First Nurse Practitioner in Southland ED, Lakes District staff 'Speak Up', Free dental care a click away, Southland Hospital enjoy fruits of labour Southern Future NewsletterMarch 2017 - Edition 3 Thank you for all the stories and ideas that have been coming in for the Southern Future newsletter. Remember this is your newsletter to showcase all your amazing work in helping Southern DHB become the health system we want it to be. Please help us share your stories by emailing the communications team communications@southerndhb.govt.nz. And remember that a wide range of resources to help build the future we want can be found in the Southern Future SharePoint site. If you would like any advice on this, please contact Mel Green at listening@southerndhb.govt.nz
Above: Kirsty Lewis is looking forward to her new role in ED First Nurse Practitioner in Southland EDHer love for travel, adventure and nursing has led Kirsty Lewis to the hustle and bustle of London and Sydney, the Australian outback, Wanaka ski fields and finally, to Invercargill where she is about to embark on her most exciting role yet – working as Southland Hospital’s first Emergency Department Nurse Practitioner. Kirsty is just one of around eight Nurse Practitioners working in emergency departments throughout New Zealand – a newly established role which she is delighted about. The role is both independent and collaborative, using advanced nursing and medical skills to assess, diagnose and manage the health needs of patients presenting to the ED.
Kirsty’s career journey has been varied - she studied Italian, French and Geography, before completing her Nursing and Midwifery qualifications. In 2010, she followed her brother to New Zealand and worked as a nurse on a Wanaka ski field.
Congratulations Kirsty! Lakes District staff empowered to 'Speak Up'Lakes District Hospital has made a positive start to the year by hosting a series of Values and Speak Up sessions. Three sessions were presented at the end of February by Robert West, General Manager Older Persons’ Health – Clinical Support Directorate, and Michelle McClimont, Human Resources Services Manager. The sessions provided a recap of the Southern Future values and behaviours and enabled staff to ask questions and share their experiences in the workplace.
Following on from this, staff will identify above (acceptable) and below (not acceptable) the line behaviours and posters will be made as a reminder to staff. The ‘Speak Up’ programme, which is being rolled out progressively to all staff across the DHB, is about creating a safety culture promoting professional behaviours, accountability and alignment with the Southern DHB’s values and behaviours. Making positive changes: from left - District Nurse Pip Speedy and Administrator Emma Trotter refer to the DHB's shared values and behaviours poster Share your story with us! If you know of great examples of people living the values at Southern DHB, we would love to hear from you! Please email communications@southerndhb.govt.nz Making a difference To access the 7 Priorities for Patients click here. Free dental care just a click awayAn online oral health enrolment form is making the process of families enrolling their child in free basic dental care quick and easy. The online form, pitched as an idea in the 2016 Southern Innovation Challenge by the Oral Health Promotion Team, went live in late February this year in an effort to make the service more accessible for families and to reduce the cost of printing enrolment forms. “We value our patient’s time so we wanted to make the service more accessible and remove all the barriers to enrolment,” says Kate Hall, Health Promotion Advisor, Community Oral Health. The form will also be used to easily update contact details for those already enrolled. “We anticipate this will decrease the number of children who do not receive their posted appointments and therefore, reduce the number of missed appointments for the service.” A toddler gets his teeth checked by Dental Therapist Mary Sayer. Free basic dental care for children is now more accessible via an online enrolment form Southland Hospital enjoy fruits of their labourSouthland Hospital have initiated an orchard project to make use of some of the empty spaces around the Hospital grounds, by planting trees and plants that will provide fruit, shelter, and relaxing spaces to explore during work breaks. Bridget Watson, one of the surgical registrars last year, initiated the project and the Hospital now boasts several fruit trees including apple, pear, plum and peach, planted between the Doctor's Residence and tennis courts, and behind the Q10 Clinic.
The trees will require ongoing care in the form of pruning, watering and provision of shelter from winds (hopefully in the form of a native shelter belt). If you're interested in being part of the Hospital Orchard Group, please contact Karen.hodge@southerndhb.govt.nz Southland Hospital staff and patients can relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery Making a difference To access the 7 Priorities for Staff click here.
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