Nursing & Midwifery News – May 2024

International Day of the Midwife celebrates midwives for all they do each and everyday. The theme for this year is “Sustainable Midwifery : Caring for Tomorrow’s World”. Sustainable midwifery practices prioritise the well-being of both mother and child while minimising environmental impact, ensuring a healthier future for generations to come. The midwifery model of care is environmentally friendly. Evidence shows that continuity of midwife care leads to optimal and safe outcomes by using fewer resources, resulting in less medical waste and a reduced ecological footprint. The care provided as midwives also helps ensure that resources and the time and expertise of obstetricians are more available to women with complex care needs. In the lead up to the new Melton Hospital we will be working collaboratively with our maternity colleagues to improve our model of care to enhance continuity of care to better realise the benefits that it provides by increasing the likelihood of a normal healthy birth and at term, decreasing unnecessary intervention, increase positive experiences of labour and birth and successful breastfeeding.

International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world every May 12, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. It recognises the impact that nurses have within the community working as the largest healthcare profession across all aspects of a person’s life. The theme for this year is “Our Nurses. Our Future. The economic power of care”. Despite being the backbone of health care, nursing often faces financial constraints and societal undervaluation. This year’s theme aims to reshape perceptions, demonstrating how strategic investment in nursing can bring considerable economic and societal benefits. At Western Health our nursing workforce has grown from approximately 3,500 nurses 5 years ago, to approximately 6,000 in 2024. To meet the healthcare needs of the rapidly growing western metropolitan region, with the new Footscray Hospital, new Melton Hospital and our new community hospitals our nursing workforce is expected to continue grow by between 2,300-4,000 nurses over the next 5 years! Investment in nursing will be vital to ensure that the people of the West have a healthy future.

Our patients trust us with sensitive health information so we can provide them with the care that they need. That trust is vital for us to be able to do our jobs and that’s why we protect health information so tightly – because even a single breach of privacy can be incredibly damaging to patients, to staff, and ultimately to the public’s trust in the entire healthcare system.

Sometimes people can become curious. Sometimes, as with the Princess of Wales, there can be intense media interest in a particular patient, or sometimes it’s more personal – recognising a face or name. At times like these it is absolutely critical to remember that everyone has a right to privacy of their health information, and to remember that right is enshrined in the law, and further protected by our policies and procedures and professional obligations.

To protect the privacy of our patients, access to medical records at Western Health is electronically logged and our DTS team routinely audits access. Where there is any suggestion of inappropriate access they will also perform an in-depth investigation, and if the access was found to be inappropriate, disciplinary action will follow, including potential dismissal and even possible legal repercussions. It is also important to remember that the same laws and ethical codes cover any information obtained about a patient in the course of providing our health service (e.g. the patient’s address and contact details and also the mere fact that they attended our health service) and also patient information that has come to a person indirectly, for example by overhearing a conversation or glancing at a screen.

We have so many talented staff who have worked hard to build careers in healthcare. It is important that we all remember not to put all that at risk with a single bad decision.

If you need any clarification or a refresher on how and when to access patient information, you can have a conversation with your manager. Resources are also available on WeLearn or via our Privacy Policy (westernhealth.org.au)

The annual renewal of nurses’ and midwives’ registration lets the public and your colleagues know that you’re still safe to practise.

To avoid a late fee renew online before 31 May 2024. All nurses and midwives needing to have renewed their registration prior to 30 June 2024 to allow them to continue to practise.

Western Health does not employ anyone into any nursing or midwifery position without an active registration for any period.

Payment:

To ensure quick and effective renewal, nurses and midwives and encouraged to renew online.

Renewal fees can be paid by credit/debit card. If you do not have a credit/debit card you can purchase a pre-paid debit card from various retail outlets for a nominal fee.

Non-practicing registration:

Every year Western Health has a large number of nurses and midwives go on some extended leave. Often this is for something like maternity leave or long service leave, where they fully intend to return to work following their leave.

Occasionally some of our nurses or midwives have fallen into the trap of applying for non-practicing registration during their leave, which has impaired their ease of returning to work.

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) regulates the practice of nursing and midwifery in Australia, and one of its key roles is to protect the public. The NMBA does this by developing registration standards, professional codes, guidelines and standards for practice which together establish the requirements for the professional and safe practice of nurses and midwives in Australia.

The types of registration available to nurses and midwives who apply to the NMBA to be registered include general registration, provisional registration, student registration and non-practising registration.

All of our active nurses and midwives are on the general register. Non-practising registration is a type of registration that is suitable for an individual who chooses to stop all nursing and/or midwifery practice but wishes – for personal rather than professional reasons – to retain a
protected nursing and/or midwifery title. Often this is a nurse or midwife who:

• has retired from nursing or midwifery practice
• is experiencing a period of prolonged illness, or
• is intending to take a long period of absence from practice.

Nurses and midwives wishing to take a period of leave (i.e. maternity leave) who are intending to return to work are advised to remain on the general register. Please note however that you must be able to maintain your CPD and recency of practice requirements.

Any nurse or midwife that transitions to non-practising registration needs to go though a process to be able to practise again. That includes lodging an application form (AGNP-40) for general registration and meet all the requirements of the following NMBA registration standards:

• criminal history
• professional indemnity insurance arrangements, and
• recency of practice.

If you the nurses or midwife does not meet the recency of practice registration standard requirement, a re-entry to practice requirement will apply.

Tips and information:

Read the renewal FAQs on the Ahpra website for helpful tips and more information on what you need to do to renew.

If you have difficulty renewing your registration online or you have a query about your registration, please contact Aphra by making a web enquiry or by calling 1300 419 495.

Keeping informed

Western Health will continue to provide regular updates on the outcomes of the bargaining process and how the new enterprise agreements for 2024-2028 are progressing.

Unions will also provide information to their members through regular publications, notices and meetings.

Any queries or concerns can be discussed confidentially with the relevant Divisional Director of Nursing & Midwifery, Deputy Executive Director of Nursing & Midwifery or People & Culture Business Partner.

If you’ve been vaccinated at another hospital, by your GP or elsewhere, please complete a quick Redcap survey click on the link access: Influenza Immunisation Survey, attach your immunisation certificate or alternatively, you can consent for us to check your AIR immunisation record.

Staff who have evidence indicating that receiving the influenza vaccine is contraindicated must complete a Redcap survey, click on the link access: Influenza Immunisation Survey, complete and attach the medical certificate from a recognised medical practitioner.

PeopleHub will go-live on Monday 27 May – please be aware of what you need to do to prepare.

When PeopleHub launches, a key change for all staff is that payslips will be available on this new secure platform and will no longer be emailed. You will be able to access PeopleHub via Okta or an application on your phone once we go live. Employees will also be able to view and update their personal details easily on the PeopleHub platform.

We are excited to be introducing a new digital solution for all our recruitment and onboarding needs that is aimed at making the process much simpler for all users. The current eRecruit system will be retired on Monday 17 June, and access will cease on that day.

A detailed training scheduled has been developed. We encourage you to register for training at Get ready for Go Live! via the registration form.

This is significant change to our people management system processes and while there has been extensive consultation and effort in addressing system needs and requirements, we ask for your patience should we need to navigate through any initial issues that may arise after go-live as we are confident in addressing these as effectively and efficiently as possible.

​ If you have any immediate questions or suggestions, please feel free to reach out to the project team at  peopleconnect@wh.org.au. ​

Everyone should expect to feel safe in emergency care settings, but this can be challenging when caring for people experiencing acute behavioural disturbance.

Safer Care Victoria has recently released clinical guidance on caring for people displaying acute behavioural disturbance in emergency settings aims to support clinicians to provide person-centred, evidence-based care for some of our most vulnerable Victorians.

The guidance applies to people aged 16–65 years in emergency departments and urgent care centres and may be adapted for pre-hospital care such as ambulance services, with acknowledgement that some concepts may apply to people outside this range. The clinical guidance aims to support emergency care clinicians to provide person-centred, evidence-based care for everyone, including people with acute behaviours of concern.

It does not apply to people with a clear organic cause for their acute behavioural disturbance such as a closed head injury, dementia or delirium.

World Hand Hygiene Day, celebrated on May 5th, 2024, is an initiative by the World Health Organisation aimed at promoting hand hygiene across the globe. This day emphasizes the importance of hand hygiene as a simple, effective, and affordable way to prevent the spread of microorganisms and save lives. The campaign focuses on the role of hand hygiene in healthcare settings, encouraging both healthcare providers and patients to practice good hand hygiene techniques. By highlighting the critical nature of clean hands, Western Health fosters a culture of cleanliness that can significantly improve health outcomes for our patients, staff, and visitors.

Hands play an important part in helping us care for ourselves and others.

With winter fast approaching, cold weather and lower humidity levels mean hands often become drier. It’s important to focus on protecting yourself and your patients by maintaining the moisture level of your skin to maintain healthy hands.  Intact skin is the first line of defence against infection. Dry, damaged and cracked skin can put you at risk of picking up germs and spreading them to others. It can also lead to discomfort and reduced compliance with hand hygiene.

Factors that affect skin moisture and cause irritation

1. Repeated handwashing with soap and water: Handwashing strips oil from the surface of the skin making it less pliable and more likely to crack or tear.
2. Using hot water for washing and vigorous drying with paper towel: Hot water removes moisture and the rough surface of the paper towel is abrasive, stripping away the protective outer layer of skin cells when rubbed vigorously.
3. Donning gloves while hands are still wet: Donning gloves over damp hands increases the risk of skin irritation. Additionally, sweating while wearing gloves for extended periods also increases likely skin irritation and drying.

Please click on the link to view top tips to keep skin healthy.

Check your skin hydration level

Ecolab will be on site to assess your skin hydration level using a digital skin moisture analyser – All are welcome

National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is being held between 27 May – 3 June and is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

The theme for 2024 is Now More Than Ever, which is a reminder to all of us that no matter what, the fight for justice and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will and must continue.

Here are four things that you can do to help build a better understanding and appreciation of the past and the present and help us on our journey towards a just and equitable future for all Australians.

1. Understand Reconciliation
   To achieve reconciliation, it’s important that we learn about and celebrate the rich diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories, and develop strong relationships built on acknowledgment and respect. Read about how reconciliation will strengthen the relationship with First Nations people and non-Indigenous Australians.
2. Acknowledge Country
   Did you know that an Acknowledgement of Country should be included in all meeting agenda templates and at the start of all education sessions held at Western Health? An Acknowledgement of Country is an opportunity to show respect for Traditional Owners and the continuing connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to Country. It can be offered by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples before a meeting, speech or event. You can also include it in your signature block. A Welcome to Country differs from an Acknowledgement as it is delivered by Traditional Owners, or First Nations people who have been given permission from Traditional Owners to welcome visitors to their Country.
3. Know the Lands on which you stand
   Country is the term often used by First Nations people to describe the lands, waterways and seas to which they are connected.
   You might like to discover more about the lands you travel to, or where you live and work. The AIATSIS map of Indigenous Australia is a great guide for discovering the traditional owners of the land across Australia.
4. Cultural Safety is everyone’s job
   Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural safety means that we are creating an environment where there is no challenge or denial of our First Nations patients, staff and volunteers identity or experience. You can improve your cultural awareness by completing Aboriginal Cultural Awareness training on WeLearn. You can also read the Western Health Aboriginal Health Cultural Safety Plan 2022-2025 to learn about what we are doing as a health service to improve the cultural safety and health outcomes of our First Nations consumers, staff and volunteers.

Thank you for your commitment to furthering our understanding of reconciliation as we continue the important journey towards equitable health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

In a bid to enhance patient-centered care and provide acute medical attention within the comfort of patients’ homes, Western Health at Home division has taken a significant stride forward with the expansion of their Hospital in the Home (HITH) service. The service, which offers crucial medical care that would otherwise necessitate an inpatient stay, now has two established units and increased bed capacity.

Patients admitted to the HITH service can receive a spectrum of acute care services in the familiarity and comfort of their own homes. These services range from IV antibiotics and managing anticoagulation to complex dressing changes, heart failure management, post-operative drain tube care, and medical management.

The growth of the HITH services has seen the introduction of a second unit, now operational from Sunshine Hospital. While the longstanding Footscray unit continues services under the experienced leadership of Nurse Unit Manager Paula Lethlean, the recently established Sunshine unit went live on Monday 18th March, 2024.  Agnieszka Kuceil, the newly appointed Nurse Unit Manager, leads this unit, which will see bed capacity increase considerably and allow more patients to experience hospital care in their home.

In line with this expansion, Western Health emphasises the importance of identifying suitable patients to be provided care by HITH. Staff are encouraged to consider whether patients in inpatient units or emergency departments could receive ongoing care by the HITH service.

For more information regarding the HITH services or any other enquiries please contact:

Footscray Nurse Unit Manager                 

Paula Lethlean                                                  0478 407 430

Sunshine Nurse Unit Manager  

Agnieszka Kuceil                                               0481 094 577

For more information including how to refer, visit Hospital In The Home (sharepoint.com)

In line with medication safety and quality use of medicines initiatives, Olanzapine Orally Disintegrating Tablets (ODTs) will be routinely supplied in place of wafers across all sites at Western Health. In certain circumstances, Olanzapine wafer formulations can be provided from pharmacy or night store locations at Sunshine and Footscray hospitals. EMR order sets were updated to include ODT Olanzapine dose forms in mid-April 2024.

Olanzapine ODTs are a cost-effective formulation suitable for many patients, including those with swallowing difficulties. The ODT and wafer presentations are bioequivalent and interchangeable.

ODTs disintegrate quickly when placed on top of the tongue. Once disintegrated, the residue can be swallowed easily and absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. This mode of medication delivery is the same as the wafer formulation. ODTs are different to conventional sublingual and buccal tablets, which are absorbed directly through the oral mucosa.

ODTs should only be removed from packaging immediately prior to use as they are sensitive to moisture and are not appropriate for placing into Dosage Administration Aids (e.g. webster packs, dosette boxes).

For more information, please contact your ward pharmacist or the pharmacy department.

As part of our Positive Workplace Framework, and recognition the need to support each other during challenging times, intake 2 of the Peer Support Program is about to be launched and is looking to recruit nurses and midwives as Peer Supporters for the Western Health Peer Support Program.

The Peer Support Program is an initiative where trained employees volunteer their time to provide support to colleagues, a referral service with an emphasis on brief, practical interventions providing people with support across a range of work and non-work related issues.

The primary objective of the Peer Support Officers is to provide informal and confidential support to all employees and volunteers who may be experiencing difficulties in the workplace or at home.  It is generally at short notice and with the aim of providing an empathic response and or assistance for additional and sometimes formal pathways for support.   This program complements other Western Health employee support services such as the Employee Assistance Program and the Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) program.

We’re inviting employees to take part in this program who are seen as credible role models with colleagues and senior staff, have great listening and communication skills, see their fellow employees as their priority, are good at maintaining confidentiality and trust, and make themselves available when people are in need.

It is anticipated successful peer supporters will reach out to follow employees and volunteers who may be involved in any critical event or respond where they can to a call, be available at any time for employees who may self-refer and provide minimal reporting/feedback.  Peer Supporters will be provided training and supervision sessions throughout the year.

This program has been running for 6 months now and anonymous post interaction evaluation collected from employees that have used this service has been very positive, with 100% of employees stating they would recommend this service to colleagues, the peer supporters responded appropriately to their needs, and they found the service easy to access and useful.

Some data on the program: In the last quarter of 2023, 10 different Peer Supporters had multiple interactions with staff from Western Health.  10 different departments and 6 different consumers were represented in these interactions, this shows us the service is being used across the Western Health community.  64% of interactions are lasting between 30 minutes and 1 hour with 76% of contact being made either face to face or on-line.

Is this you?   If so, please apply for this program via this flyer.

We see this as an important initiative in supporting our employees, ensuring employee psychosocial safety remains a priority and Western Health is well placed to provide the best support to our people who provide best care.

Western Health is proud to receive the prestigious accreditation as a Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace, recognising our commitment to gender equality in the workplace. 

The Australian Breastfeeding Association accreditation showcases Sunshine Hospital’s commitment to creating a work environment with the space, time and supportive culture that enables employees to breastfeed. 

“Western Health is proud to be a Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace,” Western Health Executive Director, People, Culture and Communications, Adjunct Professor Sandy Schutte said. “It’s recognition of our commitment to being an inclusive workplace that supports staff throughout their life stages. Providing a supportive workplace environment for employees to breastfeed demonstrates a commitment to staff well-being, but it is also a powerful retention and recruitment tool.” 

Sunshine Hospital has a Staff Lactation Room where mothers can breastfeed or express milk. It also has family friendly workplace policies in place to support staff and their families. 

“As one of the major providers of maternity services in Victoria and an organisation that has a workforce that is 77 per cent female, we know how important it is to remove barriers to breastfeeding,” Western Health Director of Maternity Services and Deputy Executive Director, Nursing and Midwifery, Adjunct Professor Tanya Farrell said. 

“Research has shown breastfeeding provides health and nutritional benefits for children with positive lifelong impacts.” 

An increasing number of women are returning to work within the first year of their baby’s life. 

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), breastfeeding rates drop significantly when women return to work. 

 Joan Kirner Women’s and Children’s (JKWC) at Sunshine Hospital is also one of only two maternity services in metropolitan Melbourne to hold the coveted Baby Friendly Health Initiative (BFHI) accreditation. Developed by the WHO and UNICEF in 1990, the BFHI program recognises hospitals who provide world-class support to parents by promoting, encouraging and supporting breastfeeding.   

The Innovation Acceleration Program (IAP) enables healthcare professionals from Western Health, including nurses and midwives, 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 an 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 customised 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.

In doing so, the IAP aims to:

• Inspire healthcare professionals to become innovators, entrepreneurs, and problem-solvers at scale.
• Equip them with knowledge and experience in established innovation and entrepreneurship best practice.
• Connect them with researchers, business developers, and mentors from the University of Melbourne.
• Encourage an inter-organisational culture of collaborative innovation and opportunity creation.
• Guide them to identify problems worth solving and repeatable, scalable, impactful business models.
• Support them with seed funding to continue their journey of transforming obstacles into opportunities.
• Develop a pipeline for healthcare innovations, intellectual property, and start-ups in Victoria.

Submissions are now open, and close on 15 May 2024. Please contact Bill Karanatsis in the Office of Research with any enquiries.

Rebecca Woltsche has recently been appointed as the new Assistant Director of Nursing & Midwifery, Advanced Practice Pathways, as a secondment for the next 12 months.

Rebecca is well known to Western Health and brings vast experience and skills which has been developed over 20 years working as a nurse in clinical, leadership and project roles. Most recently Rebecca has worked as the Assistant Director of Nursing & Midwifery – Improving Care, where she has driven positive change, achieving improved patient care.

Rebecca will be supporting a range of projects and initiatives, to ensure nurses and midwives can access career development opportunities and advanced practice roles are effective.

Rebecca will commence her new role on Monday 6 May 2024. This role will have a focus on scoping and supporting advanced nursing and midwifery practice roles, career pathways, nurse and midwife led care opportunities and supporting the Western Health Nurse Practitioners and Candidates, Advanced practice and specialist nurses and midwives.

Commencing Wednesday, 15 May 2024, referrals to the Inpatient Hospital in the Home (HITH) service will be available in the EMR.

What is changing?

Currently, referrals to the HITH service are managed through a mix of iPM, fax, and phone/in-person channels. This will now change to an inpatient referral in the EMR.

What are the benefits?

This new process aims to streamline operations for the HITH team, improve accountability and enhance patient safety through comprehensive referral details.

You can stay up to date with other EMR changes by visiting the EMR Updates page on the Digital Health information site.

For further information on the HITH referral process, please contact Paula Lethlean, Nurse Unit Manager at paula.lethlean@wh.org.au.

Western Health is now a Gold Partner of the Australian College of Midwives (ACM), which provides our midwives the opportunity to tap into the learning and development opportunities that ACM provides.

The partnership allows our midwives to have access to ACM’s eLearning, recruitment job listings and copies of the Australian Midwifery News magazine.

Western Health will also be supporting some complimentary conference tickets and ACM membership as part of our recognition program for midwives.

To find out more about becoming an ACM member or getting the most out of your membership, please click here.

COVID-19 is still circulating in community, and anyone currently infected may be eligible to participate in a simple research study.  Particularly given recent socialising across the Easter period, you may know someone who has recently tested positive.  This study is suitable for any adult WH staff, family members or friends.

The study is quite simple – we are trying to measure how much SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus is expelled into the air by an infected person on different days over their illness.

The study is led at Western Health by Dr Forbes McGain, with involvement from Prof Marion Kainer (Infectious Diseases) in collaboration with other infectious diseases physicians, respiratory consultants and scientists at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, The University of Melbourne and the Doherty Institute.

To be eligible for the study, adult volunteer participants must be enrolled and commence the study within 72 hours of the first positive rapid antigen test (RATs) or PCR test.

Participants would be asked to attend Sunshine Hospital Campus to a dedicated testing room.  The first visit will take approx. 90 mins, and then we would ask the participant to return for shorter follow-up visits (approx. 45 mins) for up to another 3 visits over the first 1-2 weeks of illness.

We will provide free parking, and participants will be remunerated for their time with gift vouchers up to $300 to show our appreciation for their time and contribution to research.

We hope that this information will help us to learn more about how infective COVID-19 is, particularly over the course of illness, and what factors might influence this in indoor spaces (room temperature, humidity, air flow etc.).

Testing positive to COVID-19 is not fun, but this could be an opportunity to be financially remunerated whilst making an important contribution to medical science.

Volunteers need to text/call the research hotline number on 0421 684 985 for futher information or click here.