NSLHD News July 4

NSLHD News July 4

NORTHERN SYDNEY LOCAL HEALTH DISTRICT NSLHD

Corporate leaders learning from our high stress experiences Royal North Shore Hospital teams have hosted an event to celebrate an innovative partnership between the hospital, emergency services and Macquarie Group. Read more on Page 4

My Surgery Journey booklet launch Page 5

Research Strategy Plan Workshop Page 3

Leaders in healthcare, partners in wellbeing

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Message FROM the acting Chief executive Dr Tamsin Waterhouse

We are privileged at Northern Sydney Local Health District to be surrounded by so many talented people who go to extraordinary lengths to care for and support to our patients, their families and also colleagues. The Exceptional People Awards is the district’s opportunity to acknowledge those staff and teams, and our volunteers in our hospitals, community centres and district services who go above and beyond every day. Nominations for the 2019 Exceptional People Awards are now open and I encourage you to put forward your colleagues in the awards so others can hear about their wonderful efforts and commitment to healthcare. It is an opportunity to celebrate the amazing bunch of people we work with. Nominations close on July 30 and I look forward to seeing the them. Thank you to everyone who completed the People Matters survey. The feedback you have given will be valuable to our management teams to improve our workplace environments and culture and your participation is greatly appreciated. by clinicians and researchers from across the district to consult on the future strategic direction of our research efforts for the next five years. The great feedback we received at the workshop is now being included in the NSLHD Research Strategy 2019 – 2024 and the plan will be launched very soon. The plan will guide our district in its pursuit of research excellence and Last week I had the pleasure of attending the district’s research strategy workshop attended

embed a research to benefit our patients and community. I would like to thank everyone who has taken part in the planning process. I am looking forward to attending the upcoming Northern Lights research and innovation event that will be held on Thursday, 18 July at 3:30pm in the Kolling auditorium to showcase the excellent research endeavours across our district. The inaugural event will feature musculoskeletal research that is making cutting edge discoveries into back pain, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Professors Lyn March and David Hunter, and the musculoskeletal teams at Royal North Shore Hospital will reveal the latest advances in precision medicine and efforts to help the millions of people who suffer arthritic pain. Places are limited but if you interested in attending, please email NSLHD-media@health. nsw.gov.au Lastly, the influenza season has taken hold in our communities and our hospitals are busier than ever. I commend our staff who are contending with the influx of people to our EDs while managing sickness within our own workplaces. If you haven’t had a flu shot, I encourage you and your loved ones to get one as soon as possible.

Dr Tamsin Waterhouse

Acting Chief Executive Northern Sydney Local Health District

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Director of Operations Elizabeth Curran, Professor Carolyn Sue AM and Professor Yemima Berman show off the draft Research Strategy

Research Strategy Plan Workshop NSLHD’s Research Strategy 2019-2024 is a step closer to fruition after the final stakeholder consultation workshop was held. Around 80 people attended the workshop to provide feedback on the draft strategy, which has identified six priority areas that will be worked on to help the district achieve its vision for research. There has been broad engagement from across the LHD in the development of the Research Strategy with a range of clinical networks and research groups represented. Research Strategy and Partnerships Manager Rebeka Tennent said it was great to see so many people working together to develop the Strategy and bring the plan to life. “We’ve had a lot of people involved in the process, and I’d like to thank them for their time and engagement,” she said. “There was a particular emphasis at the workshop on reviewing the action plan, which sets out the actions we need to take as a district over the coming five years, to deliver on our vision of being a research oriented LHD.

“Stakeholders have driven this process, telling us what works well, and what needs attention. I’m looking forward to sharing the finalised Research Strategy the coming months.” The feedback received on the day will be reviewed, with the draft to be finalised in the next six to eight weeks.

Professor Lisa Harvey with Professor Jim Elliott at the Research Strategy Workshop

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Macquarie Group executives and RNSH team celebrate leadership program

Corporate leaders learning from our high stress experiences Royal North Shore Hospital teams have hosted an event to celebrate an innovative partnership between the hospital, emergency services and the Macquarie Group. “One director said it was the most profound experience of his career,” Stephen said.

RNSH teams supported the partnership, with ED doctor James Milligan saying the program had enabled the emergency department to demonstrate the complex leadership and communication skills needed for a difficult resuscitation. “It was interesting to see how relevant these skills were to the senior executives as well,’’ James said. “The kind donations by the Macquarie executives and the Macquarie Foundation has allowed the emergency department to fund trauma and resuscitation education for nurses and junior doctors.” ICU specialist Jon Gatward said it had been a rewarding experience for both the executives and clinicians, while reinforcing the professionalism of the ICU team. “When you are around high-performing clinicians all the time, you can forget just how impressive an ICU team resuscitation is. It makes you proud of the team when you hear all the positive comments,” Jon said.

The partnership has seen close to 300 Macquarie executives take part in a program where they’re able to see our high performing medical teams operate in high pressure situations and medical emergencies. Northern Sydney Local Health District Education Co-ordinator Maura Desmond said the program has been running for over two years and is an important opportunity for everyone involved. “The Macquarie Group leaders were so impressed by their experience that they each donated to the hospital, and all of the donations were then matched by the Macquarie Foundation,’’ Maura said. “In total, RNSH has received $400,000 for training initiatives in both our ED and the Intensive Care Unit.” Macquarie Groups’ Stephen Lyons said executives from all over the world had welcomed the chance to be involved in what they described as a powerful, relevant and inspirational opportunity.

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Network’s Service Development manager, Jillian Moxey and Network’s Clinical Director Dr Michelle Mulligan with booklet My Surgery Journey booklet launch Patients undergoing surgery will be better

surgery is a very important part of the process,” she said. Extensive consultation was undertaken across the district which has resulted in a document containing valuable information from a variety of experts from across NSLHD. The Network’s Clinical Director Dr Michelle Mulligan said the team was passionate to improve the knowledge management in surgery and anaesthetics, while setting a vision for a standard of consistent information across the district for staff, patients and families on their entire elective surgical journey, which starts well in advance of arriving in the hospital. “The surgery journey begins before a patient is in the theatre,’’ Dr Mulligan said. “The booklet is there to help and prepare the patient every step of the way.’’

prepared for any upcoming procedures thanks to a new booklet called My Surgery Journey . After seeing the success the booklet had throughout Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, the Surgery and Anaesthesia Network at Northern Sydney Local Health District adopted the idea and began work on their own version of the booklet with the help of an innovation grant award. The Network’s foremost aim is to be the safest districts in NSW for patients using surgery and anaesthesia services. The Network’s Service Development Manager, Jillian Moxey, has years of experience working in surgery. She said the district-wide roll out of the My Surgery Journey booklet would make it easier for patients to prepare for their surgery.

“Surgery is complex and getting ready for

Ryde Hosptial staff and patient Evanthia Salemis with general manager Heather Gough (far-right)

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Don’t shy from bowel cancer talk

A Bondi woman who lost her brother to bowel cancer at the age of 40 has described the impact of her brother’s death on her family. Anita Bordieri joined leading researcher Professor Mark Molloy for an information event at Royal North Shore Hospital as part of Bowel Cancer Awareness Month. Her brother Andrew died three years ago after a very private battle with bowel cancer. Now Anita is determined to grab every opportunity to discuss the disease. “We had no family history of bowel cancer and it certainly wasn’t on our radar,” she said. “Bowel cancer can happen to anyone and I feel it’s now my purpose to talk about it after our experience. It’s important to get people talking so there’s a broader understanding of the disease and the ways to prevent it.” Bowel cancer is Australia’s second biggest killer, claiming 100 lives every week. About 15,000 people are diagnosed each year, with men and women affected almost equally. Professor Molloy, Lawrence Penn Chair of Bowel Cancer Research, said research holds the key to a change in patient outcomes, and he’s pleased to see a greater collaboration between the clinical

Volunteers Dr Allen Nash, Rick Cassab and Anita Bordieri with Professor Mark Molloy

teams within RNSH and scientific researchers.

“This partnership, together with our new world- leading technology in the Kolling, will provide us with a better understanding of how bowel cancer develops and ways to treat it,” Mark said. Professor Molloy is also encouraging everyone over 50 to take advantage of the free home-testing kit provided by the Australian Government. “These kits are a useful screening tool that can be easily used at home, and save lives by catching cancers early,” Mark said. “When detected early, bowel cancer can be successfully treated in 90 per cent of cases, so I would really encourage people to use the kits, and make sure symptoms, like persistent changes to bowel habits are not ignored.”

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Farewell Jane Grant The Ryde Hospital Birth Unit team farewelled midwife Jane Grant (pictured below) after more than 13 years of service to the Ryde community. Jane worked as a nurse and midwife for more than 27 years in the UK before coming to Australia and has helped deliver more than 5,000 babies. Jane has been involved with many projects focusing on patient care and wellness-based models around continuity of care. Jane’s advice to anyone who wants to become a midwife is “to go for it”. “Midwifery is a varied job and you will need to be prepared for hard work and at times things can get quite emotional,’’ Jane said.

Exceptional People Awards 2019 Do you know an individual, team or volunteer who is exceptional, who lives the true meaning of our CORE Values and Behaviours Charter and who goes over and above to make a difference? Now is the time to nominate them in the Northern Sydney Local Health District Exceptional People Awards for 2019. If you would like to nominate an individual, team or volunteer, visit the 2019 Exceptional People Awards page on our website. Nominations close at 5pm on July 30. With the addition of a new category this year, there are now seven categories for the awards based on both our CORE Values and the key themes in the NSLHD Strategic Plan 2017-2022. The categories are:

“It’s a job that gives so much more in return and I feel so grateful to have made many friends during my time here. “I will miss the team and our occasional 3am session in the birthing room when we all band together to help a mum give birth.” Jane leaves Ryde Hospital to pursue her dream of setting up her own small business. “Most of my working life has been delivering babies and helping mums during pregnancy and after birth… I never thought I’d be learning a whole set of new skills including designing my own website.”

• Healthy Communities

• Connected Person-Centred Care

• Evidence-Based Decision Making

• Responsive and Adaptable Organisation

• Engaged and Empowered Workforce

• CORE Values (Collaboration, Openness, Respect and Empowerment)

• Leadership

NSLHD staff, volunteers and consumer advocates, and our patients and consumers are able to submit nominations. The Exceptional People Awards are a great way to acknowledge and celebrate the great work of our staff and volunteers to deliver excellent health and wellbeing outcomes for our patients and consumers. For more information about the awards and how to nominate, visit our website 2019 Exceptional People Awards.

Jane Grant (far-left) during her days as a nurse

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Local MP witnesses ‘medical emergency’ Royal North Shore Hospital’s newest nurses impressed the Member for North Shore Felicity Wilson (pictured centre) with their skills when she observed a recent training session.

the first year nurses successfully treated ‘Maria’ when she took a turn for the worse. Ms Wilson said she always enjoyed her visits to Royal North Shore Hospital and thanked all the nurses for their hard work.

Under the watchful eye of Claire Harris, Royal North Shore’s Director of Nursing and Midwifery,

ICU Radio donation Patients and their families will be able to tune in to their favourite radio station while they recover in ICU thanks to a generous donation and plenty of hard work. When ICU nurse Glenda Boyd dug out an old CD player to help keep a long term patient’s spirits up, she had one thought – ‘we can do better’.

Faith Enrile, Glenda Boyd, 6H NUM Helen Walker and Anneke Smyth

She spent the coming months with the ICU team fundraising through bake sales and raffles, aiming to raise enough money to buy every pod on 6H a radio. Having raised more than $2.600, the time came for Glenda to take the plunge and purchase the radios – but when Harvey Norman’s David Ackery

heard what they were for, he kindly donated the 30 digital radios instead.

Now each pod across her ward has a radio, with a few spares available to patients on other wards too.

Well done Glenda.

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JMOs at HKH taking a well-deserved meal break

Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital Protected Patient Meal Times Meal times are important not just for patients, but for all staff, which is why Hornsby Ku-ring- gai Hospital (HKH) clinicians are committed to protected meal times. improve the mealtime environment, increase food consumption and fluid intake, and reduce the risk of malnutrition.

A visitor/carer may be present during the time to assist with meals and encourage eating. Medical officers have used the time to try and also have a meal break in an effort to improve their wellbeing, take a rest and catch up with colleagues. HKH’s Nutrition and Dietetics Department Manager Lisa Eldridge said protected meal time was introduced following an audit in 2017 that found almost 30 per cent of patients were interrupted during the lunch meal.

The initiative, launched earlier this year, is having positive benefits for both patients and medical staff, with medical registrars introducing a regular Friday lunch where they get a chance to catch-up. Protected meal time is a designated time period (12pm to 1pm) when entry to the ward is restricted to allow patients to eat their meal undisturbed. Ward nurses stop all non-urgent activity and focus their attention on assisting patients to eat. Protected meal time has been shown to

2019 Steptember Challenge - Put your foot down for a great cause! It’s that time of year again to get your team together for Steptember 2019. How to sign up NSLHD

Come and see the staff at a promotion stand near you and to receive free giveaways when you sign up.

Run by Cerebral Palsy Alliance, the Steptember charity event challenges people to take 10,000 steps a day

Ryde – Hospital Foyer

10th July 9am - 1:30pm

Hornsby –STAR ground floor

11th July 11th July

9am - 1:30pm 9am - 1:30pm

Royal North Shore Royal North Shore Mona Vale & CHC

for 28 days during the month of September.

17 th July 9am – 1.30pm

In 2018, the district raised $75,124 thanks to 258 teams. This was a 91 per cent increase in funds raised from the previous year with NSLHD being the top fundraiser for all of the state’s local health districts and coming 4th in Australia. We could not have achieved this without our staff’s support and donations. 2019 is our 4th year and we want to maintain our leadership position and need your help. This year the highest stepper will win a Samsung Galaxy Active watch (RRP $349). NSLHD2019

23 rd July

9am-1.30pm

Brookvale CHC staff room and reception level 2

 30th July

 9am-1.30pm

Royal North Shore

1st August 9am - 1:30pm

OR Nominate a team captain to register your team of four at steptember.org.au . You will receive a free pedometer before the Steptember Challenge begins on September 3. To register for free, your team captain will need to use the free code NSLHD2019 .

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Professor Alan Cooper AM retires after 40 years of services For more than 40 years, Royal North Shore Hospital’s Head of the Dermatology Professor Alan Cooper AM has treated thousands of patients, as well as trained and mentored many junior doctors. the Order of Australia (AM) for his significant service to

medicine. In 2017, he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his contribution to medicine. His colleagues and peers describe him as an incredible mentor with a wonderful sense of humour.

Now Alan has decided to retire but leaves behind a legacy to the hospital. In 1971, Alan was the first dermatology registrar at RNSH and has been involved with the hospital ever since. Alan has played a big part in teaching dermatologists, junior doctors and respiratory physicians throughout his career. Alan has been heavily involved in clinical and laboratory research through RNSH, and as Chairman of Epiderm, the Australian Dermatology Research and Education Foundation, which supports dermatology research centres throughout the country. He also served on the board of the Dermatology Research Foundation of the University of Sydney from 1996 to 2011. His work was recognised in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours where he became a Member of

RNSH’s Clinical Director, Division of Medicine Terry Finnegan, Performance Support Team Lead Amanda Harriss with Prof Alan Cooper AM, RNSH’s General Manager Alison Zecchin and Nurse Manager Division of Medicine Tracey Gray.

Royal North Shore Hospital’s general manager Alison Zecchin said Alan is one of the most experienced and well- acknowledged clinicians who will be dearly missed. “We acknowledge his contribution to patient care, education of staff and community,” Alison said. Alan said RNSH was a fantastic place to work because of the people and the great talent. • Alexis Fox - Nursing, Royal North Shore Hospital • Erin Ortado - Dietetics, Ryde Hospital • Kimberley De Ridder - Occupational Therapy, Hornsby Hospital • Dominique Trauer - Operating Theatres, Hornsby Hospital • Adam Tran – ICT, NSLHD • Sarah Crosby – Social Work, Mental Health Drug & Alcohol • Barbara Lucas - Physiotherapy, Royal North Shore Hospital • Jarod Hamilton - Mental Health Drug & Alcohol

“It has been a lot of fun and I have always felt the hospital was 100 per cent behind me and I’m very grateful for their support,’’ Alan said. At his farewell, Alan left his colleagues with some words of advice: “If we can’t look after each other, we can’t look after anyone”.

Farewell Alan.

People Matter at NLSHD Thank you to all the staff who took the time to complete the People Matter Employee Survey. The survey closed on 28 June 2019.

• Paul Taqueban - Primary and Community Health • Aimee Fraser - Physiotherapy, Primary and Community Health • Roshan Pudasaini - Environmental Services, Mona Vale Hospital • Sally Ingram - Nursing, Primary and Community Health For updates on results and further information about the survey, and initiatives implemented as a result of your feedback, please visit the Staff Engagement page on the intranet.

Your feedback is being collated by the survey provider and a report for our district will be generated. Reports for hospital and service units will also be generated where there were over thirty responses. These reports will be available in August. From there, action plans will be developed across the district to implement suggestions from you. Congratulations to the 12 hamper winners who completed their surveys in the month of June.

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CLINICAL TRIAL FINDS NEW CLASS OF DRUG REDUCES RISK OF KIDNEY FAILURE IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES

A new class of drugs has been found to reduce kidney impairment in patients with Type 2 diabetes with experts believing there could be as much as a 30 per cent reduction. When world-renowned kidney specialist Prof Carol Pollock (pictured) undertook her PhD 30 years ago looking into why people with diabetes developed kidney failure, she had no idea her work would be so instrumental and life-saving today. Using a plant-based compound – not used before in this type of research - to inhibit salt and glucose reabsorption in the kidney, she demonstrated that in doing so, abnormal kidney function due to diabetes could be normalised. Thirty years on and Prof Pollock, of the Kolling Institute of Medical Research and University of Sydney, along with world leaders have just overseen a world trial of a drug developed from the plant-based compound she used in the 1980s to reduce the risk of kidney failure in patients with Type 2 diabetes and existing kidney damage. The results have been overwhelming with the drug, Camagliflozin, reducing the need for dialysis or a transplant. For the past five years Prof Pollock, who is also a renal transplant physician at Royal North Shore Hospital, has sat on the steering committee of

the clinical trial CREDENCE, which was stopped prematurely last year because of overwhelming evidence the drug reduced the need for dialysis or a transplant and also reducing heart attack, stroke and death due to cardiovascular disease. “The last time we saw any benefit of a drug on prevention or amelioration of kidney failure in patients with diabetes was in 2001,” she said. “Until now new therapies have not been successful despite an enormous scientific, monetary and emotional investment from clinicians, scientists, investors and patients. The compound is now available to reduce the progression of renal failure in people with diabetes and to limit the need for dialysis and transplantation. The compounds are now being assessed as to whether benefits may extend to patients with kidney disease independent of diabetes. “This is like a lifetime achievement award, of which I am very proud, but many of my laboratory staff, in particular A/Prof Usha Panchapakesan has positively contributed to our laboratories’ scientific efforts in achieving this,” Prof Pollock said. “I only wish I knew of the value of intellectual property when I was in my 20’s!”

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EXCEPTIONAL AWARDS NORTHERN SYDNEY LOCAL HEALTH DISTRICT

YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO NOMINATE AN INDIVIDUAL OR TEAM FOR THE INCREDIBLE WORK THEY DO EVERY DAY TO SUPPORT THE DELIVERY OF EXCELLENT HEALTHCARE

Healthy Communities

Connected Person-Centred Care

Evidence-Based DecisionMaking

Responsive &Adaptable Organisation

Engaged& Empowered Workforce

Winners Announced at Award Luncheon 27 September 2019

Nominations Close 30 July 2019

Finalists Announced 16 August 2019

KEY DATES

NOMINATE NOW Click the banner on the NSLHD Intranet

Thisprogramhasbeen developedaspartofthe NSLHDresponseto PeopleMatter surveyresults