Annual Report - Northern Health

Our Achievements cont’dEnhance access to appropriate services strategic Goal 4The ability to access the right health service, at the right time, in the right place is crucial to Northern Health’sability to deliver appropriate services to the Northern community. With the swift expansion of our local populationand the resultant increase in demand for health care, we are working hard to anticipate and meet the changingneeds and expectations of our community now and into the future.Preparing for new bed configurations acrossThe Northern Hospital and Bundoora ExtendedCare CentreIn early 2012, Northern Health commenced planning for a majorre-configuration of its services at The Northern Hospital andBundoora Extended Care Centre to improve the managementof acute patients and reduce the costs of care delivery. Theproject aims to increase acute bed numbers at The NorthernHospital to support the commissioning of new theatre andcardiac catheter laboratories, while reducing the costs of caredelivery by revising administrative and clinical structures.The project is a huge undertaking that will result in majorchanges to Northern Health’s medical and surgical modelsof care, and the reallocation of staff, equipment and patientsacross two campuses and eight wards. Our project teamand senior executives have been working closely with unionrepresentatives to minimise the disruption to staff and patientsand have undertaken a range of activities:• Commencing nursing staff reallocation process includingselection of the Nurse Unit Managers, commencementof the ANUM reallocation process and receipt of all othernursing Expression of Interest forms);• Discussions regarding reallocation (where necessary) ofAllied Health staff from affected wards;• Formation of working groups including Acute AssessmentUnit model of care working group, Workforce working groupand Logistics working group; and• Continued consultation with relevant unions.The reconfiguration will be incrementally rolled out betweenAugust and September 2012 and the level of planning andpreparation that has been undertaken guarantees a smoothtransition to an improved way of working at Northern Health.Improving services for outpatientsNorthern Health undertook a range of activities andimplemented new initiatives in 2011-12 to improve servicesfor outpatients. These included new auditing requirementsimproving No referral quality, streamlining referral managementprocesses and optimising the use of nursing and alliedhealth clinics and primary care options prior to referrals beingaccepted for specialist management.Other initiatives included:• The establishment of a Pain Clinic for people with chronicpain issues at Broadmeadows Health Service which isstaffed by physiotherapy, psychology, occupational therapyand medical specialists;• The commencement of monthly on site VCAT hearingscommenced at Bundoora Extended Care Centre whichprovides a comfortable and easily accessible service forpatients and families, and means significantly less traveltime as all hearings were previously held in the CBD;• A Community Liaison Forum initiated and hosted by thesocial work team which invited community agencies intothe hospital to share information and learn about eachother’s services;• The introduction of a weekend speech pathology serviceat The Northern Hospital in July 2011 as part of the nationalstroke strategy which ensures that patients are assessedand managed in a timely manner, rather than left ‘nil bymouth’ over the weekend;• The commencement of a Saturday hand therapy servicewhich makes Northern Health the only metropolitan hospitalproviding a weekend service. This service has beenpopular for patients who rely on someone to drive them toappointments and for those who have returned to work andare unable to attend during the week;• Continued development of Primary Contact Services byAllied Health which has led to an Emergency PhysiotherapyPractitioner now working in the Emergency Departmentmanaging musculoskeletal presentations. The NorthernArthroplasty Management Service was also introducedwhich sees a clinician working alongside the medical teamto manage the post-operative follow up of outpatientsfollowing hip and knee replacement surgery;• Expansion of Rehabilitation in the Home services toinclude patients presenting to emergency which enablesphysiotherapists and occupational therapists to providetimely care and support to patients after they aredischarged; and• Commencement of HiP Coordinators and their roleimproving the flow of inpatients to ambulatory services.28 annual report Northern Health 11/12