Published on 14 October 2022
I am thrilled to announce that Western Health took home three awards from four finalist categories at Thursday’s Victorian Public Health Awards Gala Night.
Congratulations to the teams and individuals behind these award-winning initiatives:
- The McMonty Personal Ventilation Hood, winning the ‘Improving healthcare through clinical research’ category
- Predict, prevent, priority: safety – an approach to OVA management, winning the ‘Improving workforce wellbeing and safety’ category
- Connected, caring and culturally safe, winning the ‘Improving Aboriginal Health’ category.
Well done also to the team responsible for our Integrated COVID-19 Care at Home program, which was a finalist for the ‘Improving integration of care for patients with chronic and complex healthcare needs’ category. This amazing program administered 2000 early COVID therapies and monitored more than 9000 patients since its inception in September 2021, so it is still an absolute winner in my eyes!
The Victorian Public Healthcare Awards celebrate and acknowledge the achievements of healthcare workers and public health services. Normally held annually, last night’s awards were the first to be held since 2019, the previous two years postponed due to COVID.
So it was a particularly special night – not least because we won three awards – but also because there was a palpable energy and excitement at being able to once again celebrate health services and healthcare workers after two very difficult years.
Well done to our award winners and finalists and thank you for the inspirational efforts you put in each and every day in caring for each other and our communities whilst also innovating.
About the award winners
The McMonty Medihood is a personal ventilation hood designed to fit over a hospital bed and upper body of COVID-19 patients. A small fan and special filter extract aerosol droplets, significantly reducing the risk of COVID transmission from patient to healthcare worker. The McMonty was designed and developed by Western Health’s Anaesthetist and Intensive Care Physician Associate Professor Forbes McGain in collaboration with the University of Melbourne’s Head of Mechanical Engineering Professor Jason Monty. The McMonty has now been used by health services from Hobart to Queensland and attracted international interest.
The ‘Predict, prevent, priority: safety’ – an approach to OVA management’ is a comprehensive staff safety campaign strategy that addresses the prevention of occupational violence and aggression. The campaign affirms that it is okay to step away and prioritise your own safety, call for assistance at the earliest opportunity and that violence can often be predicted and prevented. It aims to continue to shift unsafe workplace culture, empower staff to make safe choices and prevent incidents of violence and exposure to trauma that are associated with mental health injury.
Our ‘Connected, caring and culturally safe’ nomination concerns the launch of a new Aboriginal Outpatient Clinic in 2021, creating a culturally sensitive environment where patients feel safe and supported to attend their medical appointments. The cultural responsiveness of mainstream health service providers is critical in ensuring that Aboriginal people receive respectful, high-quality care with greater access and choice. Feedback from patients, along with much improved rates of patients attending booked appointment, has demonstrated the value of developing a culturally sensitive and responsive service that supports individual healthcare needs.