The Weekly Wrap: 6 December

On behalf of the Board Chair, Ms Robyn Batten AM, the Board of Directors and Executive, you are invited to attend the Western Health Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday 19 December 2023 at 3:30pm.  

Join us online to hear from Robyn Batten about the year that was and from our Chief Executive Adjunct Professor Russell Harrison about what’s ahead for Western Health.  

You can join the virtual AGM at the scheduled time via this link: https://bit.ly/40Vp7YV 

A recording of the AGM will be available on the Western Health website at the conclusion of the event.  

All staff are invited to our annual Christmas lunches. The dates are below, so please mark them in your calendar.

There will also be different entertainment at our sites, including our favourite furry friends from Lort Smith Pet Therapy, choirs and photo booths.

Submissions for the next Premier’s Awards for Health and Medical Research are now open.

The awards celebrate the best and brightest in Victoria’s medical research community, including the recent achievements of early-career researchers who are completing or have recently completed a PhD.

These researchers can be nominated for awards in five categories:

• Basic Science Researcher
• Clinical Researcher
• Aboriginal Researcher undertaking research in any field of health and medical research
• Health Services Researcher
• Public Health Researcher

The winner of each category will receive $5,000, while the recipient of the Premier’s Excellence Award will take home an additional $15,000 in prize money.

Submissions close on 7 January 2024. Researchers are encouraged to submit their research projects, and to support their fellow researchers to apply.

For more information visit: health.vic.gov.au/about/premiers-awards-for-health-and-medical-research

We’d like to inform staff that our volunteer programs will be closed for one month over summer, so our volunteer team can spend time with their families and friends and take some time to recharge for the busy year ahead.

Our volunteers last day will be Friday 15th of December 2023 and they will return on Monday 15th January 2024 (hospital based and auxiliary volunteers only).

It will also allow the Volunteer Management Team time for planning and preparation for new roles and programs operating across the service in 2024.

Please note, this means there will be no volunteers attending our sites during this time with the exception of the Bacchus Marsh Opportunity Shop, which will close on Friday December 22, 2023 and it will reopen on Monday January 8, 2024.

Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers who make such a valuable contribution to our health service!

Working together so patients in the West get the care they need, when they need it

Western Health is participating in the Timely Emergency Care Collaborative (TECC) along with 14 other healthcare networks to improve how patients move across different areas of the hospital.

Our emergency departments, inpatient areas and operations teams have been busy testing change ideas across the hospital.

Recently work has been undertaken to align Business Continuity Plans and Emergency Procedures across all Western Health sites.

The following have recently been published and are available through PROMPT.

All staff at the affected sites should make themselves familiar with these documents.

Business Continuity Plan Bacchus Marsh/Melton

Emergency Procedures Manuals:

Western Health Central Production Kitchen Emergency Procedures Manual

Harvester Clinic Emergency Management Plan

St Albans Community Care Units (CCU) Emergency Management Plan

Emergency Management Procedure for Burnside Prevention and Recovery Care Services

To mark the International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD), which is held on 3 December each year, the Disability Liaison Service will be visiting each Western Health site during the week of 4th-7th December promoting awareness, providing material and raising participation in completing our very own Disability Awareness We Learn package.  

Access the training package here.

Come and see us on the following dates and times:

To celebrate, activities and prizes for participation and enthusiasm will available across the week.

The Bacchus Marsh Melton (BMM) Digital Health Transition Project is extending the functionality which is used to document and manage patient care at Western Health’s Footscray, Sunshine, Williamstown and Sunbury sites to the BMM sites to aid the flow of healthcare information across the organisation and support seamless, safe and effective care.

We are now in an exciting phase where work is underway on the second stage of the project, which involves the transition of a number of clinical and administrative systems to the BMM sites, to align with the wider organisation.

To help staff prepare for this transition, information sessions will be held at Bacchus Marsh Hospital and the Melton Health Hub in December 2023. 

The sessions will include a project overview and timeline, plus are an excellent opportunity for BMM staff to get a first glimpse of the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system and future workflows.  

The sessions will be held on:

• Monday December 11, 2023, 2–3pm, Bacchus Marsh Hospital – Conference Room
• Wednesday December 13, 2023, 2–3pm, Melton Health Hub – Conference Rooms 1 & 2

Key project contacts will be in attendance and are looking forward to answering queries. The same information will be presented at each site.

For more information on the Bacchus Marsh Melton Digital Health Transition Project, please visit the dedicated project page on the Digital Health information site.

Next week’s WH/UoM Medical Grand Round is presented by Infectious Diseases 

Date: Wednesday December 13, 2023

Time: 12-1pm

Title of presentation: 

“Shorter Tighter Safer Stronger: Debunking Decades of (Daft) Dogma around Antibiotic Duration and Delivery”

Presenters: Ben Smith & Aaron Bloch

Via zoom: https://westernhealth.zoom.us/j/91565664494?pwd=cUhabGh5bUZ6VGpsZE43TTFkL3JVdz09 

We have face to face support sessions for e-PACE:

• 11 December 2023, 10:00am to 12:00pm, Mavis Mitchell Room – Footscray Hospital

To book your support session, please contact the Contracts Team at 

whs-contracts@wh.org.au and include the following:

• Full name of attendee
• Job title
• Department
• Email address
• Contact number
• Date of support session

The Western Health Opportunity Shops (Op Shops) are having a huge sale with half price off everything.*

Williamstown Hospital Op Shop – 47 Ferguson Street, Williamstown 

Footscray Op Shop – Footscray Hospital 

*excludes handmade cards and knitwear/crochet items 

Bacchus Marsh Opportunity Shop – Gell Street, Bacchus Marsh. 

Get in quick before the store closes for the Christmas break (Williamstown and Footscray closes on December 15 and Bacchus Marsh on the December 22).

The popular BankVic wall calendars (A2 size) are available from the Western Health Foundation Office (ground floor, Footscray Hospital – opposite the library).

Calendars can be collected from the Foundation office Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm.

Please note, the Foundation office will be closed from December 22 and will reopen from January 3.

Western Health Foundation are thanking Western Health staff for their sensational efforts in 2023 with Krispy Kremes! Celebrate the season with a free donut and say hello to the friendly Western Health Foundation team. 

Dates, times, locations:

Sunshine Hospital: 18 December, 10am-12pm, opposite the pharmacy
Footscray Hospital: 19 December, 10am-12pm, opposite the security office
Melton Hospital: 20 December, 9am-11am, upstairs staff room in the Melton Community Services Building
Bacchus Marsh Hospital: 20 December, 12pm-2pm, staff tea room
Williamstown Hospital: 21 December, 10am-12pm, 1st floor, administration corridor
Sunbury and Western Central Production Kitchen: 21 December, staff tea rooms

Donuts will be put aside for those staff working night shift.

Many thanks to Krispy Kreme for donating donuts through their Doughforce program, which is based on expressing thanks to those who work hard to support their communities.

If you would like to know more about their fundraising efforts, you can visit their website. Alternatively, visit their western suburbs store at Highpoint to purchase a sweet treat!

Fitness Passport pools at gyms, leisure and aquatic centres, will deliver holiday entertainment for an endless summer of fun, family memories and happy faces, without breaking the bank.

• A huge network of pools, close to home, work, or even your holiday destination
• Family memberships from $24.95/week
• Unlimited visits

Rest of the year free! Plus up to a $100 visa prepaid card. 

Your onsite Health Club EFM is excited to Launch its first ever Black Friday Gym Membership sale. Rest of the year absolutely free! No charge until January.

Set up 2024 for your best year yet with 6 weeks of free gym membership to finish 2023 and a $100 visa prepaid gift.

Only 15 memberships available for our biggest and best promo ever so call Jarrod on 0401951734  or email sunshine@efm.net.au 

Melbourne Comedy Festival favourites are back in town and free tickets are available.

Dates: 6, 7, 8, 12, 13 and 14 December.

Doors open: 6:30pm

Show starts: 8pm (runs for 2+ hours)  

Cost: FREE (normally $35)

Location: The Comics Lounge (26 Errol Street, North Melbourne).

Bookings: email laughs@thecomicslounge.com.au with your name, the number of tickets and the date of the show you’d like to attend.

Maxxia will be on-site to help with salary packaging queries for all employees.

Book a 15 minute face-to-face consultation here.

Upcoming visits

Melton Health Services (Community Services Building- upstairs staff room)

• Thursday December 7 – 12.30pm-2.30pm

Bacchus Marsh Hospital (staff lunch room)

• Thursday December 7 – 9am-11am

Sunbury Day Hospital (Consulting Room 5)

• Wednesday February 7 – 9am-11am

How we can help

• How salary packaging works
• How to use pre-tax funds towards daily living expenses such as mortgage, rent, clothes, school fees etc.
• How to use pre-tax funds towards restaurant  and holiday expenses
• Manage your salary packaging benefits through one smart card.
• How to set up and navigate the Maxxia app.
• Salary packaging a new, used or existing vehicle with a novated lease and current vehicles available.

Cant make it? Email: education@maxxia.com.au.

BankVic are available to chat to Western Health staff about financial wellbeing at Footscray Hospital. A BankVic representative will be offering home loan health checks, which include assessing your current financial situation, financial goal setting and evaluating whether your current home loan still suits your needs.

Date: Thursday 14 December
Time: 11am-1pm
Location: Open foyer space at Footscray Hospital (opposite security office) 

Registrations not required.