Nominated for his clinical leadership in spinal management, Acting Director of Emergency Department – Emergency Physician, Dr Dean Pritchard, received the award for ‘Excellence in Safety’ at the inaugural Staff Recognition Awards.

Challenged by the lack of a dedicated spinal service at Northern Health, Dean and the quality team identified some system issues that needed to be fixed to better manage spinal patients.

“This was one of the biggest pieces of work I’ve contributed to at Northern Health,” Dean says.

Dean was involved with a team who met with a patient’s family to discuss the findings of a quality case review, and most importantly, explained what things were going to change in response.

“I think being involved in the implementation of a new process really drives you,” Dean says.

In collaboration with the Emergency Department, General Surgery Department, General Medicine and Head of Neurosurgery at St Vincent’s Hospital, a new process was created to better manage spinal patients moving forward.

The new management system was presented at a recent Safe Practice Forum, highlighting Northern Health’s progress in treating an increasing number of patients presenting with spinal fractures.

Deputy Director Emergency Department, Jack Yeung, who nominated Dean says, “Dean has been instrumental in his clinical leadership with Spinal Management Protocol Version 2 and has worked well with the Orthotics team at Northern Health.”

On winning the award, Dean says, “there was a lot of work done outside normal work hours and a lot of work done outside my usual scope of practice to make this happen, so to be recognised for that was nice.”

When asked what it is about Northern Health he enjoys, he says it’s the patient mix and staff.

“The presentations are so rich and diverse, and the patients in this area absolutely need the Emergency Department to maintain their physical and mental health.”

“I also like the fact that despite us growing into the size of a larger hospital, we still maintain that friendly interaction between different departments. We’re all still very collegiate and it translates into the way we practice.”

Sponsored by Maxxia and BankVic, our Quarterly Staff Recognition Awards have been designed to formally recognise outstanding contributions by our employees and celebrate staff excellence. Nominations for the next Quarterly Staff Recognition Awards will open December 2018.

Christmas came early for our wonderful volunteers today at the Annual Volunteer Christmas Party, held at the Casa D’Abruzzo Club Epping.

The day was filled with music from DJ Con, delicious food, a lucky draw, dancing and even a surprise visit from Santa.

Northern Health has 350 volunteers who help to deliver our vision of providing trusted care for our community, with the oldest volunteer being 96.

Senior Coordinator Engagement, Henni Wade, was delighted to see everyone dancing and having fun, admiring how the Christmas party is a wonderful opportunity for everyone to come together.

“Sometimes, we don’t see all the people behind the scenes and all the work they do – this is a chance for us to thank them for all their help during the year,” she said.

The dedication of Northern Health’s incredible volunteers was displayed even today, on their day off.

“Even though they had a day off today, some of them still came in early to do their shift and then head to the party, simply because that is what they love. They just felt that they would let their ward down if they took a day off!” Henni said.

Executive Director Public Affairs and Foundation, Andrew Williamson acted as MC and Zoe Devenish, Site and Operations Director Broadmeadows Hospital, thanked the volunteers on behalf of the executive team and management.

Director Northern Health Foundation, Yvonne Amos said the volunteers are equally important and valued by our patients, their families and staff.

“I am astounded by the number of volunteers Northern Health has across its services and by the depth of their work. The volunteers are very much part of the caring community spirit that thrives here at Northern,” she said.

As part of Northern Health’s vision to create a centre for excellence in endovascular procedures, last week, a group of surgeons from Thailand and Vietnam visited Northern Hospital.

The visit provided our guests with the opportunity to observe the performed endovascular procedures, as well as to exchange findings with staff members.

Dr Iman Bayat, Head of Vascular Surgery Unit said that Northern Health collaborates closely with the industry.

“When there’s a requirement for training in overseas countries, the overseas surgeons are brought to Australia to observe our procedures, giving us all a great opportunity to exchange experiences,” he said.

The overseas surgeons witnessed some of the great outcomes our endovascular teams are achieving.

“Today we were successful in performing three endovascular repairs of abdominal aortic aneurysms. One of them was on a 96 year-old patient that was done purely under local anesthetics, and he will be going home tomorrow back to his family,” Dr Bayat said.

During the two day visit, Dr Kumpoo Foofuengmonkolkit, a cardiovascular surgeon from Bangkok, was introduced to medical devices used at Northern Health, as well as given a tour of the hospital and the chance to observe some of the procedures.

“The team here are just fantastic and I’ve learned a lot – especially the new techniques,” he said.

After sharing knowledge with experts from Northern Health and observing procedures, he feels confident he would be able to adapt the findings to procedures he performs in Thailand.

The visit was supported by Medtronic.

Today is White Ribbon Day, a day for the community to come together to show their commitment to ending men’s violence against women.

To mark the occasion, staff at Northern Hospital Epping are holding a bake sale in the foyer until 4 pm – all proceeds will be donated directly to White Ribbon Australia and Berry Street.

White Ribbon Australia strives towards a world free of family violence through primary prevention, engaging men, advocacy, and raising public awareness.

Northern Health is only the second health service in Victoria to be awarded White Ribbon Accreditation.

Northern Health’s primary catchments, the City of Hume, City of Whittlesea and Mitchell Shire Council, experience the highest rates of family violence in Victoria.

Continuing the movement to end violence against women is the ’16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence’ campaign which will commence 25 November (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) and run until 10 December (Human Rights Day).

The campaign recognises that family violence is a global health issue, with one in three women worldwide experiencing gender-based violence (UN Women 2018).

To show our support and increase awareness, hope and unity, we will be running the following activities during the 16 days:

• Heart Leaves: This involves writing a message of support on a cut out leaf which will be displayed on a tree in the foyer.
• Fingerprint Tree: Place a fingerprint on a tree to show your commitment to ending gender-based violence.
• Polished Man: Paint a fingernail to show your support to raise awareness of, and help prevent violence against children (one child dies every five minutes as a result of violence).
• A Touch of Orange: Have a small orange image on your face for the day to open discussions around awareness and show support to end violence.

On the final day of the campaign, Monday 10 December, our tree full of messages of support will be joined with other trees from public hospitals across Victoria, and displayed in the city at Southbank Spillway between 12 pm – 2 pm. Everyone is encouraged to attend.

For more information about 16 Days of Activism, please click here.

ICT Infrastructure Engineer, Vikramjit Multani, was on holiday in Amsterdam when he received a message from Northern Health staff needing assistance.

Vikramjit offered to help from his hotel but he didn’t have much time – he had a bus to catch in just over an hour for a trip around Holland.

He ran down to reception and requested he borrow a laptop. The only problem…it was in Dutch.

“It was interesting trying to figure out the laptop,” he laughs.

“I eventually got in and offered to stay on the phone and help while I was on the bus,” he tells us.

From the other side of the world, Vikramjit was able to remotely access our systems and work with the team back home to fix the ICT problem – which is why he recently won the award for ‘Above and Beyond’ in our first Quarterly Staff Recognition Awards.

He was nominated by both Northern Health Chief Information Officer, Bill O’Brien, and Mike Masilamani from Public Affairs.

“Vikramjit is a critical part of the ICT support services with unique skills and a fantastic work ethic. He is accountable, knowledgeable and most importantly, reliable,” Bill says.

“I can’t speak highly enough of Vikramjit and his willingness – along with the team in ICT – to readily help out when we’ve  had problems with both the website and intranet, which Public Affairs manage,” says Mike .

On winning the award, Vikramjit says, “It feels great to be acknowledged for our efforts, and in fact the whole team.”

With a Master of Information Technology Systems and studies in Computer Networks, Vikramjit has worked at Northern Health for over a decade. His current role is to look after  infrastructure systems  available for use by clinicians.

As an Epping local, Vikramjit appreciates the efforts of Northern Health staff in providing trusted care to our community.

“Having my kids born at Northern Hospital Epping, I understand just how hard everyone tries to provide quality care,” he says.

“I have a passion for technology, and as technology is the backbone nowadays for patient care, I just love being part of a team trying hard to deliver their services effectively,” he adds.

Vikramjit says the best part about working at Northern Health is his colleagues and seeing people work together at different levels.

“I love working as part of a smart, hardworking infrastructure team, with positive energy and a can-do attitude in what can sometimes be a challenging environment.”

Sponsored by Maxxia and BankVic, our Quarterly Staff Recognition Awards have been designed to formally recognise outstanding contributions by our employees and celebrate staff excellence. Nominations for the next Quarterly Staff Recognition Awards will open December 2018.

Shortness of breath, a repetitive cough, increased phlegm and feeling tired are all possible signs of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

COPD, a term used to describe lung conditions including emphysema, chronic bronchitis and chronic asthma, is a progressive lung condition that obstructs airflow and makes it difficult to breathe.

However, many people with COPD often mistake their symptoms as signs of ageing or lack of fitness. They automatically think to adjust their daily activities to accommodate symptoms rather than seeking help.

Dr Katharine See, Department Head for Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, says COPD is the second leading cause of preventable hospital admissions in Australia.

“One in seven adult patients admitted to Northern Health last year had a confirmed diagnosis of COPD,” she says.

Whilst there are many medicines available to treat COPD symptoms, there are also a number of lifestyle habits such as smoking cessation and  individualised exercise programs which can dramatically improve symptoms, and even slow disease progression.

With the right diagnosis, support and care, patients can dramatically improve their quality of life.

Barry Howden, pictured above with Maureen Goodwin, Respiratory Clinical Nurse Consultant, has just successfully completed six weeks of pulmonary rehabilitation at Northern Health.

“It has helped me with breathing, as well as understand more about my lungs,” Barry says.

“I now have a different outlook on life and can do more than I could do previously!” he continues.

“Early diagnosis is critical to improve outcomes and quality of life,” maintains Dr See.

To learn more about World COPD Day, please click here.

In recognition of the International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD) on Monday, 3 December, Northern Health Disability Working Group (DWG) is running an art competition titled ‘Celebrating Ability’.

Operations Director, Community, Gillian Dickman, says it underlines Northern Health’s commitment to promoting respect and inclusion, and celebrating individual differences.

“We are encouraging teams, wards and departments to be as creative as possible in interpreting this year’s theme – Empowering persons with disabilities and ensuring inclusiveness and equality,” she says.

Celebrated internationally, IDPwD is a United Nations official day that aims to increase public awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability.

The competition welcomes all art genres/media – e.g. photography, painting, sculpture, animation.

The winning team entry will collect $100 in addition to attractive individual prizes.

Closing date for entries is Sunday, 2 December, so get creating!

For more information about IDPwD, Celebrating Ability Art Competition and Northern Health’s Disability Working Group, please click here.

Last week, we welcomed over 15 students from the Employment Pathways Program at Melbourne Polytechnic College to Northern Hospital Epping to thank them for raising funds for the Northern Health Foundation.

Their annual fundraiser raised $900, which was collected at a morning tea earlier this month. The students made delicious treats and received a gold coin donation from all attendees.

Northern Health Foundation staff met students for a cheque presentation and thanked them with morning tea.

Northern Health have been in partnership with Melbourne Polytechnic College since 2013 and during that time, have raised over $5,000 for the Northern Health Foundation.

Students from the college who are learning English as a second language come into Northern Hospital Epping to practice their speaking and listening skills.

They are buddied up with our hospital volunteers and help offer tea and coffee in outpatients and the emergency department waiting room and sell raffle tickets. The more confident students guide our visitors around the hospital.

Some students even return after the completion of their placement and become registered volunteers with Northern Health.

Northern Health Foundation Director, Yvonne Amos, expressed her appreciation for their ongoing support to our commitment of providing trusted care to our community.

“On behalf of the Foundation, I would like to thank the students from Melbourne Polytechnic for their support of Northern Health by raising funds from their annual morning tea,” she said.

“The support they have shown for their local hospital is a reflection of the community spirit that is ever present here in the north.”