Published on 8 May 2024

Foreword

The last two months have been some of the most challenging times for our staff in the Mental Health and Wellbeing Services Division, as they managed consumers with very complex needs. Despite facing significant challenges, including physical and verbal aggression, our team has handled these situations with exceptional compassion and efficiency. This period was particularly taxing, and I am deeply appreciative of all of your resilience, dedication, hard work and commitment under pressure.

On a positive note, I am pleased to report some significant achievements. We have advanced our academic and training initiatives, appointing consultants for our “scholarly project, psychotherapy supervision, and examinations training.” These efforts have nearly culminated in the establishment of the registrar training program. I would like to extend my congratulations to Dr. David Syfret and Dr. Sashin Kumar for their pivotal roles in setting up this program.

Furthermore, I am proud to acknowledge the scholarly contributions of our medical student, Wendi Zhao, who, under the supervision of Dr. Kodancha and Dr. Das from our division, has published a comprehensive review on gut microbiome changes in anorexia nervosa. This review was published in the Pathophysiology journal on February 2, 2024 (Vol. 31, Issue 1, Pages 68–88), marking a significant contribution to our understanding of this complex .

Additionally, our WH Emergency Departments have successfully rolled out the reporting and documentation of restrictive interventions as part of the new Mental Health and Wellbeing Act from April 1, 2024. This important initiative involved weeks of collaboration with key stakeholders and extensive teaching and training of our staff, ensuring compliance and enhanced care practices.

 

Dr Naveen Thomas

Clinical Services Director

Mental Health and Wellbeing Services

 

  • Upcoming COVID and flu vaccination clinic dates

    From Monday 6 May, vaccination clinics will be operating at Footscray and Sunshine Hospitals from 7am-10pm, 7-days a week. For dates and times at other sites, please refer to the vaccination program calendar on the intranet.

    It is mandatory for Category A and B healthcare workers to be vaccinated for seasonal influenza annually by 15 August 2024 because they are at increased risk of exposure to and transmission of the flu. Categories A and B staff include all those who have direct and indirect contact or potential exposure with blood or body substances. People with a medical contraindication to the influenza vaccine must show evidence of this to their employer, and are exempt from the requirement to be vaccinated. Although not mandatory, we strongly recommend that Category C staff get the annual flu vaccine to reduce their risk of illness.

    Any queries can be directed to: Flushot@wh.org.au

  • International Nurses and Midwives Day 2024

    International Nurses and Midwives Day is a significant occasion where we recognise and appreciate the dedication, compassion, and expertise demonstrated by our nurses and midwives throughout the year. It is an opportunity for us to come together as a community and express our gratitude for the invaluable role nurses and midwives play in delivering exceptional patient care.

    MHWS Celebrations
    All MHWS nurses are invited to celebrate International Nurses Day at an upcoming award ceremony.
    Date: Wednesday 8th May
    Time: 2.00pm – 3.00pm
    Venue: The Atrium, Western Health Education Centre, Sunshine Hospital

    The event will feature individual recognition of outstanding achievement awards to commend exemplary efforts as nominated by peers of our entry to practice nursing staff including:

    • Graduate Mental Health Nurse of the Year,
    • Post-Graduate Mental Health Nurse of the Year,
    • RN Transition to Mental Health Nurse of the Year and
    • EN Transition to Mental Health Nurse of the Year.

    Certificates of Completion will be disseminated for the Graduate, Post Graduate and Transition Nursing staff that completed their respective Post Graduate course within 2023.
    It promises to be a memorable occasion, celebrating the hard work and achievement of our mental health nurses.

    Please RSVP by Tues 5th May to kathleen.kelly@wh.org.au or julianne.donati@wh.org.au to confirm your attendance, and feel free to contact Julianne Donati and Kathleen Kelly for any further details or inquiries.

    We look forward to seeing everybody again as we come together to honour our nurses and celebrate their outstanding contributions; especially after a year of change and growth in the service.

     

    WH Celebrations
    WH will also be holding an event to celebrate our nurses and midwives on Thursday 9 May at 2:00pm, which will include Victoria’s Chief Nursing & Midwifery Officer Adjunct Professor Karrie Long giving the keynote address. The event will be held in-person at the Sunshine Hospital Auditorium and Live Streamed to all of our sites.

    During the event you will be:
    • Welcomed by Executive Director of Nursing & Midwifery Adjunct Professor Shane Crowe, who will reflect on the accomplishments of Western Health nurses and midwives, and look towards our exciting future
    • Hear from our Director of Nursing for Mental Health & Wellbeing, Ryan Dube
    • Hear from one of our amazing early career midwives
    • See the launch of our new Western Health scrubs for our nurses and midwives – the latest in fashion-forward attire!

    Everyone is welcome for afternoon tea in The Atrium, Western Health Education Centre, Sunshine Hospital after the event.

  • PeopleHub launching Monday 27 May 2024

    The eRecruit platform is being retired and will be replaced by the PeopleHub system from Monday 27 May 2024. 

    All staff:

    With the introduction of PeopleHub system (on 27 May), there will be a change in how payslips are accessed. Payslips will no longer be emailed to a nominated address. Instead, all staff will need to log into app.wh.org.au and navigate to the PeopleHub tile. From there, you’ll find your payroll information and easily access and download your payslip. This ensures a safer and more secure way for Western Health staff to access their payslips.

     All staff training:

    • System Navigation Training – helps ensure staff are confident logging in and navigating PeopleHub to find their payslips and employment related information.
    • Digital Forms training – helps staff gain understanding on how to submit self-service forms in PeopleHub.

    To register for training, click here PeopleHub Training Registration Form (office.com)

     

    Managers:

    With the retirement of eRecruit, it’s crucial to be aware of upcoming freeze period dates.

    Refer to this link for detailed information.

    Manager training:

    Managers to attend if they are responsible for people management tasks including, recruitment activities, variations, onboarding, offboarding.

    To register for training, click here PeopleHub Training Registration Form (office.com)

     

    For more information:

    A dedicated go-live intranet page has been created to help you stay up to date on key information and resources. Additionally, quick reference guides and WeLearn modules will be launched and made available ahead of the go-live date

     

  • Launch of Equally Well -Physical Health framework for Western Health, MHWS

    Ramesh Subramaniam, Nurse Practitioner, Central Community MHWS

    In March 2019, the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist and the Office of the Chief Mental Health Nurse jointly published the Equally Well in Victoria: Physical Health framework, for specialist mental health services.

    The Chief Mental Health Nurse, Anna Love and Safer Care Victoria continues to work with services to implement the Equally Well framework throughout Victoria.
    The framework highlights the importance of addressing the physical health needs of consumers, recognising the impact of physical health morbidities, life expectancy gaps and disparities that coexist for people living with mental health. Most specifically, the leading causes of cardiovascular disease, chronic diseases and mortality related management of consumers – to be effectively assessed, screened and treated in a timely manner during care episodes. Health promotion and early interventions are critical to delay or reduce the onset of chronic disease to consumers.

    In June and July 2022, Equally Well was launched for community mental health services. Over the years, the framework has outlined key strategies for implementing significant physical health monitoring which has incorporated dual diagnosis pathways. Metabolic monitoring guidelines, health improvement profiles, smoking cessation (tobacco dependence) clinical pathway, substance use, brief assessment and community falls risk assessments are some of the key clinical tools in identifying physical health morbidities for consumers.
    Nurse Practitioners (NP) and advanced nursing pathways have been leading Equally Well in respective local areas. Future NP pathways, senior nursing leadership and other staff members play a significant role in encouraging team members to focus on consumers’ physical health in conjunction with mental ill-health. As part of wellness and recovery, the relevance of completing the physical health and dual diagnosis tools are frequently discussed in clinical reviews. These tools reiterate to clinical staff their roles, responsibilities and expectations in implementing the principles of the framework and promoting holistic care for individuals.

    The framework was recently introduced to Western Health (WH) and Mental Health and Wellbeing Services (MHWS) on 5 April 2024. This follows on from the exceptional work undertaken by senior nursing leadership, prior to disaggregation, that engaged relevant stakeholders to promote key physical health strategies.

    MHWS have an opportunity to explore other parts of the framework’s priorities. MHWS staff work closely with consumers, families and next of kin to reduce the risk of developing multi morbidities and mortalities related to lifestyle factors, mental illness, medical conditions, alcohol and other drugs, medication induced side effects and metabolic syndrome.

    Transforming culture and promoting lived experience workforce are important for translating radical clinical practice. Equally Well promotes clinicians to engage in discussion regarding physical health management. Patient centred models and integrated care approaches are essential for holistic care. This process aligns with the WH Best Care framework and accreditation standards (NSQHS). The aim is for clinicians to empower consumers by instilling hope and confidence in prioritising individual physical health components. To sustain and ongoingly manage the optimum physical health of consumers, the collaborative planning and therapeutic intervention and other workforce considerations will be key factors.

    The WH Equally Well Committee aims to support leadership roles to promote improvement in physical health activities, collaborative work with primary health networks and allied health workforce development. As part of engaging with consumers, the lived experience voice is critical in contributing and participating in consumers’ recovery journey in supporting optimal physical health. At every opportunity, lived experience should be accessible and an established referral pathway by treating teams to enhance the overall experience for consumers within the service.

    The following priorities are some of the guiding principles to support consumers to optimise physical health.
    1. Priority area 1: Support to quit or reduce smoking
    2. Priority area 2: Improving metabolic health (weight and diet)
    3. Priority area 3: Improving metabolic health (physical activity and fitness)
    4. Priority area 4: Reducing alcohol and substance use
    5. Priority area 5: Sexual and reproductive health and blood born viruses
    6. Priority area 6: Medicine optimisation7. Priority area 7: Dental and oral hygiene
    8. Priority area 8: Reducing falls.
    9. Lead with kindness

  • Survey Invitation: Experience of Occupational Violence amongst Healthcare Staff in Frontline Settings

    Frontline healthcare staff are invited to take part in a research project by Dr Joanne Tay (WH Psychiatry Registrar) and Dr Soumitra Das (WH Consultant Psychiatrist).

    The research project is aiming to identify the prevalence of workplace violence across acute and frontline settings within healthcare. This is done via exploring the (1) the form of violence, (2) impact of violence incidences, (3) reporting of incidence, (4) mitigation strategies and (5) risk factors. With your help, we are hoping to better understand the climate of workplace violence across acute settings within Australian hospitals and work towards implementing effective change.

    https://survey.wh.org.au/redcap/surveys/?s=T89XDMM7YX78LRTJ

    Alternatively, you can use your phone to scan this QR code and complete the survey at any time!

    For further information, please contact Dr Joanne Tay joanne.tay2@mh.org.au or Dr Soumitra Das Soumitra.Das@wh.org.au

  • Applications for the next Western Health Innovation Acceleration Program (IAP) are now open!

    Western Health Program | Innovation Acceleration Program

    The Innovation Acceleration Program (IAP) is a pre-accelerator enabling healthcare professionals from Western Health to work with teams from the University of Melbourne to develop innovative solutions to unmet needs.

    Inspired by past collaborations between Western Health and University of Melbourne the IAP:

    • Provides a unique opportunity to Western Health staff – clinical and non-clinical – who have identified unmet needs within the healthcare system and want to develop innovative solutions supported by expert teams.
    • Partners Western Health staff with teams of researchers, business developers, and experts in innovation, entrepreneurship, intellectual property, and venture capital investing from the University of Melbourne.
    • Provides 12 weeks of customized support and five workshops on value proposition design and talking with stakeholders, business model design and testing, intellectual property, and pathways to funding.
    • Supports teams to pitch for funding from $10,000-$100,000 to continue developing their innovations.

    Submissions are welcome between 15 April – 15 May 2024 via the link above.

  • Harvester Private Consulting Suite

    Harvester Private is a private mental health consulting suite managed by Western Health.
    It is situated in the centre of Sunshine conveniently located close to the Sunshine railway station for easy access to public transport. Free car parking is also available in front of the building.
    Please see flyer here for more information.

  • Welcome Baby Hamish James Thyer!

    Maddie Thyer, MHWS Program Manager (CAPS/ Perinatal/ Yanna Yanna (Women’s) PARC, welcomed baby Hamish on Tuesday 16 April weighing 3.22kg.

    Maddie said she is enjoying all the newborn cuddles and getting to know little Hamish.

    Congratulations Maddie!

     

  • An update on mental health and wellbeing reform

    An update on mental health and wellbeing reform April 2024

  • Digital Health News

    Digital Health News – April 2024 – Westerly Staff & Volunteers Hub (wh.org.au)