NECTAR, Northern Health’s Collaborative Group for Thrombosis And Research, has had a very successful year.

The NECTAR research team presented at Northern Health Research Week (4 orals, 5 posters), the World Congress of International Union of Angiology in Beijing (5 orals) and Blood/THANZ 2018 Conference (3 orals, 10 posters)  in Brisbane and had three publications this year.

Dr Prahlad Ho, Director of Haematology, said this work has showcased to Australia, and the world, the excellent research performed here through NECTAR at Northern Health, which has generated a significant amount of international interest.

“One of the biggest things we have done this year is we’ve been very well represented internationally. We’ve been to San Diego at a premier haematology conference, and had two posters there. For the size of our institution, that was very well represented,” he said.

When it comes to thrombosis, Dr Ho says that Northern Health has one of the premier thrombosis research institutes in the state and that we are producing more research than other organisations in the state.

“This is a testimony of the hard work the team does, particularly Dr Rowina Brook and Dr Yin Lim, as well as three medical students who are working with us and have already presented at international conferences,” he added.

“One of our students, Brintha Krishnamoorthi, won the Best Poster Award at Blood 2018 in Brisbane,” Dr Ho said.

It is the sheer volume of research that this team does which makes Dr Ho proud.

“We’ve come from a service that never had thrombosis research to now be one of the largest thrombosis research centres, at least when it comes to conferences. At the Australia and New Zealand thrombosis conference, more than 20% of all posters were from Northern Health,” he added.

Having a dedicated thrombosis research laboratory is unique to Northern Health.

“We are probably the only institution in the state, and maybe even in the county that has the full range of diagnosis and tests which measure the total amount of clot formation. This means that other researchers now come to us to perform the tests, as we recently had samples sent from Austin Hospital to the Northern”.

“That is a testimony of how good the service is and how respected NECTAR research is.”

After three months on display in the foyer of Northern Hospital, the sleek and stylish Audi A1 Sportback has found a new home.

The Northern Health Foundation Annual Car Raffle winner is Anne Gravette, Program Manager of Transition Care at Northern Health Bundoora. Her role is to support patients in staying well at home once they leave the hospital.

Anne’s ticket was one of 470 tickets sold this year. She bought the ticket because she wanted to support the work of the Foundation in improving services available to Northern Health’s community.

“I’d like to encourage people to show their support for the Northern Health Foundation, and buying a ticket was a great way of doing that. The Foundation is doing great things to help the community,” she said.

Funnily enough, Anne loves Audi’s and even used to own one about two years ago, giving her one more reason to buy a ticket online just a couple of days before the draw closed.

Anne was at home drinking a cup of tea and getting ready for bed when she received a call from the Foundation team – “I was completely shocked…I remember yelling, are you for real?”

“I didn’t buy the ticket thinking I would win the car, as I never win anything, and I had almost forgotten that I even bought a ticket,” she said.

“I hadn’t actually told my family I bought a raffle ticket. Lucky I answered the call!”

The new car came at the right time for her family – her daughter is currently on her learners permit and was going to inherit the family car. Dinner dates with her husband will also now become much more stylish.

“Winning the Audi means I don’t need to look at buying another car next year. Also, my husband and I have a date night every month where we go out to dinner in the city, so it will be nice to drive this lovely new car when we next go out,” she said.

The Northern Health Foundation Annual Car Raffle ended in November, with the lucky raffle ticket drawn at the Freemasons Victoria Grand Master’s Gold & Black Charity Ball.

Freemasons Victoria have pledged to dollar match the funds raised during the car raffle, with Maxxia generously donating the car to the Foundation.

The car raffle has raised $47,000, which will be used to purchase much-needed medical equipment for the Paediatric High Dependency Unit at Northern Hospital Epping.

The new Paediatric Unit will allow Northern Health to provide comprehensive care to the most vulnerable young patients. This will save vital travel time for patients and enable treating the children of Melbourne’s north locally.

Christmas should be a joyous time spent with family and loved ones, but sadly, many sick children will be spending this festive season in the Children’s Ward at Northern Hospital Epping.

To help spread some Christmas cheer and put smiles on the faces of some of our smallest patients, the ISS team (Santa’s little helpers) at Northern Health Bundoora, will be running their annual Christmas present drive.

ISS Facility Services Manager and Christmas drive organiser, Snezana Poposka, says “I’m a mum of two and this is very close to my heart. Nobody wants their children in hospital, let alone at Christmas time.”

Santa’s little helpers will be collecting kindly donated presents to give to the children over the Christmas period – because Santa definitely doesn’t forget about the children in hospital.

If you would like to make a child’s day this Christmas, please wrap a child-friendly present (ideas below) and pop a sticker on with an age group range written.

Some ideas for age groups: 

1 – 3: Soft toy

3 – 5: Toys

5 – 8: Colouring book

8+: Puzzle or game

In the spirit of giving, please bring your present to our Christmas tree at Café 1231 at Northern Health Bundoora, or to have your present collected, email snezana.poposka@au.issworld.com

Yesterday, Victoria Police Blue Ribbon Foundation dedicated the Northern Hospital Paediatric Emergency High Acuity Unit in memory of Constable Neil Clinch, who at 22 years of age died in the line of duty.

For many years now the work of the Blue Ribbon Foundation has been a collaboration between our community’s protectors and its healers, and Northern Health is honoured to have the first Victoria Police Blue Ribbon dedication in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

In honour of Constable Neil Clinch, Victoria Police Blue Ribbon Foundation donated $150,000 to the Northern Health Foundation, to support the Paediatric Emergency High Acuity Unit.

The police memorial dedication and awards ceremony, held at Northern Hospital Epping, welcomed representatives from the Blue Ribbon Foundation, members of Victoria Police, local community representatives, Northern Health staff and Clinch family members.

Commemorative plaques in Neil’s honour were revealed during the ceremony and the Clinch family had the opportunity to visit the Pediatric Emergency Department, with the High Acuity Unit now named in memory of Constable Neil Clinch.

“This project will greatly benefit the children who require resuscitation with a dedicated space within the paediatric emergency department” said Northern Health Board and Foundation Board Director Peter McWilliam.

“We thank Victoria Police Blue Ribbon Foundation and the Northern Metro Branch for their generous donation and for choosing Northern Health to honour the memory of Constable Neil Francis Clinch.”

The project includes state of the art monitoring capability to four cubicles, allowing clinicians to manage high acuity presentations, high flow oxygen equipment to support management of asthma and bronchitis patients who require respiratory support, and neonatal resuscitaire for the monitoring and management of unwell newborns and infants.

The Victoria Police Blue Ribbon Foundation preserves the memory of members of Victoria Police who have died in the line of duty through the support of community projects within Victoria.

For many years now, the work of the Blue Ribbon Foundation has been a collaboration between our community’s protectors and its healers.

The Dietetics department admitted their first patient for a routine Gastrostomy (PEG) tube change last week. PEG tubes are required in patients who are unable to meet their nutritional needs via eating, and are often managed via the Northern Health Home Enteral Nutrition (HEN) service.

In 2015, Northern Health was one of five sites that received funding from DHHS to develop a credentialing program for dietitians to undertake advanced scope of practice in gastrostomy tube management. In 2016, the first Northern Health Advanced Practicing Gastrostomy Dietitian was credentialed.

At this time, an outpatient PEG clinic was set up in partnership with the Gastroenterology Department whereby routine balloon gastrostomy tube replacements were completed for HEN patients by the credentialed dietitian.

Two years post implementation of the PEG clinic, there are now two credentialed Advanced Practice Gastrostomy Dietitians; more than 80 PEG replacements have occurred; 80% of which were independently managed by the credentialed Dietitian, without the need for Gastroenterology or radiology input.

Tracey Martin, Advanced Practice Dietitian at Northern Hospital says that Advanced Practice Gastrostomy Dietitians have assisted in streamlining the care of patients with PEG tubes in the community. They also facilitate earlier discharge for inpatients requiring PEG tube replacements, allowing patients to bypass ED or radiology, freeing up these services for more urgent cases and reducing the demand on medical staff.

“From 6 December, PEG replacements and removals are conducted as an admitted procedure in the Allied Health (Foot) Procedure Unit single room; a space that is more suitably set-up for this procedure,” she said.

This will also allow for patients who are not managed by the HEN program to be admitted for routine PEG replacements, rather than their current pathway of coming into ED or radiology.

Lee-Anne is a patient with Cerebral Palsy who has had a PEG tube since 2012. Her mother, Lorraine, said that it’s much easier now for them to come directly to Allied Health.

“We now spend only half an hour, in a more relaxing environment. These procedures used to take half a day for us and we had to go through different departments. The communication with staff is a lot better,” she said.

The Advanced Practice Gastrostomy Dietitians are also working closely with the Gastroenterology Department, ward nursing staff and Emergency Department, to further improve the management of PEG tubes across the hospital.

Northern Hospital Epping hosted their Second Annual Venous Workshop, welcoming UK Vascular Surgeon, Dr Stephen Black, who came to supervise for the first time in Australia,  a complex endovascular recanalisation of inferior vena cava.

The workshop included procedures on two patients, with the first patient from Victoria and the second from Queensland, who came with his surgeon Dr Daniel Hagley to Northern Health specifically for this procedure.

Dr Iman Bayat, Head of our Vascular Surgery Unit, explained that these conditions arise when, despite taking blood thinning medication, veins never fully open and remain  partially and in segments, fully blocked. The patients suffered from a bursting sensation in their legs, especially when walking, as the partially blocked veins were not able to cope with the blood reaching the leg, therefore expanding and causing pain.

In the past, many patients like this were told that not much can be done.

“Today, we are opening these veins by using a fine wire to cross the blocked segments, then balloon the occlusions and finally keep these open using stents,” he said.

The first procedure was performed on a 40-year-old Victorian patient, a previously healthy stone mason, who after deep vein thrombosis developed pain in the leg and had his walking limited to only 50 metres.

“Today, we were able to successfully recanalise and open a completely blocked inferior vena cava and blocked right common iliac vein and very narrow and diseased left common external iliac and common femoral vein,” Dr Bayat said.

“We were able to come from both sides and the neck, working all together – Dr Daniel Hagley, Dr David Goh and myself, with the supervision of Dr Stephen Black. We were able to open this vascularly through three small punctures in the thighs and neck,” he added.

The dedicated team performed this complex procedure in only three hours, compared to the expected 4.5 hours.

Our guest, Dr Stephen Black, came to Northern Health to help with treating complex cases, and to try and put together an opportunity for their treatment.

“Dr Bayat has done a great job today and we are all hoping the patient will have a great result. Even though I am here just for a day, I can see the hospital is growing and everybody is putting in a lot of effort in building it up. Hopefully that success comes along with better outcomes for the patients in this area,” he said.

The Workshop is part of Northern Hospital’s vision of being a centre of excellence for complex venous disorders, and offering a complete spectrum of venous care.

The centre, unique in Victoria, offers a multidisciplinary approach to venous disease – closely collaborating with vascular surgery, haematology, radiology and wound care specialists. It offers both open and endovenous treatment for varicose veins and a weekly joint vascular and chronic wound clinic looking at venous ulcers. It also offers novel technology such as intravascular ultrasound.

The vascular surgery team believe this multifaceted and wide-reaching approach to venous disease will significantly improve health outcomes, whilst sharing their experience with other Victorian hospitals and learning from renowned world experts.

“I believe in innovation and that the way you get innovation is you fund research and you learn the basic facts”
– Bill Gates

This year, sixteen applications for funding were received for Round 21 of the Small Research Grants Program. With support from the Northern Health Foundation, five projects were chosen, receiving a total funding of $22,161.62.

Peter Brooks, Head of Research at Northern Health, explains the significance of the funding program.

“The Small Grants Scheme at Northern Health is very important as it can allow someone to take that idea they have had, get some preliminary data and then develop the project into a submission for larger amounts of funding,” he says.

The recipients are:

Name: Mr Russell Hodgson

Role: Specialist HPB & General Surgeon

Title: Laparoscopic Intra-Abdominal Pressure Study: A double blinded randomised controlled trial

Award: $5,000.00

Name: Penny Ramsden

Role: Clinical School Coordinator – Nursing

Title: Evaluation of RUSON model of assisted patient care

Award: $3,000.00

Name: Marinda Brooks

Role: Senior Speech Pathologist

Title: Improving patient swallowing outcomes by credentialing of staff in Fibreoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES)

Award: $4,862.62

Name: Edmund Leahy

Role: Senior Clinician Physiotherapist

Title: Effect of metabolic syndrome on clinical and health service outcomes for people with osteoarthritis

Award: $4,999.00

Name: Mr Neil Strugnell

Role: Associate Director of General Surgery; Consultant General Surgeon

Title: Negative Pressure Wound Therapy for Emergency Laparotomy – A Randomised Controlled Trial

Award: $4,300.00

The applications were assessed on the scientific merit of the proposal, as well as the potential to increase the contribution of Northern Health’s research to the wider community. They were also assessed on their ability to build research capacity and expertise, provide new and emerging researchers with opportunities to initiate their research, and the appropriateness of the proposed expenditure.

“As always, it is difficult to decide who will be successful, particularly with the highly competitive field we had this year, so congratulations to the projects that were funded – and those who were not successful – keep developing your project and hopefully we can fund it next time,” Peter says.

To learn more about each of the awarded research projects, click here.

With the temperature expected to rise to 36 degrees today , here’s a reminder on how to stay well in extreme heat.

Stay hydrated:

• Keep those fluids up! Even if you don’t feel thirsty, have a drink bottle with you at all times to ensure you’re drinking plenty of water.

Stay cool:

• Seek out air-conditioned buildings, keep blinds closed, take cool showers, and wear loose clothing made from natural, breathable fibres like cotton.

Stay out of hot cars:

• Hot cars can kill! Never leave children, older people and pets in cars. Within minutes, the temperature inside a parked car can double.

Stay smart:

• Avoid being outside during the hottest part of the day. If you do have to go outside, remember to slip, slop, slap on the sunscreen and seek shade.
• Avoid exercising in the heat and activities like renovating and gardening.
• Make sure food that needs refrigeration is properly stored.
• Eat smaller meals more often and cold meals such as salads.
• Watch or listen to news reports to find out more information during extreme heat.

Stay connected:

• Look out for each other – patients, staff, volunteers and community members.
• Check in on those most at risk in the heat – older people, pets and our patients.

Northern Health Acting Director of Emergency Department, Dr Dean Pritchard, says “Conditions as simple as sunburn, and as serious as heat stroke, can be prevented by avoiding exposure and exertion during the hottest times of day.”

“Care must be taken by staff and patients to avoid prolonged exposure to heat during summer, particularly when combined with strenuous activity. We must also be mindful of our elderly family and neighbours, who may not have access to air-conditioning,” he adds.

 

For more information on why heatwaves are ‘nature’s silent killer’, please click here