In the lead up to the Short Notice Assessment in 2024, Northern Health will be undergoing a Mock Survey this week on 13 , 14  and 15  December, 2023.

The purpose of the Mock Survey is to gauge our level of preparedness and identify any gaps to be addressed in preparation for the actual survey in 2024.

Who will conduct the Mock Survey?

The Mock Survey will be carried out by Governance Plus, led by Sandy Thomson, who conducted our previous Mock Survey in 2019 and 2021. Sandy is a lead surveyor with the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS) and will be accompanied by Kylie Kreusser.

How will it work?

This has been planned as a Short Notice Assessment to reflect the way we will be surveyed in the first half of 2024. This will provide a view of how well we are meeting the actions in the National Standards.

What is the timetable for the Mock Survey?

Day 1: Wednesday afternoon, 13 December, 2023

• One consultant will visit Broadmeadows Hospital and one Mental Health community site.
• One consultant will visit Bundoora Centre and one Mental Health community site.

Day 2: Thursday, 14 December 2023 and
Day 3: Friday morning, 15 December 2023

• Both surveyors will be at Northern Hospital Epping.

• The surveyors will spend the majority of their time in the clinical environment.
  This will include talking with staff and patients, and observing that our practices meet the requirements as outlined in the National Standards.

Short Notice Accreditation Assessments and Action Cards Procedure

A new procedure has been developed that outlines Northern Health’s preparation for mandatory short notice accreditation assessments as part of the Australian Health Service Safety and Quality Accreditation (AHSSQA) Scheme for Australian hospitals.

In this procedure, there is a list of Action Cards (on page 6) that have been prepared for specific roles in the organisation and this will assist with the planning and preparedness of the Short Notice Assessment.

• Short Notice Accreditation Assessments and Action Cards procedure

For more information, including the Mock Survey Timetable and the PowerPoint presentation from The Window session on Monday, 11 December, click here.

Northern Health Pharmacy staff recently attended the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA) Medicines Management National Conference 2023 in Cairns.

The event is Australia’s largest scientific pharmacy conference, in which an impressive number of our pharmacy staff attended and submitted abstracts to present during the conference.

Jeff Khoshaba, Education, Research and Development Lead and Pharmacist, attended the conference. He said the event featured an inspiring range of presentation from students to senior management leaders and was a great place to share experiences and knowledge.

“It really was motivating to be in the midst of hundreds of hospital pharmacists and technicians from across the country who are passionate about their profession and their input into healthcare,” Mr Khoshaba said.

“We can truly say Northern Health shone, with fantastic feedback and commentary from conference attendees. The conference was inspiring and a great opportunity to gather knowledge and share innovative ideas from hospital pharmacists and pharmacy technicians from across the country.”

Twelve pharmacy staff presented at the event, showcasing research projects, pharmacy services and quality improvement activities:

• Aaron Hoey (Oral Presentation):  Home is Where the Heart is – Does a Virtual Ward Improve Prescribing Practices?
• Cynthia Donarelli (Poster Presentation): MedPass – a ticket to dietitian prescribing oral nutritional supplements.
• Danni Miatke (Poster Presentation): ‘Off-Sides’: Management of complex Non-Tuberculosis Mycobacterial infections in an ‘Aminoglycoside free’ hospital.
• Emma Burnet (Poster Presentation): Should we risk it? A VTE Risk Screening and Anticoagulation Prescribing Audit.
• Gina Georges (Poster Presentation): Slipping Up on Sliding Scales.
• Nikayla Van Krieken (Poster Presentation):  Allergy Alert! Evaluation of the communication of new allergies post-discharge.
• Andrew Leake (Poster Presentation): Spinning Silver into Gold: An Evaluation of an IBD Pharmacy Technician-Led Subcutaneous Biologic Delivery Service.
• Nivein Yenis (Poster Presentation): Right under your nose. Pharmacy support in the implementation of a novel randomised controlled trial.
• Angela Given (Poster Presentation): Old tools – new tricks? iGuidance as a decision support tool in prescribing COVID-19 antivirals.
• Jeff Khoshaba (Poster Presentation): Shining the research idea light brighter.
• Alexandra Brown (Poster Presentation): The Virtual Reality of Medication Error Reduction Through Multidisciplinary Teamwork.
• Alexandra Brown (Poster Presentation): A Virtual Patient Experience.

“As the Education, Research and Development Lead Pharmacist I attended the conference to support our Northern Health presenters, scope innovative ideas and gain insight into education, development and research in hospital pharmacy departments across the country,” Mr Khoshaba said.

“The conference theme was about finding ‘Space to grow’ and was an excellent opportunity to reflect on pharmacy practice over the years and collaborate with colleagues from across the country to establish ideas on growing the pharmacy profession and optimising medication management for our patients at Northern Health.”

Featured image: Pharmacy staff at the conference.

#WeAreNorthern

Meet Navneet Gill, Translations Coordinator, Transcultural and Language Services (TALS), Northern Health.

Q: What is your coffee order?

A: Mostly a tea addict, in my veins you’ll find more tea than blood. However, when I go for a coffee, it’s cappuccino and extra hot for me, please! I also love Turkish coffee, one which is exclusively made and served by my colleagues at TALS.

Q: Tell us about your journey at Northern Health?

A: I started working at Northern Health in 2017 as an interpreter and translator and have not looked back since. We have a wonderful team here at TALS that I am so proud of. Our days as interpreters can quickly go from sad to happy, and vice versa.  As in, soon after you might have delivered sad news of someone not making it through the night, you might be interpreting in the maternity ward, welcoming a newborn into this world. It all happens in one day. Apart from many other insights, this role has made me appreciate life, family and friendships even more.

Q: What does your new role at TALS entail?

A: My new role as a Translations Coordinator involves liaising with various stakeholders, assessing the documents, mostly information brochures, that are requested for translations, assisting Stefania Zen, our Education and Engagement Manager in delivering trainings, along with facilitating the interpreting student’s practicum. The Northern Health catchment area is highly diverse, one appointment in every five is with an interpreter. If we want to provide patient centric care, along with keeping the Northern Health values of safe, kind and together intact, then the role that we play cannot be underestimated.

Q: Tell us something not many people know about you?

A: That I am a people’s person. I keep people above everything else. Another thing people might not know about me, is that being a mum to boys, I am exploring new things I never did in my life before, like going to the Formula 1 races. It’s fun to watch 20 race drivers drive around in circles for hours!

Q: Favourite destination to travel?

A: Favourite destination is India. Besides my unfinished exploration of Himalayas, my bucket list is full of some places of historical importance like Varanasi (one of the oldest living cities in the world), Bodh Gaya and others. Although not sure how much my broken ankle would allow me to climb, I’m a mountain girl at heart!

I would also like to go around Australia some day on a caravan too. I would not feel like a complete Aussie till I do this.

The introduction of the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) was a transformative change for all staff delivering inpatient, emergency, surgical and maternity care.

A reminder that, in order to gain access to the EMR, staff need to be trained, meaning staff who have not been adequately trained will not have access to the EMR.

The EMR training format will now be a facilitated eLearning module, where staff will be required to come to a classroom to complete eLearning with a trainer present in the room of whom they can ask any questions.

The training material will be refreshed, and continue to focus on basic functionality while being more workflow centred.

Staff can practice in the Train Domain prior to their first shift. Training will run every Monday and will be an open session, allowing all cohort groups to register staff for training (nursing, midwifery, medical, allied health). These will be held in the training rooms on Level 3 of the NCHER building.

These will be considered open sessions, allowing all cohort groups to register staff, where trainees  follow the course materials relevant for their role. Pharmacy, HIS/HIM/CODER, Ward Clerks and Pathology cohorts will be trained using a training plan local to their area.

Managers can decide whether staff can complete eLearning training in their own time. Departments will be required to provide local training/orientation to embed area specific workflows.

Any further questions related to training please reach out to the EMR team via
NH-EMRQuestions@nh.org.au.

The Northern Health Emergency Department (ED) team is consistently striving to innovate and think differently to ensure the provision of timely emergency care to our community.

In pursuit of this goal, the team conducted a one-week trial in October in the Fast Track area of the Northern Hospital Epping Emergency Department, by introducing an exciting new concept known as FLIP – Fast Track Leadership and Intervention Physician.

This one-week trial involved the presence of an Emergency Physician onsite every day from 12 noon to 8 pm. The Fast Track area within the ED is a bustling environment, equipped with eight cubicles, three procedure rooms, and handles an average of 80-85 patients each day. Typically, this area caters to patients who require assessment, treatment, and care before they can safely return home.

Some patients may proceed to short-stay units or wards, while others may return on a different day for surgical procedures. The Fast Track area is well-staffed with a highly skilled team, including nurse practitioners, registrars, junior medical staff, registered nurses, allied health primary and secondary practitioners, and various support staff.

Katie Smith, Deputy Director, Emergency Department, said the aim of FLIP was to decrease the average length of time patients spend in hospital before they go home.

“FLIP will play an integral role in a busy area, ensuring our patients are getting their tests and investigations ordered as promptly as possible, so that patients are not waiting for long periods,” she said.

Initial results from the trial showed early improvement across all targeted areas of the pilot, including the length of time patients spend in Fast Track, how quickly they get seen by a clinician, with an average improvement of 25 per cent.

The FLIP initiative is part of Northern Health’s broader improvement efforts, aligning with the principles of the Timely Emergency Care Collaborative (TECC), which aims to ensure the ‘right patient, right place, the first time.’

Further work and testing are currently being undertaken in December. Planning is underway for FLIP to be sustainable long-term, and to see further improvement for our patients.

Featured image: Members of the TECC Project team and colleagues from the Department of Health and the Institute of Health care Improvement.

Northern Health and Nexus Primary Health have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to partner together and strengthen their commitment to addressing health and wellbeing challenges in Mitchell Shire.

The agreement was signed by both Amanda Mullins, Chief Executive, Nexus Primary Health and Siva Sivarajah, Chief Executive, Northern Health, on Monday, 27 November 2023.

Both organisations welcomed the MOU and committed to creating positive health outcomes for the residents of the northern catchment of Melbourne and southern Mitchell Shire. This collaboration emphasises their dedication to providing health services that resonate with the diverse needs of the local community.

This MOU outlines a collaborative framework to enhance health and wellbeing outcomes for residents, ensuring improved access to services in the Mitchell Shire.

Key initiatives include:

• Collaborative efforts to address and prioritise health and wellbeing issues in the northern catchment.
• Active advocacy within the northern corridor to enhance health and wellbeing initiatives, along with improving infrastructure resourcing.
• A commitment to understanding the health and wellbeing needs of local communities, driving the design of innovative and responsive solutions.

“Nexus Primary Health is excited to be formalising our partnership with Northern Health under this MOU. As a geographical service provider partner, we have always had a positive working relationship with Northern Health, and we look forward to consolidating on this in the near future,” said Amanda Mullins, Chief Executive Officer, Nexus Primary Health.

“As the population through the lower Mitchell area grows, we look forward continuing to deliver care to our community through partnering with the Northern,” said Ms Mullins.

“A strengthened partnership with Nexus Primary Health is timely, considering Northern Health’s recent voluntary amalgamation with Kilmore District Health. Nexus Primary Health serves the Mitchell Shire, which is expected to triple in population in the next twenty years, with an additional 181,000 people set to call Mitchell Shire home,” said Neela Konara, Director of Partnerships, Northern Health.

“This partnership embodies a collective effort to create positive and lasting changes in the health landscape of Mitchell Shire. Northern Health and Nexus Primary Health are thrilled about the transformative initiatives that will unfold as they work together over the coming years,” Ms Konara said.

Featured image L-R: Siva Sivarajah, Chief Executive, Northern Health and Amanda Mullins, Chief Executive, Nexus Primary Health.

Accreditation is a formal process whereby an independent team of healthcare professionals assess the quality and safety of services provided against best practice standards. Accreditation is undertaken every three years, and Northern Health’s last accreditation assessment was in 2021.

All Victorian public health services, including Northern Health, must undergo regular assessments to maintain their accreditation through the Australian Health Service Safety and Quality Accreditation Scheme (AHSSQA).

An accreditation assessment involves an on-site visit by assessors who are independent of the health service. They look for evidence that each action in the Standards has been implemented. It is a requirement to be accredited to operate as a health facility.

In 2024, Northern Health will undergo an onsite Short Notice Assessment by the Australian Council on Health Service Standards (ACHS). This means, for our next Accreditation, we will be given 24 hours’ notice of an assessment. This assessment will be completed prior to 5 June 2024.

All transitioned mental health services will be included in the survey apart from the aged residential services, which will be surveyed under the Aged Care Standards by the Aged Care Commission.

Kilmore District Health had a successful accreditation assessment in March 2023. Due to the amalgamation, they will be included in our next short notice accreditation assessment to ensure that all Northern Health sites that come under the National Standards are assessed at the same time to align our accreditation cycle.

Maree Glynn, Director of Clinical Practice Improvement, said quality and safety was everyone’s responsibility.

“Everyone has a role to make sure that care given to patients, families and people visiting our organisation is the best it can be, and that we have the right culture where quality and safety is valued,” she said.

To ensure Northern Health is #ReadyAnytime for accreditation, staff are encouraged to:

• Follow Northern Health policies and procedures on PROMPT.
• Identify and report incident and near misses/risks/hazards to your manager and enter into Riskman (VHIMS) – if you see something, say something.
• Undertake your mandatory training including an annual performance appraisal.
• Participate in quality and safety improvements in your work area.
• Be respectful and inclusive of patient’s needs and include them in all decisions about their care and treatment.

At an individual level, staff need to understand what their role is, and which Standards are relevant to them. If you are unsure, your manager will be able to help you.

For more information, please visit the Intranet.

Upcoming Mock Survey

To help the organisation prepare for upcoming Accreditation, a short notice ‘mock survey’ is being planned for the month of December.

This will give Northern Health an independent view of our compliance in practice with the National Standards and identify any areas of risk that may require our focus.

The organisation will be given 24 hours’ notice of the mock survey, to replicate a short notice survey as much as possible.

#WeAreNorthern

Meet Stephanie Elliot, Enrolled Nurse, Caladenia Nursing Home, Kilmore District Hospital.

Q: Why and how did you choose your specialty?

A: In Year 9, my class visited a nursing home. During the visit, we were buddied up with a resident, which saw us working with the resident to complete an “about me project” on the resident’s life. Before this I’d never been to a nursing home. Spending that time working alongside the elderly and getting to know their life stories is where my passion for aged care began.

I then completed a Certificate 3 in Allied Health Assistant, before doing placement hours within a nursing home. I also completed a school-based apprenticeship throughout this course. From that time on, I knew I wanted to work within the healthcare field. After graduating from high school, I then enrolled in a diploma in Enrolled Nursing and began working as a Personal Care Assistant (PCA) whilst completing my diploma.

I began at Dianella Hostel at Kilmore District Hospital and the staff at Dianella helped me transition from a PCA to an Enrolled Nurse once I had finished my diploma. I then began working at Caladenia Nursing Home and also took on the role of Leisure and Lifestyle Coordinator.

Q: What do you like most about your role?

A: I have such a passion for working alongside the elderly. I love being given the opportunity to make a positive difference in the resident’s day-to-day life and their overall quality of life. I enjoy getting to know the residents, learning their life stories, meeting their families, seeing the smiles on their faces, being able to provide them with the care they deserve and having the opportunity to make a positive difference in their lives, not only for the residents but their family too.

Q: What are some things people don’t know about you?

A: I actually had a serious car accident almost a year ago which caused major injuries and put me out of work for a while. This has had a major impact on my life and many of aspects in my life have changed, but despite these traumatic injuries I’m lucky to be alive and lucky to have been able to return to my work that I love while I continue on my healing journey.

Something that not many people know about me (pre-accident) is that I’m a very athletic and outdoors person. I’m someone that loves being outside whether that’s gardening, mowing or using the chainsaw to cut wood. I ride motorbikes and drive off-road race cars, and I love fishing and camping.

Q: Where is a favourite place you’ve travelled to, and why?

A: Broome – I always wanted to visit Broome after watching the movie Bran Nue Dae. I loved the different scenery and the colours of the beaches.