The theme for Palliative Care Week 2020 is “Palliative Care… It’s more than you think”.

Palliative care can help people with life-limiting illnesses to live as well as possible, for as long as possible – supporting their physical, emotional, spiritual and social needs.

Alwyn Kennedy, currently a patient at our Palliative Care Unit (PCU) located at Heritage Epping Gardens, is a case in point.

Alwyn came to the PCU after an increasingly difficult time at home and has been with us for just over a week. He was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease over six months ago and says he was pleasantly surprised by the care he received.

Says Alwyn, “I always thought that people only went to Palliative care when they have nowhere else to go.”

However, when Alwyn came to Epping Gardens, it was explained to him that Palliative care is not just about end of life care. Alwyn says, “You can receive help, care, attention and advice on how to keep going as long as you can, in a better state.”

He values the advice he has been given, ranging from strategies on how to manage his breathing, painful pressure points, how to keep his throat clear and even advice on how to position himself in his bed.

He says, “Here, they really care about patients and they want you to feel comfortable and ask questions and spend their time with you – they are in no rush!”

He says the nursing staff have been fantastic. “I got on well with them, and the ones I joke with – they know who they are!!”

He adds, “From a medical point of view, I think they are all excellent!” said Alwyn.

Barbara Watson, a Registered Nurse in the Palliative Care Unit, says, “Despite not consciously being driven to work in this particular area of nursing, I have found myself working with a group of colleagues who have dedicated many years of their professional life in palliative care.”

“Our Palliative Care Unit is quite unique in my opinion. After two years, it’s very clear that despite all the emotions one feels in this specialty, it’s the very supportive team that allows nurses to shine.”

She recalls recently entering a patient’s room to find a music therapist singing – which she describes as ‘exquisite!’ She says she went back to the nurses station with tears in her eyes, where her colleagues were there to comfort her.

Says Barbara, “Although the clinical tasks of this unit are of primary importance, such as pain management, equally, it is meeting their other emotional needs by being creative.”

Alison Giles, Medical Director of Palliative Care, says, “We provide care to any patients suffering from life limiting illnesses, and also offer support to their families.”

“The Palliative Care Consult Team sees patients whilst in the hospital or in clinic, and our colleagues in the community teams such as Melbourne City Mission and Banksia Community Palliative Care will support patients at home.”

Although they are not currently able to volunteer due to COVID-19, our Volunteers are also an integral part of the unit and are required to undergo specialised palliative care training under the guidelines of Palliative Care Victoria.

Monica Polimeni, Engagement Advisor, says, ” Volunteers have walked the journey with many palliative care patients over the years, offering a smiling face, a gentle conversation, a listening ear at the times when telling family of the feelings and fears may be too difficult…or even sitting in silence at the bedside to have someone present.”

The Palliative Care Consult Team at Northern Health sees over 1,000 patients every year across Northern Hospital, Bundoora Centre and Broadmeadows Hospital. Our PCU has about 350 admissions every year, with approximately 900 patients cared for at the end of their life at Northern Health last year.

Children coming for surgery at Northern Hospital Epping can now drive into the operating theatre, thanks to the new Range Rover kiddy car, kindly donated in collaboration between Northern Health Foundation and Whittlesea Salvation Army.

The idea for the kiddy car came from Dr Jenny Coulson, Anaesthetist at Northern Hospital.

“As a group, we wanted to avoid kids getting stressed when they come into theatre and we thought the use of the car would make the kids happier when coming here,” she explained.

Dr Coulson explained the car is a good idea as it provides transport around theatre area. By using the car, the children don’t get put in the trolley, with the idea already proven successful in Asia.

“I reached out and spoke to Josie Verga, Northern Health Foundation Fundraising Manager and she was excited about the story and knew exactly the community group who would consider this opportunity.  One call to the Whittlesea Salvation Army, and the deal was done. Hopefully we will have a fleet one day,” she said.

The car also has a personalised number plate, with the Whittlesea Salvation Army name. The feedback from the children and families has been great, with our young patients happily engaged with a new way of arriving into theatre.

Featured image: Kalel and Dr Jenny Coulson

The Northern Health Respiratory Department has launched a specialist ambulatory pleural service as part of its Pleural Medicine Unit – the only formalised service of its kind in Victoria.

Pleural diseases occur when there is a problem in the chest cavity, the space between the lung and the chest wall. This often results in the production of fluid in the chest cavity (called pleural effusion) which can lead to breathlessness, chest pain and other symptoms. Fluid in the chest cavity may become infected (called empyema/pleural infection) and air from the lung may sometimes escape in to the chest cavity (called pneumothorax). Pleural diseases are common and the burden is increasing.

Dr Sanjeevan Muruganandan is a lung specialist and pleural lead, who has done his PhD with Professor Gary Lee in Western Australia – a world leading pleural researcher. The purpose of the Pleural Medicine Unit is to optimise care in patients with pleural diseases by reducing procedures, hospitalisation and standardising care pathways.

“There are over 50 recognised causes of pleural effusion, and our approach is to provide a service that accurately and quickly diagnoses the cause of the pleural problem so that the appropriate treatment can be given.”

“The aim of this innovative service is to reduce further procedures and pleural related hospitalisation, work collaboratively with our thoracic surgical colleagues and ultimately standardise care in all aspects of pleural diseases. In some patients who aren’t fit for surgery, the service offers a less invasive option, which is evidence based,” Dr Muruganandan said.

For example, an indwelling pleural catheter (IPC) can be inserted by the team to assist in the management of chronic recurrent pleural effusion, allowing patients to drain away the fluid whenever they have symptoms, such as shortness of breath. This prevents them from having multiple procedures, prolonged and further hospitalisation.

Noel Smith was one of their patients who had an IPC inserted.

“It meant a lot to me because I was able to be awake while they were doing it and it wasn’t painful. They explained to me what they were doing and it gives you hope if you know what’s going on – especially when you’re awake – I just thought that was tremendous,” Noel said.

“My quality of life definitely improved once I had the catheter in – it helped to take the fluid off, so I was breathing much better. Confidence-wise too, I thought the way they treated me and explained things to me – it built my confidence up so much,” Noel added.

The service is especially unique as it has the first Pleural Clinical Nurse Consultant in Victoria – Kirstin Tirant. Kirstin acts as a direct contact for patients as well as nursing staff when they need assistance, helping them over the phone and reducing the need for patients to have to present to hospital. With the addition of Dr David Feng earlier this year as the Pleural Fellow, the service is growing rapidly and contributing to research in this field.

“For patients with cancer, it’s often more about treating the pleural effusion. Some patients have a very short life-span, so we try to improve their symptoms and quality of life by helping them stay at home for as long as they can by offering that support system,” Dr Muruganandan said.

The team is able to fast-track patients to the pleural clinic, avoiding presenting to the emergency department.

“We have a consult service for the hospital which helps expedite their management plan,” Kirstin said.

“Our team is often involved at the beginning, helping to provide a diagnosis, and we support them throughout their journey. As a team being present throughout their whole journey, we can link these patients with the correct service at the right time,” Kirstin added.

Featured Image: Dr Sanjeevan Muruganandan and patient Noel Smith 

The Children’s Ward at Northern Hospital are grateful for the support they have received recently from Koala Kids Foundation – a volunteer-driven organisation that provides “small things that make a difference to the lives of children and young people.”

“Koala Kids contacted us about a month ago – they are a foundation that traditionally supports children with cancer and their families and the health care team who support them, and they had started reaching out to general paediatric units,” said Courtney Lowry, Children’s Ward Nurse Unit Manager.

Since linking in with Koala Kids, the Children’s Ward has received an abundance of therapeutic and other resources for children, their families and staff.

One of the most significant donations to the ward from Koala Kids was 12L of hand sanitiser.  Courtney contacted Northern Health Foundation to figure out the best way to distribute the sanitiser to patients and families.

“Northern Health Foundation funded the bottles for us and made labels for them, so we are able to give them out to families when they are discharged home – all up we made about 240 bottles. It’s a hard resource at the moment for anyone to get their hands on, so being able to give these to our families, is just an extra little thing we can do for them in these challenging times,” Courtney said.

“Koala Kids also donated a coffee machine to the ward for staff and the families to use, lots of different pantry snacks for the families to enjoy – two minute noodles, spaghetti, tiny teddies and Shapes – snacks that kids particularly like to eat,” Courtney said.

“We had a teenager in overnight recently and she said she was finally hungry after having no appetite due to feeling unwell.  The nurse had so many options from which she could choose, so at midnight she was able to eat noodles, spaghetti and popcorn! Normally the only thing we have to offer in the middle of the night is some toast. So it’s been amazing – overwhelming really!” Courtney added.

Besides the many generous items donated to the ward, Koala Kids also surprise staff with gifts on many occasions.

“We received a box of ANZAC cookies recently with a sign saying – ‘For all the families, doctors and nurses for ANZAC Day’. They also sent two big boxes of chocolate bunnies for Easter, specially for the nursing team,” Courtney said.

“Out of the blue, another package will turn up – like boxes of LEGO, colour in back packs and pencil cases specially drawn by Koala Kids volunteers, an abundance of bubbles……recently it was pizza boxes filled with activities for the kids to make a present for their mums for Mother’s Day!” Courtney added.

“Last week, we had a patient who had her birthday while she was in hospital with us – we were able to grab a bunch of things from the donations from Koala Kids to give to her so we could celebrate her birthday in a small way.”

“It’s the smallest things that can sometimes make the biggest difference. Thank you Koala Kids Foundation and Northern Health Foundation for all of your support of our patients, their families, and our hardworking staff!”

Featured Image: Katrina and daughter Isabella with nurses, Nicole and Aleks with the hand sanitisers 

The Northern Health Hospital in the Home (HITH) team have expanded their services to include offering iron infusions to eligible patients in the comfort of their own home.

HITH began offering infusions to patients who were already receiving treatment in their home for other reasons but also required an infusion, so the service helps patients stay at home longer and avoid extra travel including potentially having to come into hospital for one day.

“Some of the people who are frail were finding it difficult to travel to get their iron infusion done so it is more convenient to see those patients in their own homes with our nurses going out there,” said Lynne Santamaria, HITH Acting Nurse Unit Manager.

The home iron infusion service has ramped up over the last 6-12 months, offering the service to more patients where possible.

HITH are now able to provide iron infusions through the Residential Care Intervention in the Elderly (RECIPE) Program, so people living in aged care facilities can receive their infusion at home, rather than having to present to hospital.

For patients in hospital, the home service means they are able to be discharged sooner and saves them additional travel.

“If there’s a patient on the ward who may be ready to go home today but they require an iron infusion, their discharge might be delayed. So now, they could go home earlier and we would go to their house and do the infusion the next day. The service also helps prevent readmissions – if a patient is very frail and the infusion isn’t done within the next few days, they could end up being readmitted,” said Michelle McDonald, HITH Clinical Liaison Nurse.

“Patients are just much more comfortable in their own homes,” Lynne added.

In the current pandemic, COVID-19 has impacted all areas of Northern Health and HITH is no exception. HITH receives referrals from community home-based care programs and nursing homes asking for swabs on symptomatic patients that are unable to get to a fever clinic for a swab.

“Our staff have done this willingly and use full PPE when attending these visits. HITH also provided swabbing of asymptomatic patients during the government’s testing blitz,” Lynne said.

“Our staff have accepted and embraced all the challenges that come and will continue to come with nursing during this COVID-19 period. As their manager, I am very proud of the way our unit epitomizes the Northern Health values – safe, kind and together.”

Featured Image: HITH Nurse, Elle, with patient, Keith Carney

Procurement and Supply is responsible for third-party spending in the organisation, which totals approximately $180 million annually. A significant part of their function includes the management of consumables for wards, theatres, emergency, ICU and specialist clinics.

Rishad Syed has been Director of Procurement and Supply for three years. “Supply is all about continuity of service and COVID-19 has challenged our ability to keep the supply chain working, but I am glad to say we have managed. The biggest test has been ensuring adequate personal protection equipment. Initially we relied on our wide network of vendors to meet our demand including some new suppliers. Now, we rely more on the state centralised warehouse at Scoresby that has taken up the challenge of ensuring adequate supply for the state.”

There is a team of 12 working in Procurement and Supply, with five people in procurement and seven in supply. The whole team has been focused on supply over the last two months.

“We found local suppliers for face shields, eye shields and lens, sanitiser and scrubs. There are local companies that can support us, and that is something we have learned through this.”

To make sure the team is well rested in the challenging times where weekend work was frequent, Rishad made sure everybody used up their ADOs and got the rest that they needed.

As he prepares for his new role and industry, Rishad says Northern Health has been home for him for the last three years and he has thoroughly enjoyed working here.

“We have fantastic executives and I am very thankful for Siva and Basil for the opportunities they have given me. When I started, there was no Supply Department. Now we have 12 people and we comply with all Health Purchasing Victoria (HPV) regulatory requirements. I am most proud that I have been able to set up a department here at Northern,” he said.

“I will miss my team enormously as we have become close friends, especially now through this COVID-19 period. I will miss working with people at Northern Health, and the health sector as a whole. My biggest miss will be Basil Ireland. I loved working for Basil and he has been the best boss ever,” he added.

“I am thankful for my team, who have always supported me really well.”

This week is National Volunteer Week! Volunteers play an important part in helping Northern Health deliver outstanding health care for our community.

We have over 350 volunteers across our sites who assist with a variety of roles including guiding, manning the library trolley and drinks cart, visiting patients for a chat, cuddling babies, helping with administrative tasks, helping with Q-Flow, Social Support Group and assisting with fundraising activities. The volunteers also partner with community groups such as Red Cross, Whittlesea City Salvos, Whittlesea Craft Group, Kangaroo Ground Knitters and local schools.

Traditionally, Volunteer Week is an occasion where the volunteers are invited to an event where they are recognised and rewarded for their years of service. Due to COVID-19, volunteer activity across all sites unfortunately had to be suspended in the interest of their safety.

However, this year, Henni Wade, Christine McGowan and Monica Polimeni who oversee the volunteer services program, decided that since the volunteers couldn’t come here – they would go to them! They took it on themselves yesterday to drive 111 kms to personally deliver years of service awards to 17 of our volunteers. They plan to deliver the rest later this week.

Here in their words is a description of their ‘road trip’:

Today was a lovely day for a road-trip. Our first stop was at Pat Wills’ place. She was very surprised to see us. Pat has helped with a multitude of tasks including Palliative Care, raffles and the Goods Trolley. Congratulations on 20 years of service Pat! 

Pauline Chua is one of our CVS volunteers who is celebrating 15 years of service. Pauline had been regularly visiting residents in Villa Maria and Grace Villa. She can’t wait to be out and about visiting again. 

As we were trying to surprise volunteers with our visit, not everyone was home. Kevin Hede had popped out for a walk, so his son Darren accepted Kevin’s 15 years of service gift on his behalf. Kevin helped out in the Men’s Shed for a long time and is currently volunteering at the Broadmeadows Surgical Centre. 

We also missed Loretta Bettles and Brian Hoctor who are volunteer drivers. Loretta has been a driver for 10 years and Brian for 5 years. Silvia Crocitti wasn’t home either but we left her gift in a secret hiding place. Silvia has volunteered for 15 years at Bundoora Centre in the Busy Fingers Shop and also at the Northern Hospital. 

Jo McKenna has also reached a 20 year milestone. Unfortunately Jo wasn’t home and sent in this photo of herself holding her gifts. Jo volunteers on the Disability Advisory Group, is part of the Consumer Participation Group, helps with Q-Flow, sells raffle tickets, helps run the bingo and wherever else there is a need.  Phew!! What a list – thanks so much Jo!

 Lauren is pictured here with her Mum and Dad. Lauren has reached an amazing 20 year milestone! There is nothing that Lauren isn’t willing to try. She helps with so many things around the hospital. Thank you Lauren – you are a shining star!

Bill Butler volunteers at Broadmeadows Hospital helping with the Planned Activity Group/Old Blokes Shed. He is celebrating 15 years of volunteering. Congratulations Bill!

 

We managed to surprise Neville Watson and Les Poynton in person who are both from our Bundoora Centre, but missed Dennis Couche who had popped out for a walk.

 The lovely Lilia Corpaci has volunteered at Northern Hospital for 10 years. Lilia mainly helps out with replenishing stock in Emergency Department, but will help out where-ever needed. Thank you Lilia!

Norma McGrillen  is celebrating an impressive 20 years of volunteering. Norma helps out in the Busy Fingers Shop. Thank you so much for all that you have done for us Norma.

Nina Cardamone is one of our Pastoral Care volunteers. Nina has been volunteering with us for 10 years. Thank you Nina, it is so comforting for our patients to have your visits.

Other volunteer milestones include Shirley Dwyer who is celebrating 25 years. There are many more volunteers celebrating milestones, too many to mention here! Please join us in wishing our lovely volunteers, “Happy Volunteers Week!” We miss you!

Featured picture shows Volunteer Pauline Chua flanked by Monica Polimeni,Christine McGowan and Henni Wade.

Residential In-Reach is a program, operating through Northern Hospital, that works with local residential care facilities to try and prevent admissions into hospital and treat more residents within their homes.

The program started in 2002 and provides clinical, specialist nursing, geriatric medicine and palliative care support as requested once a GP or a nursing home refers a patient to the program.

“We can go out and provide clinical assessment and some level of support together with Hospital in the Home service, to facilitate patient stay in the facility. We know this can be the preference of patients and their families, but it also reduces distress and risk of transferring a person to a hospital,” explained Dr Daniel Ong, Registrar.

For the COVID-19 response, the team has redeployed an extra Aged Care Registrar and a HMO to assist with dealing with the increased demand generated by anxiety over the new virus. The increase in medical staffing has meant that the team are now able to provide a seven-day-a-week full service.

“It’s an ongoing, evolving situation. The original setup was one registrar and four nurses. We are now the primary responders for any resident in those facilities in our catchment area to respond to a suspected case of COVID-19. When it all started, we didn’t know how many people we would end up seeing, but we did know that the virus can spread very rapidly,” Dr Ong said.

Furthermore, the team also assist nursing homes in terms of isolation practises and correct use of PPE, and so far haven’t had any diagnosed cases.

“The team has swabbed over 100 people. We get a phone call and we would go out as we have been trained to do COVID-19 swabs and bring specimens back. That is why we had to increase our staff numbers, both nursing and medical, with two registrars on board,” explained Kylie Muntz, Clinical Nurse Consultant.

Offering this service now seven days a week to support our community has led to a lot of positive feedback, as often the physical assessment is needed and telehealth in some cases is not a feasible option.

The team agree that what they enjoy most is supporting families, residents and staff, as well as getting a sense of relief from families that someone is looking after their elderly.

“We have a very lucky role as we are not in a hospital environment, but we are able to practice in the community. We are doing everything we know, and we are doing it out there in the community. It’s the best of both worlds, as we help patients in their own homes,” Kylie said.

The efforts of the team are showing fantastic results – in April there were over 600 face-to-face contacts compared to the usual of around 400, and the team have prevented 106 potential presentations to the Emergency Department, compared to the usual number of 30-35.

“This program is unique because it fills the service gap that exists between the GPs, nursing homes and our hospital services,” Dr Ong added.

Featured image (left to right): Kylie Muntz, Dr Daniel Ong, Anne Rutherford, Dr Bec Tai, Anne Dewey.