Dr Victoria Brazil visited Northern Hospital Epping to present on how simulation can help us improve the work that we do in health care, and most importantly, how to improve that work together.

“It’s about team work, dealing with systems and with complexity in health care. That practically means that during the lecture and the workshop, we will go through different examples of where we can use the simulation modality to really examine what the issues are in hospitals,” she said.

Dr Brazil says the issues in hospitals can be related to team performance, relationships between different departments or processes of care and patient journeys.

“We use simulation to examine those and once we get a sense of what we can do to improve, we use simulation again to embed and train teams in order to deliver the care better,” she explained.

During the lecture, Dr Brazil shared some of the experiences she had at the Gold Coast University Hospital and experiences from around the world and, at the workshop, participants had a chance to spend time to think how to use modalities appropriately for a particular problem in hospital.

“The power of getting people in the group was what attracted me to simulation in the first place, and also having a chance to reflect on experiential learning. I saw that as being a very effective way of helping people both to look at their behaviours and actions, and to think about other ways of improving those,” she explained.

Some of the outcomes of simulations Dr Brazil facilitated with her Cath Lab team led to the time it took from patients arriving in ED to having their cardiac catheterisation, with patients with myocardial infarction, being cut in half.

“On the other hand, whilst working with trauma departments, we had some outcomes in cultural change and shift, so there are some tangible, measurable results of simulations, but there are also those ones harder to measure, but easy to see, like improvements in relationships and culture,” Dr Brazil said.

Dr Nancy Sadka, Emergency Physician, said she was inspired by Dr Brazil and is following the work she is doing at Gold Coast University Hospital.

“When I came to Northern Health, one of the things I wanted to do was to improve our care in all aspects. We are also using simulation both for education and for quality improvement. Northern Hospital program is now in its early days and we are using multi disciplinary in-situ simulation where we address culture issues, teamwork and we translate recommendations into practice,” she said.

Multiple other health services were represented at the lecture. Northern Health hosted guests from Austin Hospital, Peter Mac, Ballarat Hospital and Box Hill Hospital.

“I think we should be very proud of the work we are doing. Northern Hospital could be a leader across Victoria of this initiative to integrate the use of simulation into our hospital quality processes,” Dr Sadka added.

Dr Victoria Brazil is an emergency physician and medical educator. She is Professor of Emergency Medicine and Director of Simulation at the Gold Coast Health Service, and at Bond University medical program. Dr Brazil is an enthusiast in social media and #FOAMed world (@SocraticEM), and she is co-producer of Simulcast (Simulationpodcast.com).

Featured image (left to right): Brooke Williams, Project Support Officer; Dr Victoria Brazil and Dr Nancy Sadka.

Broadmeadows Hospital has recently welcomed two new Nurse Unit Managers. Naveeni Natkunarajah is the new NUM of Unit 1 and Belinda Nash is now the NUM of Unit 2.

Naveeni started in early November and says this has been an ultimate career goal since she started her nursing career about 16 years ago.

“I just couldn’t say no when the opportunity came up. Before taking this role, I was working in various nursing roles; as an aged care and rehab nurse coordinator, an ANUM and discharge support,” she said.

She came across to Northern Health in 2017 and is a passionate resident of the northern suburbs.

“Northern Health has got a lot of potential – it has a large catchment area and it’s a beautiful facility for our multicultural community. Broadmeadows Hospital is an amazing facility and we are working at ways to increase its utilisation and better inform Northern teams of the services we offer here,” she said.

Naveeni added she is looking forward to growing with the community and seeing what the next months will bring.

Belinda Nash, the new Nurse Unit Manager of Unit 2, is new to Northern Health, and is very excited to be here.

“I have a lot to learn, but I am looking forward to the new challenge. Previously, I’ve spent 20 years at Austin Health and, during that time, I was the unit manager for a couple of wards and also a site manager,” she said.

It was ultimately the idea of change itself that made her come to Northern.

“After being in an organisation for so long, it was time for a change. As Naveeni pointed out, this is a growth corridor and I feel I can bring a lot to the table in regards to my background and my experience. I am looking forward to building the team and working with others at Northern Health. I’m definitely getting a family feel here at Northern,” she said.

Grant Taylor, Director of Nursing and Site Operations for Broadmeadows Hospital, welcomes both Naveeni and Belinda to their new roles.

“Naveeni and Belinda bring a wealth of experience, enthusiasm and dedication to their roles and I very much look forward to working with them both in further developing their respective units and teams,” he said.

Featured image (left to right): Belinda Nash and Naveeni Natkunarajah

Fiona Moate, Hand Therapist who has been working at Northern Health for 17 years, won the Clinical Excellence Award at the last quarterly Staff Recognition Awards. She was recognised for her dedicated and outstanding clinical skills in assessment, splint fabrication and treatment provision for patients following complex hand trauma.

Laurelle Bland, who nominated her, said Fiona keeps up to date with current research by attending courses and reading literature, and implements this into her practice.

“She brings new treatment ideas to the team and encourages others to do the same,” said Laurelle.

Laurelle also nominated her as she feels Fiona instils confidence in patients and colleagues by being informative, respectful and fair. Additionally, she has been involved in an Advanced Practice Role and Multidisciplinary Clinic where she works closely with the Plastic Surgery Unit and Wound Service to triage and treat hand therapy patients. In an ever busy clinical environment, Fiona keeps a pulse on the running of the team and checks in with each individual to see how everyone is managing.

“She has high emotional intelligence and is continuously supportive of her team. Fiona is approachable and always finds time to mentor, teach or advise her team when they need support. She fosters a learning environment and edifies her staff by recognising achievement. She is always positive and her high energy helps to maintain team morale. She works quietly and unstintingly behind the scenes to keep the Hand Therapy Department running efficiently,” Laurelle added.

Fiona adds she enjoys teaching and service development aspects of her role.

“I enjoy the creative aspect of the role, for example, making different splints or creatively problem solving with patients or staff and a team approach with the Plastic Surgery Unit and Wound Service as to whether conservative management is the best treatment option,” she said.

To her, winning this award “acknowledges the professional development, research, conference presentations etc. that we pursue as hand therapists to provide the highest quality care for our patients.”

In the future, Fiona sees herself always travelling, dancing tango and working at Northern Health where she would like to see continued service development.

“In five years from now, I see Northern Health as a diverse, ever expanding organisation that provides an opportunity for development of services and implementing new efficient ways of working,” she said.

“She is always optimistic and has been a role model and mentor for me since I started in the Hand Therapy Department in 2009. She is what I would like to call ‘The Yoda of Hand Therapy’,” says Laurelle.

The 2019 Annual General Meeting and Open Access Board Meeting held this afternoon was well attended with representation from consumers, community members and Aboriginal Elders.

This event provides an opportunity for the board and senior leadership team to engage with staff and consumers and showcase many of the initiatives and collaborations we have undertaken in the past 12 months. A media video report was also shown, and the participants had an opportunity to see how Northern Health’s achievements were presented to our community through both local newspapers and TV stations (video below).

Jennifer Williams AM, Board Chair, welcomed attendees and shared some of the quality and improvement initiatives over the last year. She also thanked staff, volunteers, students, Board Directors, Northern Health Foundation supporters and partners, whose contributions have helped us provide outstanding care for our community.

Chief Executive, Siva Sivarajah, reported that Northern Health received more than 107,000 emergency presentations in the last financial year, making it once again the busiest Emergency Department in Victoria. In addition, he highlighted that we admitted 98,193 patients to hospital, performed 10,385 elective surgeries, and saw 232,496 outpatients in our specialist clinics.

The Annual General Meeting also included the awarding of the inaugural 2019 Staff Achievement Awards.

The Annual Clinical Excellence Award was presented to Thi Nguyen, Nurse Unit Manager, Ward 4 (Unit B) and the 2019 Annual Staff Excellence Award recognised the Library Service. Congratulations to the deserving recipients!

The Open Access Board Meeting saw the launch of Northern Health’s 2019-21 Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan, known as the RAP.

“This is Northern Health’s first ever RAP, and is a ground breaking plan which demonstrates our commitment to the Aboriginal community of the north,” said Ms Williams.

It was a special day for The Aboriginal Support Unit, as along with the launch of the RAP , they also presented the new name and identity of their unit. Karen Bryant, Senior Aboriginal Liaison Officer, explained Narrun Wilip-Giin was a Woiwurrung name that meant ‘Spirit Keepers’. She said it had “special significance to the Aboriginal Support Unit who work to keep the spirits up of our people in their health journey.”

The Open Access Board Meeting ended with a lively discussion on how we can better engage consumers in our health service, led by Chief Allied Health Officer, Briana Baass, and Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer, Simon Keating.

To see Northern Health in the news, please click on the video below:

LGBTIQ+ staff and friends recently participated in Ideas Labs across our four sites.

Through discussion, participants identified there may be more Northern Health could do to promote pride within the LGBTIQ+ community of the north. This includes improving LGBTIQ+ visibility through leadership, higher profile of LGBTIQ+ people and the use of relevant signs and symbols (e.g. rainbow flags).

One way we can do this is by celebrating LGBTIQ+ through special events involving the broader community, with plans well underway to participate in the Midsumma Pride March in February 2020.

We also hope to run events for IDAHOBIT (International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, Biphobia and discrimination against people with an intersex condition) in May, Wellness Week in September and Coming Out Week in October.

Decreasing stigma and improving knowledge and understanding about LGBTIQ+ facts, figures and issues can be achieved through an ever expanding education strategy.

Participants in the Ideas Labs felt that Northern Health should increase visible support for staff and generate a positive sense of identity and community, with safety and inclusion being our ultimate goal.

Participant, Penelope Grellet, Director of Organisational Capability, said, “it was so valuable to all come together and share different ideas. The Lab was a great way to encourage and engage in conversation with other staff members we don’t get an opportunity to work with all the time.”

After the Labs, the Chair of the LGBTIQ+ Working Group, Anne Hastie, said, “face to face sessions are important as many and varied ideas can be actively explored and debated. The final message from the Labs was clear; people want LGBTIQ+ to have more visibility in the health service.”

If you have any enquiries, please email anne.hastie@nh.org.au.

One of the greatest gifts you can give is your time and that is what Northern Health’s 350 fabulous volunteers give day after day.

Today, as our gift to volunteers, Northern Health hosted a Christmas lunch at Casa D’Abruzzo Club in Epping. A delicious buffet lunch was enjoyed by all and the volunteers danced the afternoon away with DJ Con.

The volunteers have much to celebrate, as this year has been particularly busy.

Andrew Williamson, Executive Director Public Affairs and Foundation, thanked volunteers for their time, commitment and dedication to Northern Health.

“Our wonderful volunteers make a significant difference every day for our patients, families and visitors,” he said.

“Their work models Northern Health’s values of Safe, Kind, Together.”

Henni Wade, Manager Engagement, said our volunteers are helping our visitors find their way around our sites, on average hand out over 600 cups of tea and coffee a week, put together hundreds of administration packs a week, visit patients, help with social support activities, drive patients to appointments, cuddle babies, help people check-in using our new Q-Flow kiosks and make the time to have chats with our patients and visitors making them feel welcome.

“In addition to these activities that are making a difference to our patient’s experiences, the volunteers also organise many fundraising activities. This year they have raised over $18,000 from cake stalls, various raffles and Knitting Guild sales. They have also sold over 450 car raffle tickets for Northern Health Foundation, raising a further $15,000,” she added.

Our Busy Fingers Auxiliary donated $10,000 for our defibrillator campaign and one of our Broadmeadows volunteers, Vicki Vernon, has been instrumental in helping us secure $10,000 for a blanket warmer.

Merry Christmas to all our Northern Health volunteers and thank you for all that you do.

Volunteers make a difference.

At the graduation ceremony at the 2019 AGM of the Australasian College of Health Service Management (ACHSM), three of the five Victorian and Tasmanian Fellowship Graduates were from Northern Health. Our congratulations to Stephanie Allan, Mary De Gori and Anthony Gust who are all now Fellows of the College.

Fellowship is the highest membership category awarded in the College. It is a significant professional achievement and is awarded by the College to those individuals who have demonstrated to their peers that they have the knowledge, attitudes, conceptual and communication skills to be recognised as senior managers and leaders in the health and aged care industries.

“I would recommend the course to other Northern Health leaders and senior managers who would like to not only learn more about topics such as leadership, health funding to change management but also the bigger health system picture.  Next year’s enrolment is closing soon,” says Anthony Gust, who is our Director of Data Science and Analytics.

Stephanie Allan, Manager, Planning, added, “The Fellowship is a great experience and I would highly recommend it to others who are interested in learning more about the wider landscape in which health services operate.”

Fellowship within the ACHSM is recognised both nationally and internationally and it demonstrates an ongoing commitment to excellence in health service management. Fellows provide leadership across the spectrum of public, private and not for profit organisations, in the areas of acute, primary and long term care, and health improvement.

The awarding of Fellowship to a College member recognises the commitment, continuing professional development and learning, and application of knowledge in health services management they demonstrate.

Briana Baass, Chief Allied Health Officer and Partnerships at Northern Health, (also Victorian President of ACHSM), had this to say:

“Going through the Fellowship process, which takes about 10 months, is a powerful and rewarding experience. It can be a bit daunting walking into the oral examination, with a panel of assessors sitting across from you, and firing questions at you!”

“Candidates must demonstrate a significant breadth of knowledge and experience across many aspects of health service management. These may include governance, funding models across the globe, and integrated care.”

“A huge congratulations to my Northern Health colleagues – it is a significant professional achievement to be recognised as leaders in the health and aged care industries!”

Featured image (left to right): Stephanie Allan, Anthony Gust  and Mary De Gori 

 

 

 

Northern Health has partnered with the Summer Foundation to up skill our staff in how we work with the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme).

After completing a gap analysis of what we need to do to successfully manage the interface between NDIS and the health service, a steering committee was established to identify and develop systems required to meet the relevant legislative and regulatory frameworks under the NDIS.

“We are training our staff health service-wide on this complex issue. We have some very long stayers, either due to the complexity of the system or due to lack of training on how to move things along. This training is for staff both in acute and sub acute services,” explained Ingrid Ioannidis, Clinical Leader, Social Work Continuing Care.

The training looks at patient’s health journey and how to get started on the NDIS journey, which will enable a shorter hospital stay and a better outcome for patients. This program, funded by Department of Health, is delivered by the Summer Foundation, who are experts in keeping young people out of nursing homes.

“Besides the six-hour one-day training which 80 of our staff have already attended, the training also includes videos and gives a basic overview of the program. There is also specific training for social workers and occupational therapists, which will be around accessing housing,” Ingrid explained.

“That is a really complex part of the NDIS program. We are seeing patient stay in the hospital for a year unfortunately. If patients need accommodation, their journey is a long one. Also, there will be train the trainer module, which will keep the program sustainable in the future,” she added.

Twenty three hospitals are participating in this program and Northern Health staff already had a day of sharing resources, with the aim to put together the most evidence-based documents.

“These templates and policies are now completed and they will be integrated into the training. The goal is to have a consistent approach, clear escalation pathway, clear roles and responsibilities and polices,” she explained.

To watch the Summer Foundation videos on understanding the NDIS, click here.

 

Featured image: Ingrid Ioannidis (right) with Summer Foundation representatives