Nursing & Midwifery News – December 2021

From Shane

I’m sure that most of us will be happy to turn the page on 2021! I think that most of us would say that it has been our most challenging year, as the COVID-19 pandemic has infiltrated every aspect of our lives. From our work lives – working on the front line in the most affected health service in Australia; to our home lives – where lock down has made maintaining connection to our friends and family difficult. But we have done it and made it through.

When I reflect back upon the year I have continued to be truly humbled by our amazing nurses and midwives. Following on from a very busy 2020, our professions have consistently rallied to the call of our community and we have been there when they have needed us most. At Western Health have continued to be involved in every aspect of the health response to the pandemic. We have undertaken testing, vaccinated the West of Melbourne, attended high-risk workplaces, contact traced, provided Infection Prevention expertise, delivered a record number of babies, provided staff support and of course cared for our patients within and outside of our walls.

We have upskilled, moved locations, taken on new roles, spent our lives in uncomfortable PPE and weathered high levels of uncertainty and a period of rapid change. Many of us have unfortunately seen incredibly difficult things and been exposed to situations that we would not wish upon no one – and we have cared for each other, supported our colleagues and united as a team.

Of course, whilst it has monopolised 2021, COVID-19 has not been  the only thing to happen this year. At Western Health we could never be accused of under-achieving – this year we have also:

• Developed and started to implement the Falls Improvement Plan with good early results
• Continued the implementation of the Maternity CARES Improvement Plan
• Introduced the post-graduate Midwifery employment program
• Completed Detailed Design for the New Footscray Hospital
• Developed and launched the new 2 year Grad+ program
• Introduce the huge West Metro Graduate program
• Significantly expanded the employment of RUSON and RUSOM roles to support our nurses and midwives, and evaluated the impact
• Expanded our Discovery programs and Enrolled Nurse Program
• Attracted the most research grants ever for nursing and midwifery, undertook a record amount of nursing and midwifery led research, and published a record number of articles
• Opened the new Sunshine Hospital Emergency Department
• Commenced the Phase 2 EMR project
• Launched the Nursing & Midwifery microsite
• Commenced implementation of the new Nurses and Midwives enterprise agreement
• Welcomed Bacchus Marsh Hospital and Melton Health into Western Health
• Finalised the new Melton Hospital business case
• Implemented the Western Public Health Unit at Western Health
• Trialed MyBeepR  in Women’s & Children’s nursing and midwifery teams to enhance staff communication
• Launched the new Western Health Strategic Plan.

I sincerely thank you all for your hard work and commitment to deliver outstanding care to our patients through the year – each of you have been phenomenal!

Looking forward, 2022 promises to be another pivotal year for Western Health, where we will:

• Develop and implement a new Nursing & Midwifery Workforce Plan for 2022-25
• Continue to implement the Falls Improvement Plan
• Continue to implement the Maternity CARES Improvement Plan
• Launch the Nursing & Midwifery Professional Framework
• Expand the Working Together project into new areas
• Introduce the services of the Nursing & Midwifery Workforce Unit to Bacchus Marsh and Melton
• Trial and evaluate the single-check medication administration
• Implement the Grad+ program, including 2 new free Western Health delivered post-graduate subjects that are recognised by 5 universities
• Introduce the Nursing & Midwifery Educator Leadership program
• Continue the Phase 2 EMR project
• Complete Detailed Design stage of the new Footscray Hospital project
• Evaluate and expand the utilisation of MyBeepR in nursing and midwifery
• Complete the implementation of the new Enterprise Agreement
• Support the provision of COVID vaccination boosters to the West.

Life is never dull at Western Health!

I wish you and your families a very happy and safe festive season. For those of you that have well deserved leave, rest up, take time to recover and enjoy the time with your loved ones. For those of you that are working through the festive season to care for our patients, my sincere thanks and genuine appreciation.

Shane Crowe
Executive Director, Nursing & Midwifery

Are you documenting patient risk and actions?

The way that EMR is structured promotes individualised, patient focused assessment, identification of risk, goal setting, interventions and re-evaluation of care.
It has capacity to create orders that will ensure tasks are patient specific and based on actual/potential risks.

For these systems to be effective, nursing staff must ensure accurate completion of the Adult Risk Assessments, as this will trigger a list of Suggested Plans (IPOCS) for each patient specific to their needs. These suggested plans need to be reviewed by the nurse each shift and initiated if appropriate.

As every patient is different, interventions within each IPOC need to be selected by the assessing nurse prior to signing the order. If IPOCs are initiated and signed without the nurse selecting the appropriate interventions, there will not be any interventions ordered for that patient.

Every patient at Western Health requires a Comprehensive Care IPOC, that outlines the patients goals of care, and planned interventions. Some areas choose to use the Comprehensive Care IPOC as their main Nursing Care plan, and use the Add to Phase function when interventions are added or changed.

The use of the EMR’s evidence based tools ensures that assessments gather appropriate and targeted information on which to base interventions, identify risk and set realistic goals.

Please remember that documentation of actions and plans is vital to ensure that you are meeting medicolegal requirements.

The old saying “if it’s not documented, it’s not done” rings true. Whilst undertaking the actual assessments can take some time, the documentation of it in EMR is quite fast. EMR has changed where and how we record so please be vigilant in ensuring your patients all have up-to-date plans of care, together with planned interventions, and these are reviewed and documented against each day.

New Falls Assessment tool

This month we are changing our Falls Risk Assessment tool on EMR. Our new tool, the Modified NHStratify, emphasizes the importance of identifying each patients individual falls risk factors, and implementing linked prevention strategies and targeted patient education.

This tool have been tested in a paper version, and has been shown to be much more accurate in correctly identifying patients that are a falls risk, and excluding those that are not.

The new tool helps to navigate the myriad of elements that influence a patient’s risk of falls, and provides suggested actions to implement. Of course, it is the actions we put in place that will actively decrease the risk of a fall occurring. The Comprehensive Care IPOC is still required, and actions implemented should be documented in the IPOC too.

Some of the key considerations include:

• Does your patient speak a language other than English? If so, have you used an interpreter to discuss their fall risk factors and provide education? Research tells us that by simply talking to our patients and their families about their fall risk factors, and discussing strategies to reduce their risk is also a very effective falls prevention tool.
• Does your patient suffer from urinary incontinence or urgency? If so, do they have a toilet nearby, or a commode or bottle? Are they constipated causing retention?
• Is your patient confused and impulsive? If so, do they have a Lolo bed, crash mat, portable video monitoring and bed alarm insitu?

The new falls risk assessment is comprehensive and will need to be completed by nursing staff within 4 hours of admission and daily thereafter. The wider multidisciplinary team will also be reviewing this information, ensuring improved communication of falls risk within the team and better outcomes for our patients. Together, we can prevent inpatients falls.

Post-graduate Scholarships for Nurses and Midwives 2022

The applications for post-graduate scholarships for nurses and midwives are now open, and if you are planning to study in 2022 you are encouraged to apply!

Each year Western Health offers significant financial support for our nurses and midwives to undertake post-graduate education to further their own professional development. If ever there was a year to study, 2022 is it! We have more funds than ever before to support post-graduate scholarships, and so many post-graduate course options available. We are looking forward to being generous! No matter where you work, we have a post-graduate course available for you – from ICU, cardiac and emergency, to general medical, general surgical, rehabilitation, peri-operative, cancer, renal, neuroscience  and more!

All Western Health nurses and midwives are eligible to apply for financial assistance relating to post-graduate study in a nursing or midwifery field, or an education or business stream directly related to nursing and midwifery.

Applications will close on 25 February 2022. Further details, requirements and application forms will be released on Western Health’s internet site.

Have you been given a boost?

Over 26% of Western Health staff have already received their COVID-19 vaccination booster. All Australians are eligible to receive a third ‘booster’ COVID vaccination dose, 6 months following their second dose.

Administration of a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose six months or more after the second dose has been demonstrated to strengthen the immune response and is anticipated to increase protection due to waning of immunity (loss of protection) over time, with booster doses also leading to improved immune memory.

The Pfizer vaccine is being offered as a single booster dose, irrespective of the COVID-19 vaccine that was initially received. The AstraZeneca vaccine can also be used as a booster dose for anyone that has had a significant adverse reaction after a previous Pfizer or Moderna doses.

Any Western Health staff can walk-in access to any Western Health vaccination site between 8.30am-4.30pm. No bookings are needed.

Our Outreach Vaccination Team have been running pop-ups at Footscray Hospital, Williamstown Hospital, Bacchus Marsh Hospital and Sunbury Hospital and these sessions are updated weekly on the COVID Vaccination microsite.

Staff will need to be able to show evidence of the date of second vaccination dose (via either MyGov or a Medicare Vaccination Record) if it was administered at a general practitioner or pharmacy. We will have a record of dose dates for any vaccine administered in a state-run vaccination centre.

If you would prefer to make an appointment for your booster dose at a Western Health fixed site, the details can be found here.

New EMR Handover tool live

The new Ward Overview Page in the EMR provides a summary of clinical risks and issues identified for each patient in the ward.  The page updates in real time as patient information and assessments are added to the patient chart in IView, and can be customised to display the columns and information relevant for your ward/area.

For example, a ward may choose to display information about Falls, pressure injury, BOC and delirium risk assessments, isolation status, alerts, IDC status, CVC status, vital signs, mobility status, bowel status and blood glucose level.

There is also an option to add free text information directly into the Comments section, enabling important information to be communicated each shift. For example – Procedure and date, diet modifications or discharge plan.

Please follow this link to the quick reference guide below for how to customise your ward overview page.

The Ward Overview Page is designed to save time and replaces the need for ward nursing staff to individually create handover sheets. Please familiarise yourself with the Ward Overview Page for your ward and let us know your thoughts by emailing all feedback to Rebecca Woltsche (ADON Improving Care) via email Rebecca.Woltsche@wh.org.au.

Third survey about the impact of COVID-19 on nurses and midwives

Thank you to everyone who completed the first and/or second surveys (May/June and October 2020) for our study investigating the impact of COVID-19 on nurses and midwives.

The findings of these first 2 studies will be presented at the upcoming Nursing & Midwifery Grand Round on 8 December at 2:30pm.

The third wave (Delta outbreak) of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a considerable impact on Western Health and its staff who have provided care for a large number of patients with COVID-19 and provided support for the clusters in the region. However, little is known about the long-term impact of the pandemic on nurses and midwives.

The aim of this project is to assess the long-term psychosocial impact of COVID-19 on nurses and midwives at Western Health. The findings will be used to inform health service responses to the current and future outbreaks of infectious diseases and other ‘crises’/adverse events.

We would like to invite you to complete a brief follow-up anonymous online survey (15 minutes) about your perspectives and concerns of the COVID-19 outbreak. Participation in this research is voluntary. If you don’t wish to take part, you don’t have to.

Everyone who completes a survey is eligible to go in the draw for one of four $50 gift vouchers.

If you have any questions about the study please contact Dr Sara Holton from Deakin University on telephone: 03 8395 8190 or Email: WHDeakinPartnership@wh.org.au.

Nurses and Midwives Inspiring us all

The 2021 Inspire Awards were held on 25 November, and celebrated excellence and the commitment of Western Health staff. The event was live-streamed and hosted by Russell Harrison, Chief Executive, and Suellen Bruce, Executive Director People, Culture and Communications.

In total 10 teams and 58 individuals and 3 Inspirational Story Winners were announced, together with the Chief Executive Positive Workplace Award. Congratulations to all of the winners. The nursing and midwifery recipients of awards were:

Team awards:

• Ward GC GEM team
• ICU Education team
• Ward GD Palliative Care team
• Lactation Service team
• Sunshine Children’s ED team

Individual awards:

• Aleja Wyngaarden – NUM Ward 2A
• Cynthia Chaffey – Maternity
• Kylie Charles – Maternity
• Josephine Paraschos – ANUM Ward 3 East
• Karen Garratt – Acting ANUM Ward 2A
• Linda Kelly – Acting NUM Melton Dialysis
• Mark Ryan – Clinical Nurse Educator ICU
• MaryAnne Magnaye – Clinical Nurse Educator
• Regina Muneri – RN Ward 3 East
• Samila Sadikovic – RN
• Shirley Gubatunga – RN Rehabilitation ward
• Susan Borstner – ANUM Ward 1 West

Chief Executive’s Positive Workplace Award:

• Loretta Williams – CNC Palliative Care
• Stacey Grace – EA to Director of Nursing (Bacchus Marsh)

It was wonderful to see Inspirational stories highlighting the achievements of Jason Plant (Divisional Director, Peri-operative & Critical Care), the People & Culture team and the Security team.

Congratulations to these individuals and teams who are truly inspiring and have gone above and beyond to provide Best Care and maintain a positive workplace.

Western Health Worksafe Award Finalists

On 25 November 2021 Western Health was been named as a finalist in this year’s WorkSafe Awards – twice!

WorkSafe received more than 180 nominations from across Victoria for the seven award categories, which recognise excellence in workplace health and safety and return to work. Our teams have been short-listed in two categories:

Commitment to Prevention of Mental Injury in the Workplace: for Western Health’s Occupational Violence and Aggression campaign and package ‘Predict, Prevent – Priority: Safety’ which has significantly reduced the incidence of OVA and decreased workplace injuries. The package includes learning packages, an awareness campaign, tools including the Behavioural Observation Chart and About Me, Behavioural Plans and videos.

Workplace Health and Safety Solution of the Year: for the McMonty Hood which was developed by clinicians at Western Health to be able to increase the safety of staff and others whilst treating patients with COVID-19.

We’re so proud of our dedicated and innovative staff at Western Health.

No tuition fees for Certificate IV in Training and Assessment

Education and Learning is pleased to announce the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment in 2022 is available for no tuition fees (savings of over $2,000!)!

The Expression of Interest is now open & will close on Tuesday 14 December 2021, limited places are available so no late admissions will be accepted

Course outline:

Develop the skills and knowledge required to perform the role of a trainer, facilitator or assessor in the workplace and in Registered Training Organisations (RTOs).

This course is suitable for professionals, tradespeople and others who are training or are required to train in the workplace. You will learn to deliver training and assess competency in both the vocational education and training (VET) sector and the workplace.

During the course you will:

• Learn to design and plan learning programs
• Learn to plan assessment activities and develop assessment tools
• Develop skills for effective training in the workplace
• Learn to best facilitate learning and assessment for groups and individuals
• Develop skills to in adult language, literacy and numeracy
• Learn to utilise training packages to meet the needs of groups or individuals.

This qualification is recognised Australia wide and complies with the standards set out by the National Standards and Skills Council.

Please note you will need the support & approval from your Supervisor/Manager/NUM/Director to participate in this course.

Please complete the form and email it to jay.myers@wh.org.au. No late admissions will be accepted.

New Anaphylaxis Standard

Each year more than 11,500 Australians present to emergency departments with a severe allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis. Australia has one of the highest documented rates of hospital anaphylaxis admissions in the developed world.

A new national Acute Anaphylaxis Clinical Care Standard was released on 24 November 2021 to improve care and save lives. It emphasises the need for prompt treatment and continuity of patient care between acute and general practice healthcare settings.

The Acute Anaphylaxis Clinical Care Standard was developed by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, in consultation with consumers and healthcare professionals.

It highlights that 1 in 5 Australians have severe allergies, and the common triggers for anaphylaxis include nuts, milk, eggs, fish and shellfish; as well as insect venom and some medicines. Anaphylaxis signs and symptoms can vary and include respiratory, cardiovascular, skin and gastrointestinal issues.

Anaphylaxis presentations to emergency departments in public hospitals rose by 51% (11,594 people) in the 5 years leading up to 2019–20. Unfortunately 1 in 4 patients presenting to the Emergency Department with anaphylaxis don’t receive a timely Adrenaline injection.

The new standard has 6 clinical care standards:

1. Prompt recognition of anaphylaxis – A patient with acute-onset clinical deterioration with signs or symptoms of an allergic response is rapidly assessed for anaphylaxis, especially in the presence of an allergic trigger or a history of allergy.
2. Immediate injection of intramuscular adrenaline – A patient with anaphylaxis, or suspected anaphylaxis, is administered adrenaline intramuscularly without delay, before any other treatment including asthma medicines. Corticosteroids and antihistamines are not first-line treatments for anaphylaxis.
3. Correct patient positioning – A patient experiencing anaphylaxis is laid flat, or allowed to sit with legs extended if breathing is difficult. An infant is held or laid horizontally. The patient is not allowed to stand or walk during, or immediately after, the event until they are assessed as safe to do so, even if they appear to have recovered.
4. Access to a personal adrenaline injector in all healthcare settings – A patient who has an adrenaline injector has access to it for self-administration during all healthcare encounters. This includes patients keeping their adrenaline injector safely at their bedside during a hospital admission.
5. Observation time following anaphylaxis – A patient treated for anaphylaxis remains under clinical observation for at least four hours after their last dose of adrenaline or overnight, as appropriate according to the current Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy Acute Management of Anaphylaxis guidelines. Observation timeframes are determined based on assessment and risk appraisal after initial treatment.
6. Discharge management and documentation – Before a patient leaves a healthcare facility after having anaphylaxis, they are advised about the suspected allergen, allergen avoidance strategies and post-discharge care. The discharge care plan is tailored to the allergen and includes details of the suspected allergen, the appropriate ASCIA Action Plan, and the need for prompt follow-up with a general practitioner and clinical immunology/allergy specialist review. Where there is a risk of re-exposure, the patient is prescribed a personal adrenaline injector and is trained in its use. Details of the allergen, the anaphylactic reaction and discharge care arrangements are documented in the patient’s healthcare record.

Western Health will be working to ensure that these new standards are incorporated into our systems and practice.

RUSONs and RUSOMs post registration

Many of our Registered Undergraduate Students of Nursing or Midwifery (RUSONs/RUSOMs) are in their final year of their degree, and will be finishing up in the RUSON/RUSOM role as they commence their graduate program.

However some will be registered as a nurse or midwife prior to their graduate program commencing – so what happens then?

After obtaining their nursing or midwifery registration, prior to commencement of their graduate program, our staff employed as RUSON’s and RUSOM’s will be able to work to the scope of the RUSON/RUSOM role during this interim period. They will however be reclassified according to the enterprise agreement as a Grade 2, Year 1 upon obtaining their registration.

At the time of starting a Graduate Program those individuals previously employed as a RUSON or RUSOM will commence working to a Registered Nurse/Registered Midwife scope of practice.

Spreading the festive cheer

The Nursing and Midwifery Directorate has called for entries in the Department Christmas Decoration competition. All departments are invited to take part in the competition by providing photo or video submissions!!

Prizes:

• 1st Prize: $500
• 2nd Prize: $200
• 3rd Prize: $100

Entries Close:

5pm, 10 December 2021

Winners Announced:

20 December 2021

Criteria for Judging:

• Relevance to Christmas
• Creativity
• Theme
• Involvement of Patients
• Incorporation of Best Care into the decorations

To enter please return entry form to Kellie Tyson (Executive Assistant) via email Kellie.tyson@wh.org.au

Rules: 

• Please do not place yourself or others at risk when hanging decorations.
• Decorations or items used for the fixation of decorations must not cause any damage to hospital buildings or property. It is recommended that Blu-tac or items from the 3M Command Adhesive range (or similar products) be used to fixate decorations.
• Upon completion of the Christmas season all decorations and fixations must be completely removed.
• Emergency equipment must be kept free of decoration, fire doors, fire detectors, fire / smoke detectors, fire hoses etc.
• Decorations must not be placed in front, beside or over any air scrubbers, air inlets and outlets.
• Decorations must be kept away from high risk areas within the zones, including donning and doffing areas.
• For COVID streaming zones, decorations should be cleanable and a ‘less is more’ approach within a single area of the department is encouraged.
• To avoid any fire hazards and power overloading wards are not to include decorations which require a power source (this unfortunately includes lights).
• Judges decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into.

Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination

All Western Health employees, contractors and volunteers are required to have evidence that they have been fully vaccinated (2 doses of COVID-19 vaccine) by 15 December 2021, or evidence of a valid medical exemption.

Where an employee is on long term leave, after 15 December they cannot return to work until they have been fully vaccinated (2 doses) against COVID-19.

Employees with a medical exemption will be able to continue working, but depending on their role may need to be redeployed. Other requirements may also be required, like PPE and COVID surveillance program participation.

If an employee does not have evidence in Western Health’s records of either being fully vaccinated or having a valid medical exemption by the 15 December 2021; they must be treated as an unvaccinated healthcare worker.

If employees have not provided evidence that they have received both doses by 15 December 2021, a process will commence. This process that will investigate each case individually to understand the circumstances. Liaison and communication will occur with the affected employees to ensure that there is clarity on the process as this progresses.

Please refer to the Mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for healthcare workers FAQs on the COVID-19 Vaccination microsite.

Enterprise Agreement 2020-24 voting

The proposed Nurses and Midwives (Victorian Public Sector) (Single Interest Employers) Enterprise Agreement 2020-2024 (Proposed Agreement) has now been finalised.

The Proposed Agreement represents the settlement negotiated between Victorian Hospitals Industrial Association (VHIA) on behalf of Employers and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) and Health Workers Union (HWU) on behalf of Employees with the assistance of the Department of Health.

All Western Health Registered Nurses, Registered Midwives or Enrolled Nurses in a role or classification specified in the current Nurses and Midwives (Victorian Public Sector) (Single Interest Employers) Enterprise Agreement 2020-2024 are considered to be Eligible Employees.

In the lead up to the ballot for the Proposed Agreement that will be undertaken by Elections Australia, it is important that all nurses and midwives have access to the following documents to help inform their position ahead of the ballot:

• a copy of the Proposed Agreement
• a Summary of Changes – which explains the terms of the Proposed Agreement changes and their effect. The summary of changes should be read in conjunction with the Proposed Agreement
• a How to Vote instruction sheet.

The Ballot process:

All Eligible Employees at Western Health have an opportunity to vote to approve or not approve the Proposed Agreement.

Method of Ballot:

The ballot will be conducted by Elections Australia and will be conducted electronically at www.myvote.com.au/ahpvps.

Date and time of Ballot:

The ballot will:

• be open from 00:01am on Friday, 10 December 2021
• close at midnight (24:00 hours) on Thursday, 16 December 2021.

You will be able to vote at any time during this period. Please utilise the instructions included above to be allow you to cast your vote during this period.

We also strongly urge you to vote as early as possible within the ballot timeframe to ensure that the information provided to Elections Australia is correct and to correct this if it is not.

More than 50% of all Eligible Employees (at all the Employers covered by the Proposed Agreement) that vote must vote for the approval of the Proposed Agreement for it to be submitted to the Fair Work Commission on Western Health’s behalf.

Verifying patient COVID-19 vaccination status

Nurses and Midwives, if you are unsure of your patient’s COVID-19 vaccination status, this can be checked through their My Health Record.

All COVID-19 vaccinations administered in Australia will be uploaded to the Australian Immunisation Register and are available for clinician access via your patient’s My Health Record.

Clinicians are able to access My Health Record via EMR or BOSSNet links.

Please to go to the Digital Health information site for Quick Reference Guide instructions on how to access this record.

Nursing & Midwifery "Welcome Page" in EMR

A new Nursing & Midwifery ‘Welcome Page’ was launched in the EMR on Wednesday 24 November.

This page will be used as a way of communicating important EMR information and updates to Western Health’s nurses and midwives.

The Digital Health Team will be responsible for the process of adding information to the page, with content to be decided through collaboration with Western Health committees and working groups.  Content will include key milestones for EMR Phase 2 and other Digital Health projects, EMR and Digital Health innovations and change request outcomes.

When a nurse or midwife logs into the EMR this is the page it will open up on.

You can then open Care Compass by clicking on the Care Compass button in the navigator section.

Launch of the new look Nursing & Midwifery WeLearn package

Following a comprehensive review of Western Health’s Nursing and Midwifery EMR training, a number of new WeLearn packages have been developed and are now available for staff.

The new learning packages are role specific and interactive to better assist staff to use the EMR, and have been designed with strong clinical input to ensure they best reflect the current demands of each role.

To access the packages, staff should search for ‘EMR’ in the WeLearn system, then choose the course specific to their role (Ward Nurse, ED Nurse etc) and complete the relevant packages as part of their EMR training requirements.

For all EMR training enquiries, including additional support after completion of a WeLearn package, please contact WHS-EMRTrainers@wh.org.au

International Day of People with Disability

The International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD) was recently celebrated on 3 December.

Annual General Meeting 2021

All Western Health staff and our community are invited to attend the Western Health Annual General Meeting. Due to COVID restrictions, and for the health and safety of our participants, this year’s meeting will again be virtual.

Join us online to hear from our Board Chair Robyn Batten about the year that was and from our Chief Executive Russell Harrison about what’s ahead for Western Health.  You can join the virtual AGM on Wednesday 15 Dec at 3pm via this link.

At the conclusion of the AGM there will be a presentation of the Board Chair’s INSPIRE Medal.

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

Benchmarking Best Care

The latest benchmark reports from the Health Roundtable that go up to June 2021 show how our delivery of Best Care compares to other health services across Australasia.

In our continuing series looking at nursing and midwifery key performance indicators, this month we will look at how we perform in the area of respiratory complications, which includes respiratory failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome, aspiration pneumonia and pulmonary oedema.

The great news is that we are doing really well in this area across the board.

Respiratory Complications:

Sunshine Hospital

The rates of respiratory complications at Sunshine Hospital is in the green when compared to our peers, and keeping consistently low and dropping. This is a fantastic result.

Well done to our Sunshine Hospital teams.

Footscray Hospital

Rates of respiratory complications at Footscray Hospital is in the lower end of amber when compared to our peers, and there has been a big drop over the past year – which is great to see.

Outstanding work by our Footscray Hospital teams.

From next year we will commence getting benchmarking reports for Bacchus Marsh Hospital as well, which will allow us to see how we are performing against our peers for hospital acquired complications and nursing and midwifery sensitive indicators.

Victorian Aboriginal Health Services opening in the West

Historically the western metropolitan region has not has an Aboriginal run health service like other parts of Melbourne. In an exciting development, this is about to change!

The Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS) has recently announced that it is opening their first satellite clinic in the west in February 2022.

The new clinic will be located in St Albans, not far from Sunshine Hospital and will focus on providing culturally safe healthcare and education to the growing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in Melbourne’s West where there is demonstrated need.

The new St Albans clinic will have a primary care focus, with general practitioner and allied health services. However, theyt are planning to expand over time as they have in other locations.

This is fantastic news for our Aboriginal community, and Wilim Berrbang are working with VAHS to collaborate and work together to meet the needs of the community.

Emerging Evidence

The Western Health Library Service is a great source for locating the latest nursing and midwifery related evidence based practice and research. The COVID-19 articles below are available open access:

• Increasing ICU capacity to accommodate higher demand during the COVID‐19 pandemic. MJA. 2021: November. Full Text (Australian)
• Increased paediatric emergency mental health and suicidality presentations during COVID-19 stay at home restrictions. Emergency Medicine Australasia. 2021: October. Full Text (Australian)
• COVID‐19 vaccination intention in the first year of the pandemic: A systematic review. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 2022: January Full Text
• Leveraging Magnet^® principles: Leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nursing Management. 2021: December. Full Text
• On entering Australia’s third year with COVID‐19. MJA. 2021: November. Full Text (Australian)
• The impact of COVID-19 critical illness on new disability, functional outcomes and return to work at 6 months: a prospective cohort study. Critical Care, 2021: November. Full Text
• Dealing with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks in long-term care homes: A protocol for room moving and cohorting. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. 2021: October. Full Text
• Nursing moral distress and intent to leave employment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Nursing Care Quality. 2022: January. Full Text
• Models of care for post-acute COVID-19 clinics experiences and a practical framework for outpatient physiatry settings. American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. 2021: December. Full Text

New Nursing and Midwifery eBook Titles:

• Neonatal Nursing Care Handbook: an evidence-based approach to conditions and procedures. 3^rd ed. Springer, 2022. This benchmark handbook for neonatal nurse practitioners describes the most common conditions and procedures in an easy-to-access streamlined format. This thoroughly revised third edition continues to promote the foundational principles of evidence-based nursing practice worldwide, while taking the resources and requirements of different practice settings into account. It delivers updated information on trauma-informed care and offers new sections on parent perspectives about transition to home, neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS), and therapeutic hypothermia.

New! LibKey Nomad:

• Take the WH Library with you wherever you browse
  LibKey Nomad is a browser extension which provides instant links to full text content for articles subscribed to by Western Health Library – or open access alternatives – as you do research on the web. With Nomad installed, for the first time clinicians and researchers are able to download articles directly from the search results screen in PubMed.

Off-site or home access to the library eBook titles, require free library membership. If you are not a member you can Join Online. For more information Click on our FAQ page.

Visit the library’s Intranet website, or ring the library to speak with a Librarian: 83958036 or 83456655. Working from home? Visit the Library Internet site.