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Message from the Chief Executive

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The Far West Local Health District Newsletter Edition 8, Vol 8, September 2018

The theme for this month’s newsletter centre’s around change as the Far West LHD prepares to move to the electronic medication prescription, dispensing and administration system eMeds from 10 October 2018. The work that has been done at all levels of our health service to prepare us for this transition has been outstanding. I thank you for your attention to mitigating any anticipated risks to our patients in the lead up to the introduction of eMeds. I understand that the training schedules are being populated with the names of our staff who will be trained prior to the introduction and I encourage our clinical staff to make this training a priority to ensure a successful move into the new environment of electronic medication management.

The management team within the Far West LHD have also changed the

process for sign off and feedback to clinical incidents within the Incidents Management System. Once an incident has been notified within IIMS the manager for the department has carriage of defining and then implementing the actions that are necessary to reduce the likelihood that the incident will reoccur. The change is that there is now an additional sign off required by the executive manager for the area to endorse that action has resulted from the management of the incident. This is important to ensure that we have governance over the management of incidents and our staff have confidence that we are addressing the issues that they have raised. This is important as our role as a mature organisation is to address those times when we have not done our best to provide safe care or a safe environment for our patients, clients and our staff. To achieve this goal we all need to take responsibility for the notification of incidents as they occur and our managerial staff need to address these incidents in a timely manner and then provide feedback to the notifier. By doing this we are ensuring that our culture values patient/client safety.

Concerning the culture within our workplace, the 2018 People Matter

Employee Survey (PMES) ran from Friday 1 June to Monday 2 July 2018. The LHD achieved an engagement level of 69%, which places us equal first among the fifteen local health districts in NSW. The engagement score increased from 67% in 2017, and continues a consistent increase in culture for the Far West LHD across the lifespan of the Survey. The District improved the most in responses regarding senior management. Of these responses, staff showed an increase in senior management listening, in communication and in values. On average, responses to senior management increased positively by 6%. Other improvements were shown in work group collaboration, co-operation and achievement of client/customer satisfaction. Dates are being set to visit each site to share the results with our staff through open staff forums. Thank you for the seven out of ten staff members who participated in the survey, I encourage you to attend the staff forums in your facility to talk about the culture within the Far West LHD as together in our interactions with each other, we define what the culture is for us all.

Another large milestone has been reached in the ongoing works on the Broken Hill Health Service

Redevelopment with the demolition of the Kincumber House building that has dominated the skyline of Broken Hill. The site will be cleaned and landscaped as part of the completion of the project.

I wish to congratulate Kathryn Morrison on her appointment as the new Director of Nursing and Midwifery of

the Broken Hill Health Service. Once again the midwives within the Far West Local Health District have been recognised for their excellent

dedication to their profession with our own Boe Calvert receiving the “Excellence in Midwifery – Registered Midwife Award” at this year’s NSW Health Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery Awards. I’m sure everyone shared in a feeling of pride when a Far West midwife was held up as the best amongst her peers at the Awards. Whilst acknowledging Boe’s achievement, her award also recognises the quality of the service and care we provide to our patients and clients. It is further testament to the LHD’s credentials when midwife Danielle Toigo also won the award last year. We have amazing staff in our LHD and I personally wish to congratulate Boe on her award.

— Steve Rodwell, Chief Executive

Mr Stephen Rodwell


A huge congratulations to Broken Hill Hospital midwife Boe Calvert who has been named the best Midwife in NSW at the 2018 NSW Health Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery Awards!

Boe was awarded the Excellence in Midwifery – Registered Midwife Award at a gala event at Parliament House in Sydney on Thursday.

Far West LHD Director of Nursing and Midwifery, Ms Dale Sutton, said the District was very proud of Boe’s achievement and the prestigious award was worthy recognition of her and reflected positively on the FWLHD Maternity Unit team and all the midwives and staff. She congratulated Boe on behalf of the LHD and all the Executive and staff.

Boe has proven herself to be a skilled, competent and knowledgeable midwife, who continues to seek opportunities for professional development to achieve positive outcomes for the women and their families she provides midwifery care for.

She was nominated for the award in recognition of her caring and gentle work as a midwife at Broken Hill Health Service. She works in partnership with women and their families and is passionate about improving maternity care for Aboriginal women and families in rural communities. Boe has been proactive in improving collaboration between maternity services at Broken Hill Hospital and Maari Ma through relationship development. She provides invaluable support, education, encouragement and guidance to junior midwives to ensure that safe clinical care of the highest standard is provided in high-risk situations.

Boe was also a joint winner of the 2018 Far West LHD Excellence in Midwifery - Registered Midwife Award. She has been employed as a Registered Midwife in Far West LHD for over 12 months.

It is the second time in two years a FWLHD midwife has won the award — Danielle Toigo took the top honour last year.

Boe Calvert top midwife in NSW

Excellence in Midwifery – Registered Midwife winner Boe Calvert - Broken Hill Health Service FWLHD, with Brad Hazzard, NSW Minister for Health.

Two FWLHD staff members presented at the annual ‘Cancer Institute NSW Innovations Conference’ in Sydney in September.

The theme of the conference was ‘Right care, right place, right time’, with a particular focus on using data to drive strategic change.

Melissa Cumming, Director Cancer and Palliative Care was invited to present a plenary session on how FWLHD has used the Reporting Better Cancer Outcomes (RBCO) report to drive strategic change. Melissa spoke about the work that has occurred in Broken Hill over the past few years using RBCO data and clinical audits to consolidate referral pathways and cancer surgery.

Kellie Hammond, Clinical Nurse Consultant, presented at a concurrent session on the success of the Direct Access Colonoscopy Clinic (DACC) which used data pertaining to waiting times for colonoscopy and gastroenterologist appointments to initiate a nurse-led model of care that has significantly improved access to colonoscopy for people with a positive faecal occult blood test (FOBT).

Melissa Cumming and Kellie Hammond after their presentations.

Staff present at cancer conference


Demolition of Kincumber House all but done The demolition of Kincumber House is all but

complete. The main structure was pulled down

piecemeal over the course of about two weeks using an excavator brought here for the job. The demolition began with the careful removal of asbestos. The site is being cleared of the remaining debris and will be landscaped for now with future use yet to be determined.

Work will continue in reinforcing the remaining portion of the building for structural integrity.

The verandah adjacent to the courtyard and demolition line will be repaired. The demolition has been watched with keen interest.

The demolition of Kincumber House is near complete

PAGE 4



Oncology Unit staff (from left) Ben Stellini, Kelly Mawby, Shelley Xiao and Sandra Ferry are enjoying their new work space.

The Hutchinson Builders team are busy demolishing the area that was the old Oncology and Medical Day Only area. This area is now just an empty space and they are preparing to start building the Outpatient Services Reception area soon. An architectural impression of what this area will look like is below. The courtyard construction is also underway, with landscaping and seating to be installed soon.

Staff and patients are enjoying the brand new, purpose built Oncology and Medical Day Only Unit at BH Hospital.

Built as part of the Ambulatory Wing refurbishments, the Unit recently began treating local patients for malignant and non-malignant conditions.

Everyone has welcomed the extra space, the new layout and all new equipment and fixtures, including the individual treatment bays which offer more comfort and privacy for the patient.

It’s location (at north-western corner of the hospital building) also offers direct access for patients. It replaces the existing unit located near Specialist Clinics in the hospital, which was not built for purpose and was too small for increasing number of patients, and offered little privacy. This area is currently being rebuilt for the new Outback Services Reception area (see below).

New Oncology Unit

Work starts on new reception

Broken Heel Festival 2018

Successful partnership at festival

The glamour and glitter has settled again with the Ending HIV Bus being well received and supported at the fourth Broken Heel Festival held on the 7-9 September 2018.

The Far West LHD Sexual Health Team worked in partnership with ACON (NSW’s leading HIV prevention, support and LGBTI health organisation) with trained nurses and peers to offer on-site confidential HIV and STI screening for those wanting to test or chat about sexual health.

This year the team offered a new finger stick HIV test called the dry blood spot test along with sexual health screening so people could have a quick test and get results after the Festival.

On behalf of FWLHD Sexual Health Team and ACON we would like to acknowledge and thank the Palace Hotel and the Festival Director Esther La Rovere for partnering with both organisations allowing us to attend, providing a great opportunity to reach people living in regional NSW and offer these services.

Staff are looking forward to the Broken Heel Festival in 2019!

From left: Jo Lenton, Margaret Crowley, Teddy Cook, Sean Feehey and Trevor Slattery.

The LHD teamed up with ACON at the Broken Heel Festival (from left) Margaret Crowley, Gavin Predergast, Teddy Cook, Trevor Slattery, Jo Lenton, Tobin

Saunders and Trudy Sterling


Kathryn Morrison (pictured) has taken up the role of Director of Nursing and Midwifery of the Broken Hill Health Service.

Kathryn has lived in Broken Hill all her life and commenced her nursing career at the hospital (then called Broken Hill and District Hospital). It was known for its excellent training program and positions were highly sought after. This continues to this day with our New Graduate Program always having more applicants than vacancies.

She completed her registered nurse hospital based training in 1977 and then went on to complete her midwifery certificate in 1979.

“Innovations in the health care is always evolving and requires continuous education and changes in practice so to keep my knowledge and skills up to date I went on to complete my bachelor of Nursing Degree through Charles Sturt University in 1995,” said Kathryn.

Throughout her nursing career Kathryn has worked as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in a number of departments such as the Emergency Department, Intensive

Care Unit and Operating Theatre. In recent years she has changed from a clinical pathway to managerial pathway and was the Nurse Unit Manager of the Specialist Clinic before being appointed to the Deputy Director of Nursing in 2015.

“The Broken Hill Health Service is a wonderful place to work and has great opportunities for nurses to enhance their professional development and career progression,” said Kathryn.

“The Far West LHD vision is to provide excellence in rural and remote health.

“I want the community of Broken Hill and surrounding district to experience high quality and safe health care whenever they need to visit our facility.

“In my capacity as Director of Nursing and Midwifery of the Broken Hill Health Service my team and I are committed to leading, supporting and engaging the nursing and midwifery staff to deliver this high quality and safe care that has the patient as the focus.”

Congratulations on your appointment, Kathryn!

New DONM for BH Hospital

There are three new members of the eHealth team. Jacinta Barraclough and Morgan Morris have joined the Rural

eHealth team as eMeds Project Coordinators. They will be involved in the training, go-live preparation and support for the eight eMeds sites in the LHD until late December. From that point until 30 June 2019, they will help embed the change.

Morgan comes to us from Pharmacy with a wealth of knowledge. Jacinta has been working as a team leader in laundry and is doing her degree in HR. Both have had a fantastic start!

Jo McKenna has been seconded as the eMeds Change Manager until 31 December 2018. She had been working as an eNurse (aka nursing business analyst) on the eMeds project for the last 18 months. She has two years of experience in rolling out eMR2 across WNSW and FW LHDs and has held clinical and clinical leadership positions prior to that.

Welcome to the team and good luck with the eMeds go live!! Umer Qureshi (FWLHD eHealth Implementation Lead) with Morgan

Morris, Jacinta Barraclough and Jo Mckenna.

New faces in the eHealth team


Aged Care team host Dementia Awareness Month stall Dementia Australia’s key message this year is ‘Small actions. Big difference.’ There are many small actions people can

take to create a big difference for people impacted by dementia, their families and carers. To help promote the message the Far West LHD Aged Care team hosted an information stall for Dementia Awareness

Month (September) on Wednesday, 5 September. Australian Hearing were also present to talk about how hearing health is important in communication for someone living with dementia.

Approximately 25 community members and staff visited the stand where information and merchandise related to dementia was available. Some personal stories and experiences caring for someone with dementia were shared with the team which enabled supportive resources being provided to them.

Information through help sheets and support can be found on Dementia Australia’s website www.dementia.org.au – the National Dementia Helpline is available 24 hours a day by calling 1800 100 500.

Dementia Australia’s emphasis is encouraging communities to become “Dementia Friendly” and individuals to become a Dementia Friend.

A ‘dementia friendly community’ is a place where people living with dementia are supported to live a high quality of life with meaning purpose and value.

What is a dementia friend? A dementia friend is someone who wants to make a positive difference to the lives of people living with dementia through increased awareness and support. It means you have increased your understanding of dementia and how

small things you can do can help support people with dementia to remain included, accepted and connected with their community. For more information or to sign up to become a “dementia friend” you can signing up on the Dementia Friendly website https://www.dementiafriendly.org.au

Members of the Aged Care team at the stall (from left) Alyce Craker, Liz Perrie and Linda Sutherland

Congratulations to BH Health Service Pharmacist Alexandra Kusiak (pictured) who has been honoured by being selected as the 2018 Society of Hospital Pharmacists NSW Branch Early Career Pharmacist.

Alexandra was presented the award in recognition of service to the profession and acknowledges her contribution to the pharmacy service at BHHS and Far West LHD.

“Alex well deserves the award and is an excellent example of how a young health professional can extend their skills and gain experiences beyond the norm in rural and remote practice,” said Ruth Martin, District Chief Pharmacist.

“As well as excellent clinical skills, Alex is the main force behind our Antimicrobial Stewardship Program and pharmacist intern training at BHHS,” she said.

Alexandra began work at BHHS in March 2015 as a first-year registered pharmacist. She is one of only two clinical pharmacists employed at BHHS and has embraced living and working in a remote regional area after living the city life and meets the challenges of rural and remote healthcare with great professionalism.

Ms Martin said whilst here Alex has been instrumental in formalising the intern training program, compiling education resources and organising tutorials for the LHD’s interns and other pharmacist interns based in community pharmacies in Broken Hill.

Award recognises BHHS Pharmacist


http://www.dementia.org.au

https://www.dementiafriendly.org.au

Our latest JMOs (from left) Dr Daniel Green (Medical Resident), Dr Michael Gounder (Medical Resident), Dr Jan

Zhang (Surgical Resident) and Dr Timothy Ghan (Psychiatry Resident Medical Officer).

A warm welcome to our latest JMOs! The District has welcomed our latest group of JMOs with

an orientation to the health service. We have a small number of doctors this term but who are no less enthusiastic looking forward to their time here. The orientation day went well, with Dr Andrew Olesnicky standing in for the new Director Prevocational Education and Training (DPET) Dr Sarah Wenham.

In other news, Broken Hill Hospital RMOS, Dr Aliza Lord (Heywood) is ED resident this term and Dr Umberto Villa is completing his Paediatric term. Our home Intern Dr Michael Burrows will work with the Medical Team on his rotation for General Medicine after a well-deserved holiday. We are lucky to have Dr Gaik Quah stay on for another surgical term as Senior Resident for the Surgical Team and Dr Helmut Yu as Ophthalmology Registrar. We would also like to give a warm welcome back to Dr Ali Baalbaki, who has returned via the secondment network at Concord in Sydney to work as a Senior Medical Resident for Term 4.


At Broken Hill: Jamie Thomas (Domestic Services), Parvathy

Omanakuttan (RN ICU/DHU) and Holle Pearson (RN

Operating Theatre)

Attendees at Dareton (from left) Jaymee Stagg (Wentworth, General Wards), Desri Hollis (Wentworth, General Wards), Jane Smith (Palliative Care Nurse), Kiara Baxter-Mannix (Aboriginal Health Worker), Gemma Baker (Wentworth,

General Wards) and Kim O'Brien (Wentworth, General Wards).

Corporate

Induction Our newest staff members

attended Corporate Induction including via videoconference from

Dareton.

New Graduate RN Phillipa Kensit (Pip) recently had the honour of representing Australia at a United Nations conference in Bangkok, Thailand.

Pip was selected by Humanitarian Affairs Asia to represent Australia and essentially Far West LHD and University of Tasmania as a delegate at the United Nations University Scholars Leadership Symposium (USLS) at the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Symposium (1-7 August) had over 1,000 delegates from over 87 countries come together to learn, inspire, challenge and debate current and potential societal issues facing the world today. Delegates from far and wide came from political, socio-economic, legal, engineering, healthcare and medical as well as education backgrounds, all studying at varying levels at University.

Paramount to the Symposium were the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals created to address the global challenges contemporary society faces including poverty, inequality climate, environmental degradation, prosperity and justice. The United Nations goal is to achieve these goals by 2030, leaving no one goal behind in the process. The conference featured keynote speakers including Professor Kishore Mahbubani (Former President of UN Security Council), Professional Ian Jacobs (President and Vice-Chancellor UNSW, Australia), Geraldine Cox (President and Founder, Sunrise Cambodia) as well as David Begbie (Founder Crossroads Foundation, Hong Kong).

USLS also facilitated interactive workshop sessions with the UN’s Population Fund, UN Women, International Organisation for Migration as well as the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Asia among various other UN and international agencies.

The USLS also involved one day of service where delegates volunteered their time and skills to those in greater need. Many people undertook river cleaning programs, worked alongside disabled children at a special needs centre, worked with vulnerable refugee children among other programs in some of the most underprivileged parts of Thailand. Pip volunteered her time painting play equipment and infrastructure at a school servicing the largest slum in Thailand. Pip said delegates had the invaluable opportunity to build relationships, connect and network with like-minded delegates, event organisers and members of the UN’s workforce throughout the week abroad. “My goal was to spark conversation and raise awareness about the unique struggles, needs and positive movements occurring in regard to rural and remote health,” she said.

“The response of fellow delegates in regard to the work I am doing was fascinating. Not only was I shocked to see and hear how many local Australian

delegates and members of the global community where so

unfamiliar with healthcare and life in the ‘outback’ but I was also humbled to see how intrigued and proud people were to see on-ground action and experience being shared at event like the USLS.

“As a budding healthcare professional, I hope to capitalise on the connections built abroad and do my best to share the knowledge, insight, awareness and understanding of the social movements our society’s youth are embracing and ultimately create sustainable social change for a better society and environment. After all, healthcare is integral to building a better future for all, eliminating inequality and closing gaps in disparity among society.”

Pip raises awareness of outback health on international stage

Phillipa Kensit at the UN Conference in Thailand.


Far West LHD joined other agencies for a fun day in Sturt Park as part of National Child Protection Week (2-8 September).

The event was organised by Mission Australia in partnership with a number of Broken Hill services.

Activities included a free barbecue, laser tag, jumping castle, photo booth, chalk art mural, colouring competition, fun craft activities, lolly guessing competition, slime making, sensory play and information stalls.

The day was planned around activities for the whole family and most importantly information about the local services and supports that families are able to access.

National Child Protection Week is an opportunity for government, business and community to come together to promote the safety and wellbeing of children.

The enduring message of National Child Protection Week is that ‘Protecting children is everyone’s business’ and urges all Australians to ‘Play Your Part’.

The child protection event in the park helped promote a key message of the week being ‘Stronger Communities, Safer Children’. Research tells us that a strong community is important for children and helps them to thrive and be safe.

Well done for everyone in taking part and making this a successful event!

Eliza Marsland (Nursing Student, University of South Australia)and Anu Thomas (Primary Health Care RN—Schools Based).

District helps spread child protection message

The Ministry of Health, in partnership with the National Blood Authority are implementing BloodSTAR across all local health districts and speciality health networks on 22 October 2018.

BloodSTAR is a national IT system for Government funded immunoglobulin (Ig) products. The system will be used for authorisation, review and dispensing immunoglobulin.

BloodSTAR has been implemented in all Australian states and territories except NSW. The implementation project will align NSW with the rest of Australia.

The system is aligned with the national Ig Governance Policy and the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standard 7 for blood and blood products.

Webex education sessions for Nursing & prescribing doctors will be available throughout October 2018.

For further information contact Project Lead Chelsea Anderson on 8080 1583.

New Ig system for FWLHD


Women’s Health Week was celebrated in Dareton with a

morning tea and an informal chat about all things women’s

health, held at the Coomealla Club.

After a session of Fit & Strong (the exercise program

facilitated by Dareton staff), participants were presented with

Women’s Health Week show bags and invited to Morning Tea

by our Women’s Health Nurse, Anita Erlandsen.

A number of members of the Two Rivers Health Council also

attended.

Health Council

Member

Francie Brown

enjoying her

Morning Tea

with Wendy

Clarke.

Celebrating Women’s Health Week in style

30 Years of Service Staff at Dareton Primary Health celebrated

Aboriginal Health Worker Sheryl Brown’s 30 years of

service.

Health Service

Manager Trish

Algate

congratulated

Sheryl (pictured

cutting her

celebration cake)

on behalf of all the

staff. Sheryl was

one of the first

qualified Aboriginal

Health Workers in

the State and is a

valuable part of the

Primary Health

Team.

Sheryl Brown celebrating 30 years of service with Abo-

riginal Transport Liaison, Cliff Williams, HSM Trish Al-

gate and Administration Officer Vivianne Gilby.

Women’s Health Week — Dareton


Volunteer Charmaine Collins honoured Congratulations to Charmaine Collins for being presented a 2018 Community

Volunteer Award (Individual Category) by Broken Hill City Council. Charmaine was recognised for her outstanding work volunteering at the BH

Hospital Kiosk for 22 years. Charmaine has undertaken a variety of tasks but has been cooking for the Kiosk for many years. This entails a 4:30 to 5 am start and a working day of up to 8 hours. The Hospital Kiosk largely prepares all the food that it sells and has a strong reputation for the high quality of its food and services. In addition to actively undertaking hands on duties at the Kiosk, Charmaine has for many years been a Day Supervisor, managing, supervising and mentoring a team of other volunteers. Charmaine is also a former long standing Vice President and Assistant Treasurer of the Kiosk Executive, and has only recently given up these duties for health reasons. Charmaine still strongly supports the Kiosk Executive activities in an 'Elder Statesman' role.

Charmaine has also volunteered with the Volunteer Visitor Scheme at St Anne's Aged Care Facility in a caring role for aged people who do not have family or friends around them. For many years Charmaine also operated the kitchen at the Central Football Club, again on a voluntary basis.

The Award was presented at a gala event held in the BH Civic Centre hosted by the BH City Council and supported by generous sponsors.

Charmaine is pictured here receiving her award presented by Broken Hill Mayor Darriea Turley.

Premier’s Recognition Awards to health service volunteers The Far West LHD Chief Executive took great pleasure in presenting a number of Premier’s Volunteer Recognition Awards 2018 to

volunteers who have and continue to contribute to our health service. “All of our volunteers work tirelessly to support our health service ensuring we are delivering excellence to all that we care for across

the far west,” he told the gathering of volunteers who were able to attend the presentation ceremony this month. “We are here to celebrate your achievements (and) you have been given one of the highest honours our state bestows for

volunteering as the recipients of the NSW Premier’s Volunteer Recognition Awards. “On behalf of the Premier, Far West LHD Board, our staff and myself, I thank you for your commitment, energy and dedication,” said

Mr Rodwell. Certificates were presented to volunteers in the categories of Project Volunteers, Volunteers who had taken up volunteering after retirement, and 25 Year and 40 Year Long Service Volunteers.

Long Term and Lifelong Volunteers (from left) Robert Fulton, Noelene McGavisk, Meredith Farquhar, Mary Bevan, Claire McCrae, Marian

Halliday and Keith Austen (who accepted the award on behalf of his wife Margaret, who has since passed).

Project Volunteers and those who commenced volunteering after ceasing work — Front: (from left) Deborah Ormsby, Betty Sammut, Margaret Harris, Marilyn Johns, Janice Hoskins. Back: CE Stephen

Rodwell, Lianne McMannus, Colleen Pedlar and Barry Powell.



Health Councils network at forum Health Council members

representing the Health Councils from across the Far West LHD met in Broken Hill on 14 September to attend the Far West LHD Annual Health Council Forum.

They were joined by their governing body, the Far West LHD Board, the Chief Executive and senior management. Participants had the opportunity to share their views on health issues as well as learn more about the role they play in enhancing services for the communities they represent. The Forum took place at University Department of Rural Health.

The LHD is committed to community consultation and participation and supports the model of each community having their own Health Councils providing a local voice

for local issues. The Far West LHD will continue to

work with communities across the far

west to improve their health and wellbeing through leadership and partnerships.

If you have 1,000 days left… How many days would you want to spend in hospital?

Have you considered that TIME is the most important currency in healthcare? So if you had 1,000 days left, how much time do you want to spend in hospital? That’s why every day matters

Facts about PJ paralysis

46% of people aged >85 die within 1 year of admission to hospital (Clark et al 2014)

Deconditioning in hospitalised older patients and critically ill patients, can cause serious harm

Reduces mobility

Loss in strength

Loss of independence

Longer stay in Hospital

#EndPJparalysis (originated by Professor Brian Dolan 2016) is a simple concept that encourages patient to get up, dressed and moving while in

hospital. Thus preventing complications of being immobile, including chest infections, muscle degeneration, clotting; as well as shifting patient’s

perceptions ‘I’m sick’ to ‘I’m getting better’

Please contact Eureka van der Merwe for more information or if you would like to help champion this cause by phone (08) 8080 1495 or email [email protected]

#Let’sWorkTogether #GetOurPatientsUp #GetOurPatientsMoving

https://twitter.com/search?q=%23endpjparalysis

CORE VALUES

A collage of value words that Far West LHD teams have identified

Our values are what support our vision, shape our culture and reflect who we are and how we interact with each other in our team and those who we care for – whether we call them patients or clients. Our values are the essence of our identity that we display to our community.

The values of the Ministry of Health and our Far West Local Health District are often referred to as CORE. Do you know what CORE stands for?

CORE is Collaboration, Openness, Respect and Empowerment. These are the keywords that NSW Health and Far West LHD use to define how we will all interact with each other and our communities that we work with.

Teams can also have additional values that define who they are and how they interact. Yamirri Nharatji talks of above and below the line behaviours, we can incorporate this with our values when we decide collectively on a value and what behaviours promote the value and what behaviours disrupt it.

The Essentials of Care Program is a values based program that assists teams to define their values as a first step to working on collaborative projects within the multidisciplinary teams to improve the care of staff,

patients and carers. Our ‘above and below the line’ behaviours give us the foundation to an ‘agreed ways of working’ within our teams.

Recently Balranald, Wilcannia, Menindee, Tibooburra and Ivanhoe teams have worked on their values. The Senior Nurse Managers are currently clarifying their values.

Values explored with the Balranald

MPS team. Session was co-

facilitated with Janet Masters, Safety Culture

Coordinator

If you would like to explore your team values and you need assistance please contact Eureka van der Merwe, Essentials of Care Coordinator on email by [email protected]

What are your team values? Would you like to develop your team values?


Dareton Primary Health Centre was successful in receiving a Club Grant from Coomealla Memorial Sporting club for $3,999 to purchase a new Afinion AS100 Analyser.

The Afinion AS100 Analyser is a Point of Care Testing analyser to measure HbA1c. This is a long term measure of blood glucose control and is considered the ‘Gold Standard’ pathology test for monitoring diabetes control in patients with established diabetes. It provides an average blood glucose level (BGL) over the preceding 3 months and can also be used as a test to diagnose diabetes. The results of the HbA1c are used for guiding medical treatment decisions and dose adjustment of diabetes medications.

Point of Care Testing is an extremely valuable resource for the clients of Dareton Primary Health Centre and the Diabetes Educator when current pathology results are not available from the client’s doctor.

Many clients present to the Health Centre with no record, or incomplete records, of the BGL history and they may be of the

understanding that their diabetes is well controlled. When the HbA1c result reveals a high reading, it provides an opportunity for the Diabetes Educator to address some diabetes management issues in a timely manner. Time delays in life saving treatment can be avoided as the results are available immediately. Poorly controlled diabetes can lead to catastrophic and debilitating complications such as blindness, amputation of lower limbs and kidney failure requiring dialysis.

The HbA1c result is used in conjunction with other diabetes education resources to help provide a ‘client centred care’ approach to optimise health outcomes and prevent diabetes complications.

The purchase of the new Afinion AS100 analyser provides ongoing benefits to our community. Diabetes is a chronic medical condition with the prevalence doubling in the last two decades and showing no signs of abating.

Raelene Gibson, Credentialed Diabetes Educator and Rachael Hanrahan, Commercial Account Manager from Abbott, with the

new Afinion AS100 analyser,

Boost to diabetes control

Dementia Dementia

Awareness Month is Dementia Australia’s national awareness-raising campaign held every year throughout September.

Its aim is to encourage all Australians to become more aware of dementia, to get a better understanding of what it is like to live with dementia and how we can support people living with dementia.

This year’s theme is Small actions Big difference. There are many small actions people can take to create a big difference for people impacted by dementia, their families and carers.

There are an estimated 425,000 people living with dementia in Australia and an estimated 1.2 million people involved in the care of someone with dementia. Without a significant medical breakthrough, the number of people with dementia is expected to grow to more than half a million people by 2025 and 1.1 million people by 2056.

Dementia describes a collection of symptoms that are caused by disorders affecting the brain. It is not one specific disease. Dementia affects thinking, behaviour and the ability to perform everyday tasks. Brain function is affected enough to interfere with the person’s normal social or working life. The hallmark of dementia is the inability to carry out everyday activities as a consequence of diminished cognitive ability.

At present there is no cure for most forms of dementia. However, some medications have been found to reduce some symptoms. Support is vital for people with dementia and the help of families, friends and carers can make a positive difference to managing the condition.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Dementia Australia offers support, information, education and counselling.

Contact the National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500, or visit our website at https://www.dementia.org.au.

Quality Board Communication


Stroke Week Activities National Stroke Week was 3-9 September under the theme

“Every step counts towards a healthy life”. This year, the Stroke Foundation is encouraging Australians to

discover how easy it is to fit healthy habits into their day and do their part to prevent stroke.

Kathryn Wallace, CNC Chronic Care, advised that Stroke is one of Australia’s biggest killers and a leading cause of disability. In 2017 there were more than 56,000 new and recurrent strokes – that is one stroke every nine minutes.

It’s estimated that more than 80 percent of strokes can be prevented simply by managing risk factors and living a healthy lifestyle. There are some risk factors for stroke which can’t be prevented like age, family history and prior stroke. If you’re male, your risk is also higher.

There are two ways to approach this: first by talking to your doctor and secondly by taking ownership of your own health.

Take charge of your own health: eat well, stay active, be smoke free and moderate alcohol intake.

Visit your doctor for a health check to help manage blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and atrial fibrillation (irregular heart beat).

The Chronic Care and Aged Care team, along with the Discount Pharmacy students attended a “Stroke Awareness Day” in the hospital foyer on 6 September, where “Your Health Check” assessments were attended involving education, BP, and resources were provided to the community and staff. “Smokerlyzer” assessments was also conducted to measure Carbon Monoxide level, and will also be conducted as a motivational tool to encourage people assist with smoking cessation.

FWLHD provides Stroke Services throughout the District

The Far West LHD Stroke Rural Network Working group members consist of a multidisciplinary team, to improve patient outcomes, to support and advocate for patients, their families and carers.

Numerous quality improvement programs currently being worked on by the team consist of:

1. Updating Stroke Pathway 2. ASSIST training for front line staff 3. Development of Stroke Policy and Learning Package 4. Hypertension management Members of the Stroke Working Group consist of: Kathryn

Wallace (CNC ICPCC), Amanda Clark (CNS2 ICPCC), Jain Cain (ASSET), Danielle Kennedy (Speech Pathologist), Jeroen Timmer (NUM ICU), Marthury Jeyalingam (Dietitian) Alyce Craker (Carers Support program manager ), Nicolas Minns (CNC Critical Care), Shamika Ratnaweera (Physiotherapist), Shane Webb (RN Medical unit), Susan Peisto (EN Medical Unit), and Elaine Futheringham (RN SARU).

The LHD hosted a very successful stall at the Broken Hill City Council Volunteer Expo.

Ms Darriea Turley AM, Manager Community Engagement said: "The idea to host a stall was to inform residents of the services we provide, and welcome any new volunteers who would like to give something back to their community. Our stall was well received and a big thanks must go out to all the volunteers who assisted with our stall.”

Ms Turley said volunteers have a profound effect on our community and their contribution to the health service cannot be overstated.

People often don’t know how to take that first step to get involved in a volunteering activity by visiting our stall they made their first step.

Volunteers promote the LHD


Far West NSW boasts breathtaking natural landscapes, it is leading the way in industry and it offers a lifestyle that is unlike anywhere else in Australia. If our region is to grow and prosper, all of these aspects need to be promoted, inspiring others to recognise that the Far West is the place to be.

Introducing Far West Proud, an initiative of Regional Development Australia Far West that is driving positive growth in our region, with the ultimate goal of increasing our population. To achieve this we are working on a variety of projects and strategies that stimulate positive change throughout Far West NSW, encouraging locals to love where they live and showing the world what makes our region a great place to live, visit and invest.

Health services are a vital aspect of our region, providing essential care which in turn significantly affects the quality of life that is experienced in the Far West. Far West Proud supports these services by the way in which the initiative is stimulating population growth and workforce development. The initiative is uniting our region and fostering the establishment of a stable, resident workforce which in turn will ensure that our health services are able to continue providing excellent service, in high quality facilities.

The Far West Proud website is a driving force that is

stimulating this growth and development. The platform brings together a variety of information and tools that enable us to endorse our region and all it has to offer. It provides an insight into living, visiting and investing in the Far West whilst also sharing aspects that can be used to the advantage of local people and local business.

We encourage anyone wishing to know more about Far West Proud to visit the Far West Proud website, check out Far West Proud on social media or contact us by calling (08) 8087 3838 or visiting the Regional Development Australia Far West office at 353 Blende Street, Broken Hill. Let’s show the world what they’re missing out on.

Far West Proud - Love Where You Live!

Go to the website at: www.lovethefarwest.com.au

Danielle Kennedy, Lhyriel Smith and Chenny Fazulla recently presented posters at the 7th Rural Health Research Congress in Tamworth, hosted by HETI.

The theme of the congress was ‘Beyond Distance and Diagnosis’. This conference in particular is a key event in the rural health calendar as it brings rural and remote clinicians, researchers and service providers to showcase the projects and translational research occurring throughout various Local Health Districts.

The posters were based on the following: Lhyriel (Centralised Remote Area Education): A quality improvement

strategy delivered across Lower Western Sector facilities, providing regular multidisciplinary in-service education via teleconference.

Chenny (BMI & Elective Surgery in Broken Hill): The increasing prevalence of obesity is impacting patients undertaking elective surgery in Broken Hill. In particular, Class 3 BMI (40+) patients are at greater risk of developing complications during and after surgery, requiring specialist care. In response, FWLHD have developed a business rule to improve assessment for safety and suitability of Class 3 patients to have elective surgery in Broken Hill.

Danielle (EFFIE: Engaging Families For Intervention Early): A need was identified amongst Broken Hill preschools for onsite Speech Pathology services. Through community consultation and analysing department resources, a student-led model was implemented. Students were placed into preschools to provide individual and group therapy to children identified with communication difficulties. This decreased waitlist times, and increased engagement with Speech Pathology services.

Conferences are a great opportunity to disseminate your research and quality improvement projects to the broader healthcare community. I encourage you to think about what projects may already be undertaken in your team, and if you would like assistance to formulate an abstract for submission, please don’t hesitate to contact Lhyriel at [email protected]

Danielle Kennedy

Lhyriel Smith

Projects on stage at rural conference

FWLHD a natural fit with Far West Proud initiative



Do you have Meal Entertainment Card? The Meal Entertainment Card is provided to employees as part of the salary

packaging arrangements at NSW Health. The Meal Entertainment Card can only be used to pay for qualifying meal entertainment expenses as explained in the following.

1. What expenses can an employee pay with the MEC? Meal entertainment expenses are expenses representing provision of: (a) Entertainment by way of food and drink; or While this definition taken from the legislation is a little vague, what is clear

is that the provision of food or drink in all circumstances is not meal entertainment. In order for food or drink to qualify as meal entertainment, there must be some element of entertainment present.

Entertainment in this sense does not refer to a performance or the like, but more generally to some gathering of people to carry out some activity with a view to enjoying themselves.

In cases of doubt an employee needs to consider: (a) Why is the food or drink being provided? For example, food or drink

provided for the purpose of refreshment would not generally be meal entertainment, whereas food or drink provided at a social function for enjoyment would be meal entertainment.

(b) What food or drink is being provided? Light meals such as morning tea are less likely to be meal entertainment as opposed to more elaborate meals.

(c) When is the food or drink provided? Food or drink during working hours is less likely to be meal entertainment than food or drink provided after hours.

(d) Where is the food or drink being provided? Food provided in a social setting, e.g. hotel, restaurant, café, coffee shop, etc. is more likely to be meal entertainment

2. Examples of expenses that are likely to be meal entertainment • Breakfast/lunch/dinner with friends or family at a restaurant/café (with knife &

fork) • Purchases of food or drink for a party, BBQ, etc (special event declaration

required) • Drinks/food while on holidays at a resort/hotel, etc. • Taxi travel to a club/restaurant, etc. for the purposes of consuming food/drink

at that venue. 3. Examples of expenses that are not

likely to be meal entertainment • Purchase of general household food and drink. • Purchase of alcohol to be consumed generally at home. • Tickets to movies, sporting or cultural events. • Travel/accommodation costs for local or overseas holidays for recreation purposes.

4. What an employee should do if they are not sure if an expense is meal entertainment

If an employee is not sure that an expense is a meal entertainment expense, the employee should not pay for it with the Meal Entertainment Card. An employee can of course pay for such expenses with their credit card, if they have salary packaged a credit card utilizing the $17,000 FBT free cap.

Karen is available by calling 08 8080

1498 or email

[email protected]

The Health Finance Awards, hosted by the Healthcare Financial Management Association was held on 26 September this year where Far West’s very own Management Accountant, Creina Vlatko was nominated as a finalist for Rising Star of the Year Award.

Creina was nominated for the award by Acting Director of Corporate and Finance Services for Far West LHD, Noni Inglis, who believed Creina is “innovative, collaborative, tenacious and a quiet achiever” in her role of Management Accountant. Creina joined the Far West LHD in September, 2017. She has by far exceeded all expectations and demonstrated exceptional professionalism within the finance team.

Whilst Creina did not take out the Award on this occasion, the presenter said the category was incredibly tight – only a point separating the finalists.

A surprise during the Awards was the recognition of the Far West LHD Finance Team who were also a finalist in the Team of the Year category. Despite losing out to Gold Coast Health, Far West LHD seemed to be a crowd favourite, definitely receiving the loudest cheers when they were announced.

Each year the Healthcare Financial Management Association host the Awards to promote, encourage and reward the outstanding contributions made by individuals, teams and organisations in Health Finance across Australia.

On behalf of Far West LHD, we congratulate Creina and the Far West Finance Team on their amazing achievements.

Health Finance Awards

Submissions can be sent to [email protected]. The newsletter can be found on the Far West LHD website at www.fwlhd.health.nsw.gov.au

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 Far West LHD Safety and Quality Account Progress Report is now

available in PDF form on the common drive.

To access the report go to: N:\Team\Broken Hill\common\CGU

Lost and found items at BH Hospital

Lost and found items at BH Hospital can be left or picked up either the front switch desk or office next

door.


Title Document Number Date Issued

Managing Complaints and Concerns about Clinicians PD2018_032 07/09/2018

Managing Misconduct PD2018_031 07/09/2018

NSW Health Accounting Policy Manual IB2018_042 05/09/2018

StaffLink Upgrade is almost here eHealth NSW is upgrading StaffLink on 15 October. From this

date, StaffLink will have a new look and feel and a consistent interface for mobile, tablet, desktop and laptop devices. But before the upgrade commences an outage from 5pm Thursday 11 October till 6am Monday 15 October will occur where, during this time, you will not be able to use StaffLink Finance, Procurement, Human Resources and Payroll including web-based applications such as iProcurement, iExpenses and the Supplier Portal.

Non-StaffLink applications including HealthRoster, Recruitment and Onboarding (ROB), Taleo, VMoney Web and AFM Online will remain available during the outage. Please keep in mind, even though these applications won’t be significantly affected, limited functionality and processes requiring real-time data from StaffLink (e.g. onboarding of new staff into HealthRoster) will not be active.

Detailed communications and work-arounds have been conveyed separately to teams such as finance, recruitment and procurement and external suppliers to minimise the impact to operations during the outage.

For any questions or enquiries before or during the outage please email [email protected]. All queries after the outage, should be directed to the State Wide Service Desk on 1300 285 533.

HealthRoster Top Tips This month, we have some top tips for HealthRoster:

Non-productive leave – this must be “Approved” in the roster before the end of pay period.

Non-productive leave – these must have Cancelled Duties.

Non-productive leave – unless the non-productive is for part of a duty/shift (e.g. staff member is sick for half a day), you do not need to change the times on the non-productive.

Ensure that roster maintenance is completed daily – this will ensure that call-backs, allowances and updates are included and correct.

This one is our big one – all managers must ensure that they Finalise their rosters before 10am on the Monday of pay week.

http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/policies

http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/policies

http://www1.health.nsw.gov.au/pds/Pages/doc.aspx?dn=PD2018_032

http://www1.health.nsw.gov.au/pds/Pages/doc.aspx?dn=PD2018_031

http://www1.health.nsw.gov.au/pds/Pages/doc.aspx?dn=IB2018_042

d The Far West Local Health District Newsletter Edition 8...

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