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FOLLOW US: @NTHSYDHEALTH
MEET DR WALTER
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PATIENT TRANSFERS
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NEURON MASTERPIECE
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NORTHERN SYDNEY LOCAL HEALTH DISTRICT
NSLHDJU
LY 2
018
/ IS
SUE
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NAIDOC CELEBRATIONSPAGE 4 AND 5
FROM the chair and ce: EOFY REVIEWAnother financial year has come to a close and what a year it was for Northern Sydney Local Health District that saw some incredible achievements.
There were more than 200,000 ED presentations to our hospitals and almost 80,000 of these required admission to hospital. More than 600,000 outpatient services were provided and more than 5,000 babies were born. Our staff also delivered almost 85,000 community health services.
Add to that home nursing, oral health consultations, renal dialysis, and public health campaigns – to name just a few more of our services - and you can see it’s an enormous undertaking to ensure our community stays as healthy as possible.
The numbers are huge but behind every statistic there is a story of a patient and their family and a member of our staff who made a difference to that person’s life.
Delivering first-class clinical care is tremendously important but we are also extremely proud of the way NSLHD staff deliver respectful and compassionate care. If our patients have a positive experience and you, our staff, feel valued and supported, we will drive high quality health care for all of the patients that come into our care.
Substantial progress has been made over the last 12 months towards transformational change in the way we approach clinical safety and quality. To achieve constant improvement we have begun to shift the focus to learn more from when we perform well. We will, and must continue to learn from when things go wrong. But there is an incredible amount to be learned and replicated across our District, when even in the most difficult of times you provide great care and outstanding patient outcomes.
Our staff are our greatest asset and it is important we recognise their many achievements and embed a positive workplace culture. This year saw the inaugural Exceptional People Awards that recognise and reflect our values of collaboration, openness, respect and empowerment. The staff awards followed nominations by employees, volunteers and our patients and consumers and were awarded to both individual staff and teams across NSLHD and were a great success.
We launched the latest NSLHD strategic plan which takes
us to 2022, when our local population will have grown to almost a million. The plan sets out our vision for the future to ensure we are leaders in healthcare, partners in wellbeing and meet the needs of our growing and ageing community.
We also launched our second Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan which will build on the great work of our first plan to ensure we provide holistic and culturally appropriate health care services to our Indigenous people.
Our hospital staff were put to the test in 2017 with one of the busiest winter flu seasons on record. It resulted in an 11 per cent increase in presentations to our emergency departments. Despite this increase, our staff were able to maintain performance and ensure our patients received timely and high quality health care.
Hornsby Hospital had the highest number of patients starting treatment on time in the Sydney metropolitan - 90.5 per cent - in the January to March 2018 quarter. This was 14 per cent better than the NSW average.
In addition, 79.4 per cent of patients were either transferred to a ward or discharged within four hours, which was five per cent above the state average.
Hornsby Hospital is undergoing an incredible transformation with $320 million ($120 million in stage one; $200 million in stage two) being invested in new buildings for clinical services.
In addition, the $19.8 million multi-story car park is nearing completion and is due to open early next year. It will bring the total of car spaces on site to more than 700 with access to parking being so important to patients and families.
The imminent opening of the new Northern Beaches Hospital will see acute services transferred from Manly and Mona Vale hospitals to the new hospital from the end of October. Planning for this move has been an enormous undertaking for our staff.
Patient transfer rehearsals have been held to ensure a smooth and safe transition on the day.
Around 900 of our staff from Mona Vale and Manly Hospitals are transferring to the new hospital. We wish
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FROM the chair and ce: EOFY REVIEWthem all the best in this new stage of their professional careers and are pleased the Northern Beaches community will continue to benefit from the excellent care they provide.
Planning is progressing well for the transformation of Mona Vale Hospital including the first dedicated inpatient palliative care unit for the Northern Beaches, and a specialist aged care unit.
A new Urgent Care Centre will open at Mona Vale Hospital on 30 October for the treatment of minor injuries and illnesses.
The opening of the $50 million Brookvale Community Health Centre completed the $100 million investment in three new community health services for the Northern Beaches community and complements the new centres at Mona Vale and Seaforth.
Ryde Hospital’s new critical care unit opened as part of the $9 million upgrade at the hospital which also included the refurbishment of Ward 2 providing more floor space, better room configuration and increased levels of comfort for patients and their visitors.
Royal North Shore Hospital again saw an outstanding year – handling the 2017 winter flu outbreak as well as scoring excellent results to ensure our patients had timely access to care and treatment.
In the January–March quarter, RNSH treated 83 per cent of ED patients on time – far exceeding the State average of 76.2 per cent, and the results of other Sydney hospitals.
Royal North Shore Hospital’s new childcare centre opened to provide modern spacious purpose-built facilities for the children of staff who work at the hospital.
Kolling Institute research continued to go from strength to strength and the appointment of a new Kolling Institute Director will ensure our research strategy continues to foster a culture of improvement by embedding research in clinical and health services.
We were very excited about the appointment of two very prestigious researchers who will join the Kolling Institute team. Biochemist Professor Mark Molloy joined as the Lawrence Penn Chair of Bowel Cancer Research
and Professor Bill Walter as Chair of Orthopedic Surgery. Having these two eminent positions will be of great benefit to our research and for patient outcomes.
These are just a few of the highlights and achievements over the last 12 months. There are many more that could be mentioned. NSLHD is an outstanding District of which we are immensely proud to be a part. We would like to thank the staff, volunteers and community and consumer representatives for all their hard work and care – each and every one of you has made these fantastic achievements possible.
Deb Willcox Chief Executive Northern Sydney Local Health District Trevor Danos AM Board Chair Northern Sydney Local Health District
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NORTHERN SYDNEY celebrates NAIDOC Week 2018
The celebrations kicked off with the raising of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flag on the Kolling forecourt.
Director of Aboriginal Health Peter Shine with NSLHD CE Deb Willcox.
get up to date with my Health record changesChanges to My Health Record are coming, and staff are being encouraged to stay informed.
By the end of 2018, every Australian will have a My Health Record unless they choose not to have one.
A three month opt out period began on July 16 and will run until October 15. In this period, individuals can inform the Federal Government if they’d like to opt out of the My Health Record system.
By mid-November, all Australians who didn’t opt-out will be issued a record.
For more information on this process, as well as information the benefits of My Health Record for staff and patients visit myhealthrecord.gov.au
We know our staff do amazing things and we want to hear about it.
Share your news, achievements, events with your District colleagues.
Contact Corporate Communications on 9463 1722 or email [email protected] to submit your news.
Publication is at the discretion of the editor and items may be edited for length, style and quality.
SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS
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NORTHERN SYDNEY celebrates NAIDOC Week 2018NSLHD celebrated NAIDOC Week this month with events across all of our facilities.
Royal North Shore hosted Pindarri dancer Kyle Freeman, Kiris An Taran Dance Troupe and special guest Christine Anu.
The event attracted a large crowd of staff, patients, visitors and children from the childcare centre as this year’s NAIDOC Week honours Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women with the theme of “Because of Her, We Can.”
It included the inaugural Aboriginal Health Hall of Fame launch, with lison White, Jessica Birk, Susie Broughton and Sue Pinckham the first inductees.
Staff, visitors and members of the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai community lent a hand to help finish a mural designed by Aboriginal artist Jessica Johnson.
The brightly-coloured mural can be seen at the GP clinic on Derby Rd and will now be a talking point for visitors.
Molly Florance, CNC, Northern Sydney Aboriginal Health Service; Tracielee Casey and her mum, Patricia; Melanie Gould, AHC, Sydney North Primary Health Network; Jessica
Johnson; and Jade McNamara, Australian Hearing.
Kyle Freeman performs in the foyer.Christine Anu wowed the crowd with a rendition of her hit ‘My Island Home.’
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We now have a clearer idea of the upcoming infrastructure program for Mona Vale Hospital, with the release of architectural images for the next building works on the hospital campus.
A video fly through of the new services has given us a bird’s eye view of what the hospital will look like.
Northern Beaches Health Service general manager Frank Bazik said the purpose-built facility is set to go next to the existing BRU building and will include the construction of the dedicated inpatient Palliative Care Unit and the specialist Geriatric Evaluation and Management Unit.
“The program also involves the refurbishment of the existing emergency building for the Urgent Care Centre, the relocation of the helipad and the construction of a new support services building,” Frank said.
“It’s pleasing to see the plans for these important new services move forward. We anticipate early works will commence soon ahead of major construction later this year.”
You can view the fly through on the new Mona Vale Hospital Facebook page @MonaValeHospitalNSW.
Vision for new services at mona vale unveiled
The new Palliative Care Unit set to be built next to the existing BRU building.
Plans for the new facilities at Mona Vale
NEW RYDE HOSPITAL GM ANNOUNCEDHeather Gough (pictured) has been appointed general manager at Ryde Hospital.
Heather is well known within the district, having held senior positions for more than 29 years, most recently as SPPF stream lead NBHS redevelopment and Divisional Manager, Women’s Children’s and Family Health, NBHS and HKHS.
She has a deep and unwavering commitment to the public health system and to the patients and families we are responsible for.
Heather will commence with Ryde Hospital on August 6 and will be located in the executive unit.
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masterpiece under the microscope
This colourful image is more than just red and green lines: it depicts a specialised form of brain cells that has earned its photographer a national award.
The image “Neurons that Fire Together Wire Together!” shows a specialised form of brain cells, referred to as cortical neurons, grown in the laboratory for 18 months from a patient suffering a neurodegenerative disorder. Neurons are cells that form a network and passage signals from one neuron to another. While the red fluorescence identifies cortical neurons, the green fluorescence identifies their network, confirming they are functional neurons.
The image earned Dr Gautam Wali, post-doctoral researcher, Department of Neurogenetics,
Kolling Institute, one of the top voted images at the International Society for Stem Cell Research conference in June.
“There are limited platforms for scientists to share their work with lay people,” Gautam said.
“Research outcomes of scientists are often presented in scientific journals and at conferences, where the audience is largely scientists.
“The Australasian Society for Stem Cell Research society conducted the stem cell image competition that was open to lay people for viewing and voting.
“This was a great opportunity to share a glimpse of my research work with others.”
Although the imaging technique itself - confocal microscopy - is
a fairly routine procedure in a laboratory, the procedure to produce these brain cells (seen in red) is highly sophisticated.
“It took me about 18 months to produce these brain cells from the patient,” Gautam said.
“We use these cells to understand the disease better and discover new drug therapeutics. We have this technology established here at Professor Carolyn Sue’s neurogenetics laboratory at the Kolling Institute.”
To view the other images, visit www.asscr.org/stem-cell-image-contest-gallery/
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People matter survey: big boost in participation rateThank you to everyone who took the time in June to complete the People Matter Employee Survey. As a District, we achieved 37% participation, up from 24% last year – a great effort.
More than 800 staff across the district claimed a coffee voucher prize at the information stands that were held at our hospitals, and 17 individuals won a gourmet fruit and chocolate hamper.
The People Matter Employee Survey is a great opportunity each year for staff to provide feedback about the workplace, what’s working well and what could be improved.
The results from the survey will be released in August 2018, and our teams will analyse, consult and devise action plans to implement changes across the district based on the feedback received.
Updates about the changes being implemented will be advised through this district newsletter and also on the Staff Engagement page on the intranet, so keep an eye out in these areas to learn about how we’re using the feedback.
SUCCESS FOR NSLHD at TOP 50 WOMEN IN PUBLIC SERVICE awardsFour women from NSLHD were named in the 2018 Top 50 Public Sector Women this month.
Deb Willcox and Associate Professor Elisabeth Murphy, both based at Royal North Shore, were joined by Hornsby’s Dr Clare Skinner and Mona Vale’s Jacqui Edgley at the ceremony held at NSW Parliament House.
This year was the first instalment of the NSW Top 50, following on from the programs launch in Victoria last year.
The objectives of the awards are to raise the profile of female leaders in the NSW Public Sector, shine a light on their achievements and provide a platform to support and encourage other women in the sector.
Well done to our very own fantastic four!
Dr Clare Skinner, director of emergency medicine at Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital, Associate Professor Elisabeth Murphy, network director, child, youth and family health services, Deb Willcox, NSLHD chief executive and Jacqui Edgley director of nursing and midwifery at Mona Vale Hospital.
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dr bill walter takes up historic university position
For Dr Bill Walter, his appointment as Professor of Orthopaedics and Traumatic Surgery at the University of Sydney sees him follow in the footsteps of his mentor. As a medical student, Dr Walter was taken under the wing of Dr Tom Taylor, a pioneer in orthopaedics in Australia and the establishing chair of the position. Now, Dr Walter is ready to make his own mark in this role, and he’s raring to get started.
“Here at Royal North Shore Hospital, we have world class orthopaedic surgeons who improve and change the lives of patients every single day, and in the Kolling Institute right next door, we have a world class research facility with
three orthopaedic research labs,” he said
As well as the clinical work, teaching and administration aspects of the role, research appears to be a keen focus for Dr Walter.
“I’ve always been very interested in research – I’m a scientist at heart and science is about discovering the truth,” he said.
“I’m really excited about developing the biomechanics research here. I think in this technological era, we’re rapidly accelerating in capabilities… and that has implications. There are opportunities to make healthcare cheaper and better - and I’d like to see us make a greater mark on the world with our work.
“I see myself making vital connections between the hospital and the university; bridging the gap between the engineers who are dealing with new technology in their laboratories at the university, and the clinicians who are delivering the care at Royal North Shore.”
With his workload increasing after his appointment, Dr Walter, a self-confessed outdoors and sports lover, already has an outlet lined up.
“I’ve always enjoyed skiing, but at the moment I’m working on surfing,” he said. “I’ve got three boys and they’re always interested in surfing and skiing, so we try to get in a few adventures.”
Save the date: innovation project round two pitch eventCome and see the top five applications pitch their idea for a chance at $50,000!
Where: Kolling Auditorium, Royal North Shore Hospital
When: August 22, 4 – 6pm
Food and drinks will be provided
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Teams from Manly and Mona Vale hospitals have been involved in patient transfer rehearsals as planning progresses for the October opening of Northern Beaches Hospital.
Health Care Relocations (HCR) – an international relocation team - will co-ordinate the transfer of patients from Manly on October 30 and from Mona Vale on October 31, and several rehearsals are being held to ensure the transition runs smoothly and safely.
Around 200 patients will be transferred over the two days, with about 120 from Manly and approximately 80 from Mona Vale.
This will be a large-scale, carefully planned operation, with patient safety as the priority.
HCR will work closely with the
To improve communications with patients and staff, Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Health Service is adopting a new approach that provides consistency across all departments.
New communication boards are being trialled in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Environmental Services, Physiotherapy Department, Lumby Level 1 and Geraghty with the aim of introducing them to all departments at the hospital.
Each department has three boards which state the name of the department, a brief description, the hospital’s vision “Excellence: Every Person, Every Day” and goals of the improvement plan
Clinical redesign and innovation manager Deb Stewart said the idea came from a suggestion by accreditation surveyors to improve the consistency of communication to staff, patients and carers at the
District and Healthscope in the lead up to the transition.
On the moving days, staff will prepare the patients for transfer before they are moved into an ambulance and transported to
Northern Beaches Hospital.
Vehicles moving along the route will be supported by the local area police command and the Traffic Management Centre to make sure the route is kept clear.
‘Patient’ in transit: Manly’s deputy director of nursing Lisa McEvoy arrives safely at the new hospital during rehearsals ahead of the transition on October.
Patient transfers to the new hospital to run seamlessly
Communicating consistently: boards rolled out at hornsby
hospital.
“The general manager, Lee Gregory and the executive wanted a consistent approach and we wanted the departments to own the information of the improvement work they were undertaking in the different wards and departments,” she said.
“Communication boards are a way of demonstrating what is going
well, identify opportunities for improvement and show agreed actions, progress and outcomes.”
Some existing notice boards have been taken down, but staff-only notices are still displayed in tea rooms and staff rooms.
Feedback will be sought from patients and staff before they are implemented across the whole health service.
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That old piece of equipment gathering dust in the corner may be redundant … but that doesn’t mean it’s useless.
The keepers of our history – RNSH’s honorary archivist Cate Storey and Eileen Henderson from the museum – have an important message for us all: “Tell us before tossing and call us before culling”.
“We all know the provision of health services is rapidly changing; however, rarely, if at all, do we stop to think that every day we are part of the history of change,” Cate said.
“We’re very fortunate at RNSH to have had people with foresight who knew the value of keeping historical material - documents, instruments, machines, programs and invitations, to name a few.
“These items have helped us establish invaluable resources in the form of a museum and archives.
“Someone in the past thought before throwing out an iron-long used in the polio epidemics; someone remembered to hang on to the out-patient records of the Sister Kenny clinic from around 1934. Each of these items has a unique story to tell.”
Today’s electronic records mean documentation is harder to find and keep, and more and more equipment is disposable.
hospital’s trash may be the museum’s treasure
Eileen and Cate are keen to hear from departments with items or memorabilia they no longer need, like this Transcranial Doppler which is making its way from 7F to the museum.
The piece was bought around 15 years ago and while it doesn’t look that old now, future museum visitors will marvel at this “ancient” piece of technology which helped measure blood flow in the brain by using ultrasound waves applied to the outside of the skull.
Used on stroke patients, the machine was donated by the hospital’s Ladies Committee and
was used to determine whether clot busting drugs could be used to relieve the blockage in the early phase of a stroke.
“This equipment will be so important in the museum when we want to show the early days of stroke management; the generosity of support from our voluntary workers; and how technology has impacted on medical science,” Cate said.
If you have something that may be of interest to the museum or archives, please email Cate at [email protected]
Stroke clinical nurse consultant
Sheila Jala with the outdated Transcranial
Doppler to be donated to the
museum.
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