NSW Ministry of Health - Far West Local Health District...Author Administrator Created Date 7/2/2015...

Message from the Chief Executive

The Far West Local Health District Newsletter Edition 6, Vol 5, June 2015

The conclusion of the financial year has seen lots of activity finalising the 2015/16 budget and preparation for finalising accounts from 2014/15.

Dr Barnett retired after 40 years visiting Broken Hill and Wilcannia. I’m not sure there is an adequate way to recognise the enormous contribution Dr Barnett has made since his return to Broken Hill in 1975. I’m sure everyone who has worked with him joins the Board and I in wishing him a long and happy retirement.

Changes to the executive structure that I flagged earlier this year are now being implemented. Tess Robinson is currently acting as the Director of Nursing and Midwifery (DONM) for Broken Hill Hospital, which releases Dale Sutton to focus more on her role as District DONM and General Manager of the Lower Western Sector. Applications closed for the General Manager Broken Hill Health Service last Sunday, with a strong field of applicants. We will be interviewing for this role next week and hope to conclude recruitment in late July. On 6 July, Zandra Corey, our new Director of Clinical Governance will also start work.

NAIDOC week is approaching fast, with a range of celebrations organised. It’s also a good time to remind those of you who have not yet done so to undertake “Respecting the Difference”. Last week we confirmed that the LHD is over half way to its objective of 10.6% of staff being Aboriginal, with 5.4% in the latest results. Hopefully changes in the organisation and culture are improving the work environment for everyone, but particularly Aboriginal people.

It’s great to see the level of engagement in community events from the teams down along the Murray. The team at Dareton got a bit fruity for the 90th birthday of Dareton, and then went red walking to raise money for heart disease in women.

A new rotation of JMOs arrived, though I’m not sure we can call Cecily Nicholls new anymore, but it’s always good to have her back. Welcome also to all the new staff I meet at corporate orientation. The results of the Your Say Survey are almost compiled and I’m looking forward to seeing how we are going in our efforts to make the LHD a great place for new and existing staff to work.

Wifi has been installed in the Broken Hill Staff Quarters, the start of a much larger redevelopment of information technology across the LHD, which includes:

significant expansion of bandwidth to all facilities (due for completion by November 2015);

direct access to servers (no more need to go through Citrix) for all facilities;

implementation of Wifi in all LHD facilities (due for completion in September 2015);

roll out of EMR (November 2015) and CHOC (March 2016) to all facilities;

implementation of a system for everyone to better manage and track initiatives contained in the LHD business plan and performance agreements (July 2015); and

implementation of a comprehensive Business Intelligence system for the LHD (due September 2015).

The latter will dramatically increase information available across the organisation about what we are doing and how well we are doing, with the data used updated daily.

Denise McCallum has been appointed Project Manager, Integrated Care and commences later in July. This project is focused on people 20-50 (initially in Broken Hill) who have all the precursors to develop chronic diseases. We’ll be working closely with GPs to ensure we engage this group in the first year, those who do not use GPs in the second year and roll the refine approach out to all communities in 2017/18.

This issue of Far West In Focus highlights the enormous contribution that volunteers and communities make to the LHD, both financially and in kind. We are extraordinarily lucky to receive the level of support we do. I think it is a reflection of the great work each of you do and how highly valued that work is in our communities.

Happy new Financial Year. — Stuart Riley, Chief Executive

Nurses Sue Cooper and Liz

Buffon — a couple of saucy

tomatoes — joined other

Dareton Primary Health staff

to help celebrate Dareton’s

90th Birthday — see page 8!


PAGE 2 Submissions for Far West In Focus can be sent to [email protected]

The newsletter can be found on the Far West LHD website at www.fwlhd.health.nsw.gov.au

The District joined with colleagues and friends of Dr Michael Barnett (ENT Specialist) to wish him well on his retirement after 40 years as a visiting consultant to the Broken Hill Hospital.

During his fortnightly visits to BH Hospital, he performed surgical procedures in the operating theatre and consultations in the specialist clinics. He also attended three-monthly visits to Wilcannia Hospital.

Dr Barnett has a long-time connection with Broken Hill, living here as a child when his father, Dr Sam Barnett, worked here as a doctor.

NUM of Specialist Clinic, Kathryn Morrison said: “Dr Barnett has been a valuable member of the FWLHD and community of Broken Hill. For the last 40 years he has not only treated the people of Broken Hill , including me and my family, but also generations of Broken Hill families. Dr Barnett has local family connections and a strong commitment to the Broken Hill community. He has a great interest in horse racing and is a Friend of St Patricks Race Club and attends the race meeting every year with his wife, Helen. He will not only be missed by the staff of the Broken Hill hospital but also the community of Broken Hill. We wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement.”

FWLHD Board Chairman, Tom Hynes, also congratulated Dr Barnett on his wonderful achievement of serving Broken Hill for 40 years. “Thank you very much for your service and we wish you all the best in your retirement.” He noted Dr Barnett has worked as a Track Doctor at the Morphettville Racecourse and is a Life Member of the South Australian Jockey Club. “I would suggest you’ve got a good book looking at you there (to write in your retirement),” he advised.

Dr Barnett said he was overawed with the generous farewell. “Thank you very much for the day,” he said. “Broken Hill is Broken Hill, I grew

up here and it’s just a pleasure to come back. In fact, when I came back from England in 1975 and was looking for a job in Flinders (really what I came back for) the first thing my father said was ‘Michael, you will come back to Broken Hill, won’t you?’ I hadn’t thought of that, hadn’t been to Broken Hill since I was a medical student, and Broken Hill was not on my radar, Flinders was the important job. So Dad got me the job — 40 years later, here we are. It’s been a great pleasure, Broken Hill is still my home as far as I am concerned. Thank you very much for your kind thoughts.”

Dr Barnett was at a farewell morning tea presented with a feature clock in recognition of all his efforts and support given to the community. Congratulations and best wishes on your retirement!

Dr Barnett calls time on 40 years as visiting consultant

FWLHD Board Chair Tom Hynes joined with colleagues and friends of Dr Michael Barnett (right)

to wish him all the best in his retirement after 40 years serving the community.

Colleagues, friends and family wish Dr Michael Barnett farewell and all the best at a special morning tea

The 2015 Patient Experience Symposium was recently held in Sydney as part of Patient Experience Week.

The symposium allowed NSW Health staff and consumers to hear from leading experts in patient experience and Patient Reported Outcomes Measures and to share innovations in improving patient experience. Go online to view the plenary and breakout sessions at http://www.blueshadowgroup.com.au/clients/CEC/patient/

Patient Experience Symposium

http://www.blueshadowgroup.com.au/clients/CEC/patient/http://www.blueshadowgroup.com.au/clients/CEC/patient/




What is stress? Experiencing stress is a natural human response to what’s happening around us and the demands we place on ourselves. It is part of being alive and some stress helps increase our alertness and energy to meet challenging situations. However, if stress lasts a long time or overwhelms our ability to cope, it can have a negative effect on our health, wellbeing, relationships, work and general enjoy-ment of life. Stress doesn’t have to control our lives. We can improve our knowledge about stress and increase our resources to become more resilient. Here are some tips about what to look for and how to help yourself or get help. How does stress affect us? Stress is helpful when it increas-es our ability to be alert, ener-gised, switched on and resource-ful in facing challenges we enjoy or have to deal with. But stress becomes unhelpful when it leaves us feeling fatigued, tense, anxious, burnt out or over-whelmed. Sometimes, if stress seems overwhelming, it can help to see a counsellor to find better ways to cope. What helps? Be aware – monitor your levels of stress and ask whether they are helpful or getting you down. Take stock – think about things in your life or pressures you place on yourself that may be increasing your stress. Take charge – deal with unhelp-ful sources of stress before they build up and become a bigger problem. Make choices – look at areas in your life where you could manage your situation better or change the way you respond. Learn about some good ways to deal with stress. These are ways to help you bounce back and become more resilient. For example: – Talk to someone you trust, call a friend, phone Lifeline (131114) – Have a health check with your GP – Get exercise – Eat a healthy, balanced diet -- Make time for things you enjoy Visit www.lifeline.org.au to find Lifeline’s Overcoming Stress Tool kit and links to other helpful resources.

Stress Down Day is a national fundraising event for Lifeline and this year it will be on Friday, 24 July.

The goal of the day is to have fun, stress less and feel better. Stress Down Day is an opportunity to remind you to take time out from your busy lives to have fun, stress less and feel better!

Join your colleagues for a cuppa and cake! The Mental Health and Drug & Alcohol Service in Broken Hill invites you to wear your trackie pants, slippers or other comfy clothes (no pyjamas as we are keeping in mind the dress code, of course) and join us for morning tea at 10.30am in the Boardroom, Kincumber House or the Meeting Room at Primary Health.

Bring a gold coin donation and/or bring a plate to share — hope to see you there!

A warm welcome to the new acting Director of Nursing for Broken Hill, Tess Robinson.

Tess (pictured) has a broad history of working in health both at a state and national level and

most recently at international consultancy level working in both Beijing and Shanghai. She has

broad clinical and management experience both in the public and private sector and has worked as

a Director of Nursing since 2000.

Tess said: “Coming from a population of 21.5 million to a population of around 20,000 was

different. What attracted me was that I grew up in a community in Queensland with a similar

population size and I love the community focus that everyone in Broken Hill embraces.”

New Director of Nursing for BH Health Service

Stress Down Day is nearly here!

INNOVATION By Mel Welsh, Clinical Redesign & Innovation Manager




The Projects for Improvement link on the FWLHD intranet home page has been updated.

You will find some additional useful resources listed here. The PoGo link will now take you to a spreadsheet listing projects that we know about at the moment.

The PoGo list is updated on the intranet every 3 months. The Projects for Improvement link is: http://fwlhd.gwahs.nswhealth.net/ClinicalGovernanceUnit/ProjectsForImprovement.php

We have also uploaded some examples of project templates onto the intranet.

If you are looking for a project plan, or a project time line, or a stakeholder communication plan, then go to the intranet and have a look at some examples of these types of documents.

Of course you can still ask for help if you need it, but these templates might be the starting point to help you move from conceptualisation of a project to something a little more concrete.

The link is: http://fwlhd.gwahs.nswhealth.net/CorporateStyle/CorporateStyle.php

The Staff Recognition Awards and Health Innovation Awards for the district are fast approaching. This year, every nominee into the wards will

also display a poster. We will have our first People’s Choice award

this year, based on voting for the posters on the day.

The posters will be uploaded onto the intranet so we can keep sharing the results of the projects people have undertaken.

We can get ideas and learn lessons from each other, so use the virtual posters roadshow as a way to connect and keep building on the great work going on across the district. I will let you know where to find the posters once they are on the intranet.

“Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.” — Tweegram.

Staff Recognition Awards and Health Innovation Awards coming

http://fwlhd.gwahs.nswhealth.net/ClinicalGovernanceUnit/ProjectsForImprovement.phphttp://fwlhd.gwahs.nswhealth.net/ClinicalGovernanceUnit/ProjectsForImprovement.phphttp://fwlhd.gwahs.nswhealth.net/ClinicalGovernanceUnit/ProjectsForImprovement.phphttp://fwlhd.gwahs.nswhealth.net/CorporateStyle/CorporateStyle.phphttp://fwlhd.gwahs.nswhealth.net/CorporateStyle/CorporateStyle.php




Jayne Langran, CNC Chronic and Complex Care (left) with Uni Sydney Exercise Physiology students Nicola Pithers and

Samantha Lou and Karen Brewster at the Go Red for Women Day info stall in the BH Hospital.

Health Service staff supported the Heart Foundation’s Go Red for Women Day on 5 June to help raise awareness and funding to battle the single biggest killer of Australian women – heart disease.

Jayne Langran, Clinical Nurse Consultant, Chronic and Complex Care, said heart disease is the single biggest killer of Australian women, taking a life every hour of every day, three times more than breast cancer.

Hospital were asked to wear something red whilst at work and make a donation to the Heart Foundation on Go Red for Women Day.

An information stall was set up in the hospital foyer on the day to promote healthy hearts and included healthy heart checks and information for the public.

A “Walk for Women” was als held on the day where staff and community health service colleagues took part in a 5km walk. The walk was designed by exercise physiology students. Walkers made a donation to the Heart Foundation to participate and the Hospital Dietetics team provided light refreshments on completion of walk.

Well done to everyone for taking part!

Registered Nurse Helen Wilson has taken up the position of HSM for Wilcannia Health Service.

Helen has spent most of her career based in Queensland in metropolitan, regional and rural and remote settings. She spent 12 months recently with the Tasmania Medicare Local working as the Manager of Clinical Services on the North West and West Coast.

“I have a passion for rural and remote health with the associated challenges and rewards this brings and I have returned to this area by coming to Wilcannia after a period of time in a large regional centre” said Helen.

Helen’s professional background includes community and primary health care, remote area nursing, residential and community aged care (including ACAT assessor) and management and leadership roles. She has a Master of Health Industry Management (Curtin University, Perth).

Helen said working as the Health Service Manager in Wilcannia provides opportunities to work with staff, patients, other services and the community to maintain and improve services to those of us living in remote locations.

“I am a strong advocate of integrated care and look forward to working with our partners in health care to strengthen this partnership for the benefits of all those seeking to use our services.”

Helen joins Wilcannia Health Service

Hospital staff support ‘Go Red for Women Day’ to promote healthy hearts

Helen Wilson has taken up the role of HSM at Wilcannia Health Service




The Broken Hill Maternity Unit has gratefully accepted a Cuddle Cot which will be used on the Maternity Unit when a woman has experienced a stillbirth. The Cuddle Cot was graciously donated by the community of Broken Hill, instigated by Shelly Latham, on behalf of the Emerikus Land Foundation.

The Cuddle Cot will enable parents to remain close to their babies immediately following their stillbirth, for significantly longer periods than before. Without this piece of equipment, babies otherwise need to remain in a controlled environment to conserve their appearance if parents wish to continue to spend time with them.

When a parent loses a baby, there is little adequate consolation to ease their grief. Midwives provide emotional strength and comfort as parents endure their loss, and it is often the smallest of measures that are the most effective. One such measure is to support women while they spend time with their baby, should they feel comfortable doing so. Having time with their baby once they are born, allows a mother to create lifelong treasured memories, in recognition and honour of her family’s loss.

“While the loss of a baby is a very painful subject, it is worthwhile parents know of the resources available to them,” said Maternity Unit Manager, Mrs Elizabeth Bennett. “It is often families who have experienced stillbirth who feel moved to fundraise and donate resources to Maternity Units in a gesture of support for other families. Equipment such as the Cuddle Cot is important for women and their loved ones, giving them time to grieve for their loss.”

The Health Service expressed its gratitude to all those individuals and community groups which contributed to the Cuddle Cot donation and Shelly Latham for facilitating the fundraising project.

Maternity Unit Manager, Elizabeth Bennett (left) and Shelly Latham with the Cuddle Cot donated to the Unit.

The District bid farewell to Greg Mullen, who has left the District for an 18-month secondment to the CEC.

He will take up the position of Project Officer for the implementation of the new IMS system, which is being designed to be a more contemporary, user-friendly system to replace the current IIMS system.

Greg was the Manager Health Facilities for the Lower Western Sector and his friendly, easy-going manner will be missed.

His colleagues made sure he had a unique memento to remind him of the Far West when they presented him with a BH Sculptures-theme calendar.

We wish Greg all the best on his new venture. Greg Mullen at his farewell

Greg joins CEC on new project Cuddle Cot donation

Capital works at staff quarters

Capital works continue at the BHHS staff quarters.

Stage 4 and the last for the 14/15 FY Minor Capital Expenditure program has started including the renovation of 1st floor bathroom staff quarters and Flat 17.

The staff quarters has been a busy bee hive of activity this year with numerous renovations including five refurbished bathroom/toilets blocks and three cleaners/janitors cupboards.

We would like the acknowledge the great team work between the staff accommodation team, maintenance department, upper management, contractors and of course our residents who have been great with all the increased noise levels and disruption to daily routines.

The improvement to the standard of facilities within the staff quarters is wonderful and will go a long way to improve staff recruitment and retention.




New WIFI and replacement extinguishers on the menu

The BH Hospital staff quarters is moving with the times and is in the process of having WIFI installed. All residents living within the staff quarters and attached flats will have access to the WIFI.

BHHS Fire Officer Ray Slater (pictured) has also been busy replacing 10 expired fire extinguishers within the staff quarters and attached flats as part of our preventive fire maintenance program. Ray has conducted an audit in the BHHS residences and planning has started for the purchasing of replacement extinguishers throughout the year.

WIFI for staff accommodation

Our Community Dietitian, Heidi Drenkhahn, has been fundraising for Kidney Health Australia.

Heidi is trekking the Great Wall of China in October to raise money for KHA to provide mobile dialysis units. These units allow patients requiring dialysis to travel away from home and have holidays with family and friends whilst still having access to their life-sustaining treatment. This service is even more vital for our rural/remote dialysis clients as travelling away from home can take quite some time.

A barbecue was held in the BH Hospital foyer to help and a raffle prize drawn. You can donate to Heidi’s fundraising venture online at https://khagreatwall2015.everydayhero.com/au/heidi

Two of our midwifery staff will be speaking at the Midwifery: Walk on the Wild Side NSW annual state conference and AGM in September.

The Australian College of Midwives conference is being held at Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo. Thea Ritchie will be talking about Midwifery Group Practice in the Wild, Wild West and Rona Garrie’s talk is titled ‘New vs Old Midwives – walking on the wild sides in the early 70s’. They are assured a great conference which includes a number of keynote speakers and interesting topics

Midwifery gets wild at conference

Heidi was pictured with her father, Fritz Drenkhahn, who she enlisted to help cook the barbecue for the fundraiser.

Fundraiser for mobile dialysis units

https://khagreatwall2015.everydayhero.com/au/heidihttps://khagreatwall2015.everydayhero.com/au/heidi




Act of Kindness Dareton Primary Health Staff would like to

acknowledge and thank Paul Morris of Mildura

Cranes and Access, who donated his time, his

truck and his driving skills to the Centre which

allowed us to participate in the Dareton 90th

Birthday celebrations. Thanks Paul!

Dareton 90th

Birthday

celebrations Dareton Primary Health Staff

got into the swing of things at the recent Dareton 90th Birthday celebrations which wound up over the long weekend.

A street parade with almost 80 floats and displays started the festivities on Saturday and Dareton Primary Health Staff were there to represent the organisation which is integral to the residents of the area.

Over the last few months staff members from various disciplines have been busy decorating pillow cases to represent their area of expertise. These were then displayed on the back of a flatbed truck like an old style clothesline. Many of the staff dressed up as healthy vegies, while others pushed wheelchairs carrying bandaged children.

Everyone worked really hard to put together the float and it was a great promotion for the wonderful work done at Dareton Primary Health. A special thanks to Raelene Gibson, Margie Murphy, Jayne O’Shannessy and Lisa Testa, who co-ordinated the float.

Liz Buffon (tomato), Margy Murphy, Lisa Testa,

Jayne O’Shannessy and Carrie Barlow about to

lead the parade.

Dareton Primary Health Staff (on the truck) Carrie

Barlow, Sue Cooper, Raelene Gibson, Liz Buffon,

Kylie Kerslake (and on the ground) Anita

Erlandsen, Sheryl Brown, Vivianne Gilby, Jayne

O’Shannessy & Jennifer Gadsden were joined by

some of our children.

Liz Buffon, Kylie Kerslake, Raelene Gibson, Sue

Cooper and Carrie Barlow with staff member’s

children

Some healthy Dareton Vegies: Kylie Kerslake (Peas), Regan Kerslake (Onion), Sue Cooper

and Liz Buffon (tomatoes), Carrie Barlow (Corn) and Sheryl Brown (Onion).




New assessment processes through My Aged Care website My Aged Care was introduced on 1 July 2013 and assists

older people, their families and carers to access aged care information and services. My Aged Care currently provides support for consumers to find Commonwealth funded aged care services in their local area, online fee estimators for pricing of home care packages and residential care, and referrals to assessment services and service providers.

On 1st July 2015 My Aged Care website

(www.myagedcare.gov.au) will be the central intake point for access to the aged care system incorporating the service providers and assessor referrals. These new assessment processes through My Aged Care will involve the establishment of a Regional Assessment Service (RAS).

The new Regional Assessment Services will receive referrals and attend assessments for Home Support Services (CHSP) and the existing Aged Care Assessment Teams (ACATs) will receive referrals and attend assessments for residential aged care, Home Care Packages and Transitional Aged Care. The Commonwealth HACC Program will transition to the CHSP and the ACATs will fully transition to using My Aged Care by 31 December 2015.

Carer Support Program Manager

The Nursing and Midwifery Directorate have welcomed Alyce Craker (pictured) to their team as the Carer Support Program Manager for the Far West LHD. Alyce commenced her role this month.

Alyce will be working with staff, patients and their families to provide guidance and support to ensure positive outcomes are reached for carers and families throughout the LHD.

She previously worked for Neami in the Far West Recovery Centre as a rehabilitation support worker. Alyce facilitated an Optimal Health program for consumers and also worked with consumers and their collaborative partners to assist them to work towards their recovery.

Alyce holds a Diploma in Counselling and a Diploma of Community Service Work.

“I look forward to supporting our community carers in my new roll,” said Alyce. Alyce can be contacted on 08 8080 1508 or by email [email protected] . Her office is situated in Kincumber House.

After being vacant for several years the Far West LHD Internal Auditor position has been filled with the appointment of Paul McDonald to the position on 23 February 2015.

The role of Internal Auditor is to:

provide assurance to the Chief Executive and Board that Far West Local Health District’s financial and operational controls are operating in an efficient, effective, economical and ethical manner;

and

assist Far West Local Health District management to provide and deliver the best possible health care to communities in the Far West.

Paul has previously worked for the Commonwealth Auditor General’s Office in Canberra and more recently for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and UnitingCare Ageing in Broken Hill.

He is looking forward to exploring the operations of FWLHD and working with managers and staff to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of health services in the far west.

Further information on how Internal Audit can assist your area can be found on the FWLHD intranet. Paul McDonald, Internal Auditor

Internal Auditor appointed

mailto:[email protected]

Our Third Term JMOs have started with us and include a number of familiar faces.

Dr Cecily Nichols is remaining on for another term in Broken Hill. Medical Services feel very fortunate that she is so keen to stay on as Paediatric SMRO — she is now absolutely a local now! Dr Andrew Harris is re-joining the JMO team for another term as Surgical Intern. Dr Sasha Khoma is staying with us for another term and moving into Emergency Intern. Dr Vincent Nguy is also rejoining the JMO team for another term as SMRO.

Everyone else is new to Broken Hill and this is the first time for them in the real outback. Medical Services and our Director Dr Kathleen Atkinson wishes them all well and we will be here to support them during their term.

We are sure they will enjoy their time here, some having already joined the local YMCA and making plans for weekend trips to see the area!




Our Term 3 JMOs (from left) Front: Dr Sharon Nahm (Gen Med RMO), Dr Cecily Nicholls (Paed SMRO), Dr Christine I’Anson (Psych Reg) and Dr Yanna Ko (Gen Med Intern).

Back: Dr Louise Levinzon (Med Reg SMRO), Dr Akshay Athavale (Gen Med RMO), Dr David Habashy (Gen Surgery RMO) and Dr Mithran Kathirgamanathan (ED Intern). Not

present: Dr Andrew Harris (Gen Surgery Intern) – , Dr Sasha Khoma (Emergency RMO) and Dr Vincent Nguy (Med Reg SRMO).

Latest JMOs include familiar faces back for

another term in FWLHD

Back: Mary Leehane, Melanie Chynoweth-Holland, Broken Hill Health Council and Sherrieanne King, Uniting Care Ageing.

Front: DDPC Volunteers Sam Breiter and Sue Tonkin.

UnitingCare Aging Broken Hill staged a Healthy Living for Seniors Open Day on 19 June and invited community organisations and the Broken Hill community to get involved and to find out what is happing in the aged care sector.

Sherrieanne King invited me and the Dementia/Delirium Palliative Care (DDPC) volunteers to attend, to talk about the program and distribute brochures about the DDPC volunteer services that is offered to inpatients at the Broken Hill Hospital.

It was great to meet Sher, Service Manager at Miraga Day Centre and the team and to catch up with Heather Attard from Interhealth and Nicole Allison from Australian Hearing. Melanie was there flying the flag for Compass Housing and for the Broken Hill Health Council. Judy Parr, Manager of Broken Hill City Council Community Services, Sharon Dally, Annecto Coordinator and Home Care Branch Manager, Glenda Johnston and Coordinator Maria Talbot also attended the event.

It was gratifying to see the community and the representatives from community organisations making the time to call in to the Day Care Centre Open Day and to take the opportunity of exchange information and ideas.

— Mary Leehane, Volunteer Manager.

Good community response at Healthy Living for Seniors Open Day




The BH Kiosk Auxiliary has donated $188,000 to the BH Hospital to purchase equipment: (from left) Mr Stuart Riley, FWLHD Chief Executive and Mr Sam Lazarus, Acting GM BH Hospital are

presented the cheque by Kiosk Auxiliary President Cheryl Meuret with Charmaine Collins (Assistant Treasurer), Stephen Bennetts (Treasurer) and Dennis Roach (Secretary/Public Officer).

188,000 reasons to smile thanks to BH

Hospital Kiosk The marvellous volunteers of the

BH Hospital Kiosk Auxiliary have done it again — to the tune of $188,000!

That’s the amount of money donated by the Kiosk to the BH Hospital to buy equipment for use in the hospital.

The money will buy a new Dorrier Laser and Uretro videoscope (for use in operating theatres) and a scanner for cataract procedures.

Last year the Kiosk donated $160,000 towards a major project, the upgrading of patient monitors throughout the hospital.

Kiosk Treasurer, Stephen Bennetts, said the members of the Kiosk voted unanimously to once more support a major project and buy equipment specifically requested by hospital management. “We’re pleased to see our hard work contribute to buying this equipment.”

Kiosk President, Cheryl Meuret, said everyone at the Kiosk are thrilled to be involved with the project. “We’re looking forward to the benefit to our community in having this equipment in our hospital.” Cheryl said the Kiosk welcomes new volunteers and if anyone would like to volunteer they can call into the Kiosk on any Monday to have a chat with her about volunteering.

Hospital Acting General Manager, Sam Lazarus was joined by the FWLHD Chief Executive, Stuart Riley, in accepting the donation.

“We are extremely grateful for the continued support of the Kiosk and the work of the volunteers that enables the Kiosk to make these outstanding donations. Their donations not only assist the hospital but enables Far West LHD to deliver better services to the community,” said Mr Lazarus.

Health Promotion grants – tough decisions! A Selection Panel recently met in Dubbo to review the 2016-17 Healthy People and

Places (HPP) Grant Applications received from across the Far West and Western NSW Local Health Districts.

The Panel, consisting of Karen Lloyd, Health Promotion Officer, Nicolla Giddings, PCH Women’s Health and I, met to discuss the submissions and work through the process of which applications met all the criteria for the grants. Rosemary Stapleton, Health Promotion Officer, provided invaluable assistance as scribe and support for the panel.

The Panel agreed unanimously on some of the submissions, but there followed lengthy discussions on a few of the submissions that did not quite fit the HPP guidelines. The majority of the submissions were of an extremely high standard but some were difficult to evaluate as we were tasked to ensure that each submission fell in line with the HPP guidelines and philosophy. Once we reached consensus, we all agreed that it will be exciting to see the projects take shape and look forward to seeing the benefits to their respective communities.

Rosemary said: “The HPP grants aim to make healthy choices the easy choices within communities. It is always a fascinating process to read and discuss the innovative ideas for health improvement that is generated by the grants.

— Mary Leehane, Volunteer Manager

The Broken Hill Healthy Eating Project (BHEAP) was the only Far West LHD grant recipient. This project is a community wide promotion of healthy home cooking to encourage and upskill more Broken Hill locals to cook healthy meals from scratch rather than relying on takeaway or pre-prepared/processed foods. Strategies will involve a healthy eating cookbook, online cooking videos/photos, weekly displays in local supermarkets showcasing recipes, a weekly radio spot and ads in the newspaper. Local schools will be involved in the video shoots.

Rosemary Stapleton, Mary Leehane, Nicolla

Giddings and Karen Lloyd

FWLHD grant to promote healthy home cooking




Changes to the Clinical Governance Intranet Page There have been some recent changes to the Clinical Governance Directorate Accreditation and Standards page on the FWLHD

intranet. A number of resources relating to the National and EQuIPNational Standards are now available through the links displayed on the page.

Staff are encouraged to review the information and resources available so that they can become familiar with the requirements for accreditation. Review of the information available will enable staff to understand the requirements for safe delivery of care and to answer questions from the ACHS surveyors during the onsite surveys.

An additional link has also been provided to the ACSQHC newly released Clinical Care Standards. A Clinical Care Standard is a small number of quality statements that describe the clinical care that a patient should be offered for a

specific clinical condition. The clinical Care Standard supports:

People to know what care may be offered by their healthcare system, and to make informed treatment decisions in partnership with their clinician.

Clinicians to make decisions about appropriate care.

Health services to examine the performance of their organisation and make improvements in the care they provide. These documents include excellent Clinician and Consumer fact sheets (great for patient education) in addition to the Clinical Care

Standard and other resources such as Infographics that make basic information about the clinical condition easily understood.

All departments should have a current Quality and Safety folio (folder) the provides information about the service of the department and the quality and safety activities undertaken to demonstrate improvement, monitoring, evaluation and feedback that ensures practice accountability and safe delivery of care to all persons, staff and consumers, who work in or need the service of our wonderful hospitals.

To assist departments the following documents are available on H:\Common\Accreditation 2015_16\BHHS Accreditation OWS 2016:

FWLHD Department Evidence Map for the 10 National Standards that should be placed at the front of the department folio folder. This is an editable document so that examples of the department quality activities can be added in the appropriate column. (Clinical only).

FWLHD Departmental Summary for Accreditation that should be used to provide a brief description of service and 3 major quality improvements for the department for the previous 2 years (All Departments).

In the next few weeks staff at BHHS will be asked to participate in a quick one page survey which will assess the self-reported knowledge and compliance with the requirements of the 10 National Standards. It is anticipated that a further survey will be conducted before the accreditation survey in July 2016 to gauge if there has been any change the outcomes of the previous survey.

At the time of writing this article the BHHS Organisation Wide Survey of the 10 National Standards and 5 EQuIPNational Standards is only 55 weeks away – that may sound like a long time but it will go very quickly, so be prepared!

Balranald MPS staff along with members of the community held a “Red Walk For Women” to raise money and awareness of Heart Disease in Women. Many people assume Breast Cancer is the biggest cause of death in women. It’s not. Heart Disease kills three times more. It’s the single biggest killer of Australian Women, taking a life every hour of every day. The Walk was a lot of fun and a great success, collecting money from businesses along the way and raising over $680. Thank you to everyone for their support, we look forward to holding another walk for “Jeans for Genes Day” in August.

Red Walk for Women in Balranald was lots of fun for everyone




Interplan System implementation to monitor strategic progress The Interplan system will be implemented over the next month to assist the LHD in monitoring the progress of our

strategic directions. Interplan – developed by CAMMS based in Adelaide – allows organisations to implement a corporate performance

management framework so that strategies, budgets, culture, practice, leadership and accountabilities can align to its vision and goals.

The benefits of using Interplan are that it:

fully integrates planning across the organisation and partnerships;

streamlines the updating of planning and corporate performance data;

embeds a performance culture within the organisation;

clearly demonstrates the “golden thread” and linkages to stakeholder needs and outcomes;

provides improved transparency and accountability;

enables visual ‘at a glance’ representation of organisational performance, at any level; and

is accessible anytime, anywhere through CAMMS Cloud.

Work has already begun to initiate the implementation, with LHD information uploaded to the system and Administrator training undertaken.

A training day will be held on 8 July for the Chief Executive, Directors, Executive Assistants and Business Unit Managers. Additional training sessions will be held shortly for other staff who will be accessing Interplan for their planning.

For further information please see: http://www.cammsgroup.com/solutions/solution-sub

Interplan user front

screen

A group of dedicated people including staff who contribute as volunteers to the Far West LHD have been presented NSW Premier’s Volunteer Recognition Program awards by the Member for Barwon, the Hon. Kevin Humphries MP.

Mr Humphries congratulated the award recipients on the help they have given over many years. “Volunteers are the bedrock on which local communities sit, and these Awards provide a rare opportunity for us to thank the people who work day in and day out to better our communities,” he said.

Awards were presented to Mrs Pamela Lord (Lifelong Volunteering – 40 years plus of service), Mrs Eleanor Blows (Long term Volunteering – 25 years plus of service), Ms Janet Daley (Long term Volunteering – 25 years plus of service), Mrs Karen Kemp (Adult Volunteering effort) and Mr John Walker (Adult Volunteering effort).

Each of the award recipients volunteer within the Far West Local Health District in different capacities, as well as for other organisations in the community. Congratulations and well done!

Dedicated volunteers

DON Dale Sutton, A/GM BHHS Sam Lazarus and Volunteer Manager Mary Leehane were on hand to

congratulate John Walker, Karen Kemp and Eleanor Blows on their Awards.

Absent were Janet Daley and Pam Lord.

http://www.cammsgroup.com/solutions/solution-sub

Miners Baseball support cancer patients The BH Miners Baseball Club has once more supported local cancer patients

following a successful Masters Baseball Tournament held here over the Queen’s Birthday Weekend.

The club has given $1,336.00 to the Broken Hill and District Community Cancer Network (BH&DCCN) from money raised through tournament nomination fees and a donation from the Democratic Club. The Cancer Network supports and provides assistance to financially disadvantaged patients within the Far West who are receiving cancer treatment.

The inaugural BH and District Community Cancer Network Cup was also launched at the carnival and the home team, BH Miners, claimed top honours as the overall winner from teams visiting from Mount Gambier and Adelaide.

Sandra Turley, Treasurer, BH and District Community Cancer Network, thanked the club and all those involved for the generous donation. “We greatly appreciate all the effort put into raising the money, which will go towards helping local cancer patients experiencing financial difficulty.”

BH Miners Baseball Secretary/Treasurer, Scott

Farquhar (left) and Vice President David Stellini with

Cancer Network Treasurer Sandra Turley.

Thank you to everyone who completed our Far West In Focus newsletter survey. The newsletter has been published monthly since 2011 and it was timely to undertake a survey (using Survey Monkey) to gauge what staff think of the newsletter’s content. We also encouraged suggestions on how it can be improved.

We attracted a total of 114 respondents and when asked what they thought about our regular sections – The CE introduction, Events and Activities, Clinical Redesign, Information on Staff Movements and Policy Update – more than half of respondents ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that they were useful and/or informative.

We also asked everyone to choose their three preferred sections for future editions out of a list of ten suggestions. The top three were Staff Achievements, Health Tips and Wellness and LHD Goals and Periodic Updates. They were closely followed by the next three in Department Profiles, Employee Service Anniversaries and Employee Profiles.

Twenty-five comments were also received as part of the survey.

Positive comments included “I enjoy this newsletter as it makes me feel part of the whole picture” and “I love the photos taken from around the district that are used in the banner.” One respondent said the newsletter is a welcome distraction from work!

Various suggestions for future content was also offered. They included: More articles on Aboriginal staff and health programs, Update on each District site, Staff and Department profiles, Patient journey stories, Photos of new staff members, Volunteer profiles and a section on Studer accomplishments.

Some comments weren’t as positive but the feedback welcome nonetheless: A little less information on volunteers; Usually same faces each month; Not enough on comings and goings – need hello’s and goodbye’s from the last month, and, some staff not recognised enough – top heavy and unfair, not enough about the silent achievers.

Overall, the survey results give us plenty of food for thought on the future content for Far West In Focus and on how to improve the publication for the benefit of everyone in the District. Thank you once more to everyone who took part. Watch this space!




Newsletter survey results provide ‘food for thought’

What do you think of Far West in Focus What's missing - what type of newsletter articles would you like to see? Please select three from the list.

Answer Options Response Per-cent

Response Count

Employee Profiles 33.6% 36

Department Profiles 42.1% 45

Staff Achievements 55.1% 59

LHD Goals and Periodic Updates 43.0% 46

Photo Competition 15.0% 16

Health Tips and Wellness 43.9% 47

Employee Service Anniversaries 40.2% 43

Q and A section 15.9% 17

Emails from readers, answered in 'Dear Aunty' style 21.5% 23 Quiz or Crossword

16.8% 18 answered question 107 skipped question 7

The survey asked which of these suggested topics would you most prefer

Policy Watch — PDs available on MOH internet The following documents have been published on the NSW Ministry of Health internet site http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/policies. These documents are official NSW Health policy. Compliance with Policy Directives is mandatory.




The Care of the Confused Hospitalised Older Persons Program (CHOPs) aims to improve the experiences and outcomes of confused older people in hospital. Seven key principles have been developed as a framework for improving care and outcomes. These principles have been informed by the initial CHOPs pilot program in 2011 and the existing evidence base. The CHOPs program is being implemented and evaluated in 12 NSW hospitals.

Eureka van der Merwe, Project Lead; Shane Webb, Medical Ward Champion and Dale Dwyer, AARCS Officer represented FWLHD at the CHOPs forum on 11 June in Sydney which brought together clinicians from the initial pilot sites and each of the 12 CHOPs sites to share learnings from the implementation and evaluation of the CHOPs program.

Key summary points:

Confusion is not a normal part of ageing.

Promote the use of the DRAT and CAM (Cognition Screening Tools)

Promote the use of the Delirium Pathway if delirium suspected.

“think of cognition as another vital sign that needs to be monitored”

“get to know the person”, staff to talk to carers / families

use non-pharmacological actions vs pharmacological actions Eureka van der Merwe and Jane Cain met with the local Dementia Carer Support Group on 16 June to discuss their experiences and

care given to their loved one whilst in hospital. The feedback received was very empowering and the main issue highlighted was lack of communication with carers and patients from

all levels of the organisation. We have been asked to return for further discussions on dementia care and Barbara’s Story. Dementia awareness, caring for the confused older person will be reinforced by staff being offered to watch “Barbara’s Story” — watch out for the flyers!

CHOPS Sharing Knowledge Forum

Far West LHD Policies and Documents Endorsed Policies Endorsed – June 2015 FW_PD2015_018 Storage of Client Notes for HACC, ADHC and DVA Funded Services FW_PD2015_019 Referral and Coordination with Other Service Providers for Provision of Care for all HACC, ADHC and DVA Funded Services FW_PD2015_020 Nursing and Midwifery Shift to Shift and Bedside Handover FW_PD2015_021 Hypoglycaemia Management of Admitted Patients FW_PD2015_023 Fire Management – Staff Quarters Procedure FW_PD2015_024 Minimum Standards for Registered Nurses Working in Emergency Departments, Remote Facilities and Critical Care Areas FW_PD2015_025 Credentialing and Recredentialing for First Line Emergency Care Course Registered Nurses Endorsed Business Rules FW_BR2015_006 Orientation to Local Medical Officers to Broken Hill (BHHS) Emergency Department FW_BR2015_007 Pathology Laboratory Scientist Call-Ins Endorsed Standing Orders FW_SO2015_001 Administration of Tropicamide 1% FW_SO2015_002 Administration of Oxybuprocaine Hydrochloride 0.4% Eye drops for topical anaesthesia prior to Intravitreal Eye Injections FW_SO2015_003 Administration of Intravenous/Intraosseous Amiodarone during Advanced Life Support in Adults FW_SO2015_004 Administration of Intravenous/Intraosseous Adrenaline during Advanced Life Support in Adults

Please note: The following policy document has been made obsolete in the week ending 04 June 2015. (click on the link below to view the obsolete note)

Document No: Title

IB2011_012 Best Practice Prescribing of Aminoglycosides
http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/policieshttp://www.health.nsw.gov.au/policieshttp://www0.health.nsw.gov.au/archive/policies/ib/2011/IB2011_012.html

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