Get the latest news from across Northern Sydney Local Health District.
NORTHERN SYDNEY LOCAL HEALTH DISTRICT NSLHD
Official opening of the Tom Reeve Academic Surgical Clinic at RNSH Royal North Shore celebrates the opening of the Tom Reeve Academic Surgical Clinic. Read more on Page 5
NSLHD wins big at NSW Health Awards Page 3
Pink ladies raise funds for RNSH Page 9
Leaders in healthcare, partners in wellbeing
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Message FROM the acting Chief executive Dr Tamsin Waterhouse
message FROM the Chief executive Deb Willcox
This month has highlighted the calibre of the staff in NSLHD. We kickstarted the month off with our Exceptional People Awards followed by the NSW Health Awards. Please join me in congratulating Professor Margaret Fry, Director of Research and Practice Development Nursing and Midwifery and Meredith Oatley Oncology Nurse Practitioner, who won the Transforming Patient Experience category with their Oncology Telephone Hotline, and to Dr Eveline Staub, Staff Specialist, Neonatology and her medical and nursing NICU colleagues for their project “Walking the Milky Way”, which won the Patient Safety First category. All of our entrants and certainly our winners rose to the top of almost 200 entries from across NSW Health because the care and complete focus for patients and their wellbeing stood out so strongly. The Oncology Helpline gives patients living with cancer and their families telephone access to expert clinical advice so they can avoid coming to hospital when they are experiencing symptoms from their treatment or condition or simply feeling overwhelmed – overall an 11 per cent reduction in cancer patients having to come into the Emergency Department for treatment. A real patient story was told at the Awards how the oncology helpline had supported the family of one of our dear health colleagues during an incredibly stressful and difficult period.
Eveline and the NICU team have developed an improved feeding regime for our premature babies that means central lines are removed sooner – this has led to zero central line infection rates in the NICU at RNSH. Our two other nominations were equally outstanding. To the Workforce team and Professor Sarah Hilmer, Head of Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Senior Staff Specialist, RNSH, and her colleagues – thank you. At RNSH, we had the opening of the Tom Reeve Academic Surgical Clinic, which was attended by almost 100 people. The clinic honours the inaugural Professor of Surgery at RNSH, Prof Tom Reeve. Under his leadership, Royal North Shore has grown into a centre of surgical, educational and research excellence. This month is Mental Health Month and it is about raising awareness and the importance of working together to reduce the stigma that shadows those in our community living with mental illness. At Macquarie Hospital, the Insideout Gallery is showcasing the work of artists who have a mental health experience. In a wonderful initiative, they have partnered with Ryde Council and some of the artists’ art work will be displayed on flag pole banners around Top Ryde.
Deb Willcox Chief Executive Northern Sydney Local Health District
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Health Minister Brad Hazzard, NSW Health Secretary Elizabeth Koff, Cameron Priest, Emily MacNaught, Abbey Van Vuuren, Karen Lawrence, Eveline Staub, Kay Hyman (Nepean Blue Mountains LHD Chief Executive), Stewart Dowrick (Mid North Coast LHD Chief Executive)
NSLHD wins big at NSW Health Awards Northern Sydney Local Health District scooped two top honours at the recent NSW Health Awards. Professor Margaret Fry and oncology nurse practitioner Meredith Oatley took out the Transforming Patient Experience category with their Oncology Telephone Hotline, while neonatology staff specialist Dr Eveline Staub and her NICU colleagues took out the Patient Safety First category for their project Walking the Milky Way. The Oncology Helpline gives patients living with cancer and their families telephone access to expert clinical advice so they can avoid coming to hospital when they are experiencing symptoms from their treatment or condition or simply feeling overwhelmed. It resulted in an 11 per cent reduction in cancer patients having to come into the Emergency Department for treatment.
Eveline and the NICU have developed an improved feeding regime for premature babies that means central lines are removed sooner. This has led to zero central line infection rates in the NICU at RNSH. The two triumphs come after four nominations from the district, beating out stiff competition from across NSW. Other nominations from NSLHD included Pavin Govinda and Laura Brain’s entry Contagious Innovation – Fighting Influenza with FluPortal in the A Safe and Healthy Workplace category and Professor Sarah Hilmer and team’s Electronic Support for Medication Review in Older People in the Health Research and Innovation category. CE Deb Willcox said she was proud of the winners and the nominees, not just for the award but also for striving to deliver the very best in patient care. “All of our entrants and certainly our winners rose to the top of almost 200 entries from across NSW Health because the care and complete focus for patients and their wellbeing stood out so strongly,” she said. “I am so deeply proud of all of the entrants and our winners, and I know the winners and nominations are but a snapshot of the incredible work done every day across this LHD.” Both winners also claimed top billings at the inaugural NSLHD Quality and Improvement Awards earlier this year. The QI Awards will return in 2020, hopefully to help shape more winning NSW Health Award entries.
NSW Health Secretary Elizabeth Koff, Parliamentary Secretary for Health Natasha Maclaren-Jones, Professor Margaret Fry, Meredith Oatley, Susan Pearce (NSW Health Deputy Secretary)
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Chatswood High students uphold impressive tradition Year 12 students from Chatswood High School spent their last school day not mucking around, but walking donations along the walk. Their efforts paid off, with more than $1,400 raised on the day. will be used. Chatswood High students have co-ordinated the charity walk for nearly a decade,
The large group completed their walk at the Vanderfield building, where they heard from paediatric department staff who discussed the impact their donations have made over the years and how this year’s funds
from their school to Royal North Shore Hospital to raise funds for the paediatric unit. The final year students replaced their school uniforms with hospital scrubs and collected
raising close to $25,000 for the paediatric unit over that time. We’d like to thank this year’s group for their time, commitment and enthusiasm.
Anastasia on world stage RNSH senior scientist Dr Anastasia Mihailidou will fly the NSLHD flag at an upcoming international conference on social media and its role in medicine. Anastasia was invited to sit on an expert panel which will be held at Jefferson Health Hospital in Philadelphia during the American Heart Association Conference. You can follow Anastasia and her coverage of the event on Twitter via her handle @AnastasiaSMihai
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Official opening of the Tom Reeve Academic Surgical Clinic at RNSH Royal North Shore has celebrated the opening of the Tom Reeve Academic Surgical Clinic. “The development of the clinic demonstrates a changing interest and is a green light for the future,” Tom said. academically testing but all who interact with the clinic will have a great experience. They will also have the fairly onerous task of applying for funding.”
The clinic was named in honour of Professor Tom Reeve (pictured above) who was the inaugural Professor of Surgery at RNSH and a previous President of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Under his leadership, Royal North Shore developed into a centre of surgical, educational and research excellence. The purpose of the clinic is to acknowledge and build upon the foundations of academic surgery that Tom Reeve created on the campus, and to provide opportunities for surgical outcomes research and clinical trials in a supportive academic environment Approximately 100 people attended the opening with one previous fellow some in Tom Reeves unit sending a video message which was played on the day.
“For those who wish to engage with the clinic it provides a great place to explore interests and ideas within a reservoir of strong academic advice.
The academic clinic is a collaborative initiative between the NSLHD, the Division of Surgery and the RNSH SERT Institute.
“The road to success will be
Professor Tom Hugh with Professor Tom Reeve and his wife Mary Jo Reeve
CE Deb Willcox (centre) with Steptember winners
Northern Sydney steps up As the dust settles on another Steptember campaign, Northern Sydney has emerged victorious in the battle of the districts. The district also claimed fourth highest fundraising organsiation nationwide raising a total of $68,162.43, behind Goodman, Telstra and Chatswood Toyota.
Top Fundraising Teams 1st Kai’s The Limit | $12,665 2nd Lollylegs | $2,379 3rd Walk in the Park | $2,319
Steptember achievements
Total funds raised $68,162.43
Top Fundraising Individuals
more than 220 million steps
1st Talei Lewis | $9,539 2nd Celia Miller | $2,174 3rd Sally Lewis | $1,580
Top steppers
Since 2016, the district has raised $206,075
team: Stayin’ Alive |1,235,199 steps Individual: Susan Field|1,309,949 steps
Since 2016, the district has raised $206,075.
Ryde staff at Granny Smith Festival The team is still buzzing from the success of last weekend’s Granny Smith Festival. Thank you to everyone who stopped by the Ryde Hospital stall. More than 500 people stopped by the Ryde Hospial stall for a free blood pressure check. The team also held hand hygiene demonstrations. A huge thank you to all our staff who volunteered on the day. Did you know the annual Granny Smith Festival celebrates the life and legacy of one of our district’s most famous citizens, Maria Ann Smith - aka Granny Smith - who, back in 1868, ‘accidentally’ grew the first batch of little green apples that bear her name and are now grown all over the world.
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City of Ryde showcase work of five local artists To celebrate Mental Health Month,
making for mental health. It aims to develop awareness of mental health issues, support wellbeing and connect with our community. This project is collaboration between the City of Ryde and Insideout Gallery, a professional studio and gallery space for developing and emerging artists who are impacted by mental health experiences. Insideout Gallery is located at Macquarie Hospital, North Ryde and is actively supported by Mental Health Drug and Alcohol, Northern Sydney Local Health District. Artworks will also be printed on free postcards along with information about local mental health resources. The launch of Art for Mental Health is on Thursday 31 October, 2pm - 3pm, at Insideout Gallery, Macquarie Hospital.
the City of Ryde is showcasing the work of five local artists from Insideout Gallery at Macquarie
Hospital and Cornucopia Community Art Group.
Original artworks by Simon Champ, Ruth Sariban, Paulina Nikolzew, James Akhurst and Tim O’Loughlin will be exhibited as flags installed around Top Ryde from 23 October to 11 November 2019. Each artwork highlights the unique and personal story of recovery experienced by the artist. Making art can be a powerful way to express ourselves, share our stories and find points of commonality and connection. Engaging with art allows us to better understand the varied lives and experiences of the people that make up our community.
Painting by Ruth Sariban
The Art for Mental Health project celebrates the benefits of art
Painting by Tim O’Loughlin
Painting by Simon Champ
Painting by James Akhurst
Painting by Paulina Nikolzew
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Brandon Howard, President HFMA, Melanie Lindsay, NSLHD Finance, Andrew Daly, Group Executive Customer Development, Maxxia and Daniel Hunter, CFO NSW Health.
Melanie Lindsay wins national finance award District Finance officer Melanie Lindsay
herbie goes viral
has won a national award for her contribution to the finance sector.
Melanie took out the category at the 2019 Health Awards, held in Sydney as part of the HealthCare Financial Management Association (HFMA) national congress. NSLHD Finance was proud to have two nominations in the awards with Callum Blanchard nominated in the Finance Rising Star of the Year category.
Congratulations to both Callum and Melanie.
SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS
We know our staff do amazing things and we want to hear about it. Share your news, achievements and events with your District colleagues. Contact our team on 9463 1722 or email NSLHD-media@ health.nsw.gov.au to submit your news.
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District medication safety and governance pharmacist for NSLHD Dawn Astles, Head of Department of Clinical Pharmacology at Royal North Shore Hospital Professor Sarah Hilmer with consumer representative Elizabeth Yee
Shining a light on medication safety For some, medication is an everyday part of life, whether it be taking it or administering it – but this Medication Safety Month, we’re all being asked to think about the five moments of medication safety.
dose as they see fit,” she said.
“For example, they would measure their blood pressure at home and decide that they only need to half a tablet that day, or skip the dose on a particular day because their blood pressure looks ok. “This defeats the purpose of people taking prescribed medicines only to find out they may not be effectively taking them because they have modified their medicine regime.” Professor Sarah Hilmer, Head of Department of Clinical Pharmacology at Royal North Shore Hospital, has conducted extensive research into the field of polypharmacy in older people. She says 50 per cent of older Australian are taking medicines that are unnecessary or where harm currently outweighs the benefit to them. “There’s been a huge increase in the number of medicines available,” she said. “People are starting to use them as preventative treatments in middle age and continuing to use them into older age as they accumulate more medications for more medical problems.” For more information on the STARS medication safety APP, please visit bit.ly/2MXMIT2
That is, the five critical moments when patients and clinicians should seek information from each, to better support safe medicine administration The five moments, starting, taking, adding, reviewing and stopping or ‘STARS’ remain as important as ever. District medication safety and governance pharmacist, Dawn Astles said it was important for staff to play a role in assisting patients with any questions they have about their medications. “Starting any type of medication can be a stressful time, especially if the person has never taken medication before or are already taking multiple other medications,” she said. “We want to encourage our staff to use the five moments of medication safety tool to assist patients, their families and carers and support them in answering any medication questions.” Consumer representative Elizabeth Yee said it was important for patients to follow the advice of their medical professional and not take matters into their own hands.
“Some people I know reduce or change their daily
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National Carers Week National Carers Week is about recognising and celebrating the outstanding contribution unpaid carers make to our nation. Anyone at any time can become a carer. Australia’s 2.7 million carers make an enormous contribution to our communities, with their caring roles being valued at $60.3 billion annually – more than $1 billion per week. Each year, National Carers Week provides an opportunity to educate and raise awareness among all Australians about the diversity of carers and their caring roles. So join us in spreading the word and letting the community know why we care. For more information visit www.nscarersupport.com.au
pink ladies raise funds for RNSH Royal North Shore’s Pink Ladies Committee baked up a storm in aid of BreastScreen during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
All up, more than $400 was raised by the pink cupcakes and raffle tickets, which were snapped up by staff, patients and visitors.
The funds will be put towards purchasing new equipment in the fight against breast cancer.
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Foundations of the future laid A significant milestone occured at Mona Vale Hospital this week with the first concrete pour for the inpatient Geriatric Evaluation Management ground floor is in, we will really start to see the new building take shape,” she said.
“This building will be a valuable addition to our campus, supporting the needs of the Northern Beaches community.” The design for the 10 bed palliative care service and 10 bed geriatric evaluation and management unit will take advantage of the peaceful coastal location, allowing for a comfortable setting for patients.
(GEM) and inpatient Palliative care unit.
The first part of the ground floor concrete slab has been poured, with the remainder of the ground floor slab and commencement of framing for the building to follow. Mona Vale Hospital General Manager Jacqui Edgley said it was exciting to see the works progress. “Now that the first major concrete pour for the
The unit is due for completion in 2020.
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From Innovation to the Bedside
In 2018, the Carer Support Service delivered Carers @ the Bedside lime green recliners and other resources across our LHD. The project, which commenced with two recliners in the orthopaedic wards, has now rolled out to every hospital across the NSLHD, with the concept soon to be taken up by other LHDs.
Barbara Lewis from NSLHD Carer Support says the Carers @ the Bedside project is aimed at improving the experience of Carers who stay overnight to help care for their family members who have a cognitive impairment or are at the end of life. “Our program aims to ensure that Carers are recognised, respected and valued as our Partners in Care,” she said. “It’s about including Carers and enabling them to support and assist us in the care of their loved one.” The Carer Support Service undertook an interim review in January this year and found there were a range of issues with the smooth functioning of the project. As a result, they now have a dedicated Carer Support Officer working on the project. For assistance, please contact Pip Bernauer on 9462 9721 or email NSLHD-Carers@health.nsw.gov.au
Program Successes
Staff Feedback included: • 98% staff feel the program improves patient quality care • 97% staff feel Carers staying at bedside reduces falls risk and improves communication especially for NESB and patients with intellectual disability Anecdotal Carer feedback included: • Carers feel more included in collaborative care and discharge planning • Carers feel respected and identified as important in the support and wellbeing of the patient
2019 RNS Survey Data
The Carer Support Service also offers regular ward in-services to educate staff about the Carers @ the Bedside program, and can assist staff in learning how to identify and engage with Carers.
● ● ● "It was helpful for my husband and the staff for me to be at his bedside whilst he recovered from surgery. He was disoriented, unsettled and quite cranky with the nurses. I could also help him communicate as he didn't seem to be understanding English. I could tell him when they were going to give an injection, or medications and help calm him." ● ● ●
● ● ● “This model of supporting Carers should be across the state. My daughter's had a lot of hospitalisations. When we were in another childrenʼs ward there was a mattress on the floor but this is the first time in an adult hospital I have been able to stay ‒ it meant I was able to see the doctors, check on progress and we came home earlier than expected.” ● ● ●
The NSLHD Carer Support Service Telephone: 9462 9488 Website: www.nscarersupport.com.au Facebook: www.facebook.com/NSLHDcarersupport/
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