathologist.