The introduction of the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) was a transformative change for all staff delivering inpatient, emergency, surgical and maternity care. It takes time to embed the new way of working and juggling the demands of patient care, and it was timely to conduct a pulse check with staff via a survey.

Thank you to 371 staff who completed the EMR pulse check. Seventy five per cent of respondents were from Northern Hospital Epping, 12 per cent from Broadmeadows Hospital, nine per cent from Bundoora Centre, and the remainder from Craigieburn or worked across sites. Seventy per cent of respondents were using the EMR daily and 26 per cent a few times a week.

Overall, our staff have given the EMR three stars.

‘Thank you to those staff who took the time to fill out the survey, it was a good result to receive a positive rating from staff. Noting we are only at the beginning of leveraging the EMR for patient care at Northern Health not at the end,” said Trish Aldridge, EMR Program Director.

Using the EMR is more than a new skill, it is a whole change in the way we document and communicate about patient care processes.

• 82 per cent of staff feel more confident in using the EMR, than when it first went live.
• 71 per cent of staff were able to use the EMR for patient care (19 per cent neither agreed nor disagreed).
• 75 per cent of staff felt either neutral or positive about the EMR.
• 43 per cent of staff would like more training to use the EMR.

Overall, the survey results reflect are what is expected at such an early stage of embedding new work flows.

‘The EMR team is looking forward to partnering with our divisions and departments to improve the EMR,” said Ms Aldridge.

“The EMR team is designing business as usual processes and recruiting the team for this work. Our advice to staff who want to continue to develop their efficiency in using the EMR, reach out to your super users and educators, ask questions, check out the QRGs for workflows you don’t do that often.”

The Digital Training team are available for EMR refreshers, please email your requests to NH-EMRQuestions@nh.org.au.

Representatives from Northern Health were privileged to attend the 2023 Victorian Public Healthcare Awards last night, to celebrate the incredible collective achievements of the Victorian Public Health Service.

Northern Health were finalists in three categories: Celebrating Innovation in Health Care, Excellence in Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing, and Health Volunteer/Team of the Year.

We are proud to announce that The Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED)- Paediatric Service were winners in their category Celebrating Innovation in Health Care.

The Victorian Virtual Emergency Department’s paediatric service has revolutionised emergency care for kids and their families. It offers specialized paediatric care through consultations. This approach aims to alleviate the challenges faced by families when visiting physical Emergency Departments, such as travel, long wait times, and associated costs. It also relieves pressure on emergency wait rooms and ensures even those in remote areas receive vital support, treating more children from the comfort of their home.

Congratulations to all of our finalists.  The Aboriginal Support Unit, Narrun Wilip-giin was a finalist in the Excellence in Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing category, nominated for the introduction of executive yarning circles and a possum-skin baby wrap project that have been instrumental in giving a voice to Aboriginal staff and patients. And Busy Fingers Auxiliary who have raised more than 3 million dollars for Northern Health Bundoora in their 50 years of service was a finalist in the Health Volunteer/Team of the Year category.

They are just a small sample of the amazing work and outstanding initiatives being driven by our dedicated staff at Northern Health, each and every day.

Pictured in featured Image: (L-R) Board Chair, Jennifer Williams AM, Loren Sher, Joanna Lawrence, and Chief Executive, Siva Sivaraja. 

This week, Northern Health celebrates Perioperative Nurses Week!

Here at Northern Health, our perioperative nurses work behind closed doors in the operating suites, providing exceptional care to patients before, during, and after surgeries. They’re highly skilled, compassionate, and always up for a challenge. Stationed across Northern Hospital Epping, Broadmeadows Hospital and Kilmore District Hospital, these nurses use their expertise to ensure safe and trusted care for surgical patients from admission to recovery.

“Perioperative staff are the hidden heroes in healthcare. Mostly tucked away in restricted areas, Theatres, Endoscopy, Bookings and CSSD, they treat patients who are often at their most vulnerable. They are dedicated, resilient, caring, hardworking and have a great sense of humour. They inspire me and make coming to work a pleasure,” said Tracey Wyllie, Director of Operations – Perioperative Services, Northern Health.

We take this time to acknowledge the wonderful work of our perioperative nurses all year round.

This week, the celebrations kicked off with a crazy socks day, complemented by team huddles and sharing work selfies to highlight team unity. Mid-week activities included fun challenges like guessing the number of lollies in the jar and sharing the best slogans on keep cups.

Tomorrow, the week will conclude with a team luncheon, fostering a festive atmosphere as staff bring plates to share.

“Perioperative Nurses Week is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the amazing work our perioperative team do, all year round, providing a valuable service to our community,” said Lana Dent, Nurse Unit Manager – Scrub Scout, General Operating Theatre, Northern Health.

“The Perioperative team love participating in the fun activities run throughout the week,” she said.

Here’s to our remarkable perioperative nurses—thank you for your outstanding service!

Each year, many Australian lives are saved and transformed through the generosity of organ and tissue donors and their families.

DonateLife Thank You Day is acknowledged annually on the third Sunday of November to pause, remember, thank and recognise the difference organ donors and families have made to Australians.

Since the DonateLife program began in 2009, more than 6,000 people have become organ donors at the end of their life.

Thanks to these donors, more than 17,000 Australians have received a life-saving organ transplant and thousands more, have benefited from the generosity of eye and tissue donors.

At Northern Health last year, three families said ‘yes’ to organ donation. These donations saved and transformed the lives of nine very grateful recipients. Seven families said ‘yes’ to eye and tissue donation, restoring sight and changing the lives of 14 recipients, and for this, we say thank you!

This week, alongside acknowledging the donors and their families, the Donation Specialist team would also like to highlight and thank Northern Health staff for their invaluable contribution.

“Organ and tissue donation would not be possible without the commitment, teamwork and caring nature that is in place to support the donation team, patients and their families through organ and tissue donation,” said Medical Donation Specialist, Dr David Crosbie.

“The role of the donation specialist is a very unique and privileged role. It is very humbling to sit with a family and learn about the patient, where they share intimate moments and stories with you, whilst feeling such grief and loss. The decisions of families saying ‘yes’ to donation, have literally saved the lives of others they have never met,” said Nurse Donation Specialist, Bridget Walters.

During this week, the Donation Specialist team encourages staff to log on to the DonateLife website and take a moment to read some of the family donor stories, where Australians share what it has meant for their loved one to become an organ donor, as well as stories from recipients about being given that second chance at life.

Read the inspiring collection of stories, here.

Pictured in featured image: Dr David Crosbie and Bridget Walters. 

The Liver at Home program facilitates earlier hospital discharge, provides specialised care between outpatient appointments and reduces readmission for largely preventable conditions.

The program was established in February 2023, after Associate Professor Mayur Garg identified that there were very few at home models of care for chronic liver diseases – a group at high risk of hospital readmission and health care utilisation. The program was created as part of the Victorian Government’s Better at Home initiative.

The development of the new program saw Dr Siddharth Sood become the health service’s inaugural Head of Hepatology, as well as Dr Catherine Yu as Northern Health’s first Hepatology Fellow.

The Liver at Home team is made up of three Clinical Nurse Consultants – Kendall Fitzpatrick, Kristen Peake and Vanessa Lowen, who all have an extensive history working within the Hepatology and Gastroenterology fields at Northern Health, as well as major tertiary hospitals across Australia. They also work closely with the relevant multidisciplinary teams.

Patient eligibility into the program is limited to current inpatients admitted with acute or chronic liver disease. These patients are then safety risk screened by the team and must fall within the Northern Health Hospital in the Home catchment area.

“These patients often have preventable and manageable conditions related to their liver disease including fluid overload, hepatic encephalopathy, ascites and poor nutrition,” Vanessa said.

“With specialised nursing care provided by the Liver at Home team, we can manage their medications, monitor their bloods and organise outpatient procedures without the need for an unnecessary emergency department presentation.”

The program has been successful in preventing patients from coming back into hospital, which has been a rewarding experience for the team.

“The gratitude we have received from patients and their families has been incredible! They are so thankful for our care and support,” Vanessa said.

“It’s so nice to be working so closely with the hepatology doctors, they have a lot of trust in our clinical skills and decision making. It’s such a collaborative environment where everyone’s opinions are valued.”

Featured imaged: Kendall Fitzpatrick, Hepatology Clinical Nurse Consultant, Vanessa Lowen, Hepatology Clinical Nurse Consultant and Kristen Peake, Hepatology Clinical Nurse Consultant.

We are now more than nine weeks into using the EMR. As you may know, the EMR team has transitioned from providing 24/7 support to an on-call roster. EMR on-call is in place for urgent issues and this will be triaged by the Afterhours Coordinator.

In addition to re-educating our staff on workflows and functionality on a request basis, the team is focusing on managing and resolving change requests submitted by our staff. While all the implemented workflows designed and built into the EMR are guided by Northern Health’s policy and procedure, as we get more familiar with using the EMR, we may identify opportunities to enhance the efficiency of patient care delivery.

“With any change request that comes through from Cherwell, these are reviewed weekly by governance to assess the impact of changes on both the system and workflow to ensure that patient safety and the quality of care remain the top priorities of the EMR,” says Rozan Madtha, EMR Solution Architect.

Trish Aldridge, EMR Program Director, highlights the success of Northern Health’s EMR implementation, considering the scale of the implementation.

“Go live can be extremely overwhelming but our staff have done a tremendous job of adjusting to this change while providing care for our patients,” she said.

“With many lessons learned from the team, we encourage everyone to participate in the EMR Satisfaction Survey to capture your thoughts and feedback.”

The EMR Satisfaction Survey closes on 17 November. So far, we have captured more than 270 responses with valuable feedback. More than 80 per cent of participants have expressed increased confidence in using the EMR since its initial launch. To participate in this anonymous survey, click here.

#WeAreNorthern

Meet Melissa Grenville, Director, Northern Health Foundation.

Q: What is your coffee order? 

A: Like most Melbournians, I love coffee and I am a very fussy coffee drinker. Henry’s Café makes fantastic skinny lattes, but I also like to bring my own in, as I got a coffee machine for my birthday.

Q: Tell us about your new role with Northern Health?

A: I started in April this year as Director of the Northern Health Foundation. My role involves working with a great team of people who fundraise for Northern Health. As the charity arm of our health service, our purpose is to raise funds for important medical equipment, research and training, raise awareness, and increase community engagement. Prior to this role, I was at Western Health in the Foundation and have been involved in fundraising for most of my career.

Q: What do you love the most about your job?

A: I get to work with amazing and very talented people who make my job fun and enjoyable. Events are always a fantastic way to have fun, whilst raising funds. The Gala Ball in May this year was a spectacular black-tie event, that not only was entertaining, but helped us raise over $70,000. Our next big event is the Great Gatsby Staff Fun Raising event, for which tickets are on sale now. This event will be held on 25 November 2023, and we would love to see our wonderful staff join us, dress up and party in support of Northern Health, the Gatsby style.

Q: What is your favourite place to be on Earth?

A: I don’t think I’ve found it yet, or I would be there!

Q: What is something not many people know about you?

A: I am half New Zealand. My dad was born in Auckland before marrying my mum and moving to Perth, where I was born. I still have family in New Zealand, mainly on the North Island and I plan on going for my uncle’s 80^th Birthday in Port Waikato. Their parties are legendary and usually last about three days, even if it is for an 80-year-old!

To purchase tickets to the upcoming Great Gatsby Party, please click here.

Last month, our Spiritual Care, Palliative Care and Social Work teams hosted a memorial service to honour the memory of those who passed away at Northern Health.

The service, ‘A time to remember’, was an opportunity for relatives, loved ones and staff to join together to remember those who passed away between June 2022 and May 2023. The service, which also paid tribute to those who died during the pandemic, was the first one since 2019.

The service was attended by many loved ones and staff, including Debra Bourne, Chief Operating Officer, Jason Cirone, Chief Allied Health Officer, who opened the service, and Stephanie Thompson, who delivered the Acknowledgement of Country.

Other notable attendees included Maree Glynn, Director of Clinical Practice Improvement, Reverend Melanie Moore, Anglican and Palliative Care Chaplain, Julius Quiring, Nurse Unit Manager, Palliative Care Unit, Sebastian Antony, Spiritual Care Practitioner and Natalia Dewiyani, Spiritual Care Coordinator.

The Northern Health Community Choir also performed at the service. Guests were invited to reflect during the service by choosing a butterfly that represented an element – grief, courage, memories, love, peace and hope – that was meaningful to them. The butterflies were beautifully placed on a community tree in memory of those being honoured.

Reverend Melanie Moore, Anglican and Palliative Care Chaplain, reflected on the evening, saying the sharing of stories was a highlight for her.

“We heard about how courage, love and hope is helping people to be resilient as they grieve,” she said.

“The evening connected bereaved people from the community where we laughed, cried and supported each other – it was a privilege to be part of. Northern Health staff worked together to give people hope, support and remind them they are not alone.”