Cancer patients benefit from management system, Southern Innovation Challenge inspiration, Emergency management cabinets in Dunedin Hospital, World Breastfeeding Week, Oxygen film a breath of fresh air, Get Dotted workshops now open No Images? Click here
Cancer patients to benefit from innovative management system Southern DHB’s innovative cancer multidisciplinary meeting (MDM) system will soon be supporting clinical decision-making for cancer patients across the South Island. Designed by local clinicians and an IT developer, the electronic MDM system has been in use in Southern DHB since 2013. It has been made available progressively across the South Island via the Health Connect South clinical portal since late July. MDMs bring together a range of specialists involved in diagnosing and treating cancer to discuss individual patients and make treatment or care plan recommendations. They are a key part of best clinical practice and patient management; providing continuity of care and reducing variation in access to treatment – and ultimately improving outcomes for patients. The electronic MDM system was developed to support these processes following an extensive review of local services, says Dr Blair McLaren, Southern DHB Medical Oncologist and MDM Clinical Lead. “We took a pragmatic approach, with the aim of creating an intuitive and functional electronic form that could be easily completed in real time to support and document decision making in the MDM. It was also important to ensure there was consistency across the different tumour streams that use the system.” The project was initially led by a design and development team consisting of Dr Colin Wong, Respiratory Physician and Chair of the lung cancer MDM; Lance Elder, Application Developer; Paula Goodman, former MDM Quality Facilitator and Dr McLaren. Got an idea? Bring it to life! Looking for some motivation to apply for the Southern Innovation Challenge this year? Applications close at 5pm, Thursday 31 August. Emergency management cabinets now in Dunedin Hospital Staff will now be better equipped to manage an emergency thanks to six cabinets stocked with essential emergency items, now available on several floors of the Dunedin Hospital Ward Block. Located next to service lifts on floor two and floors four to eight, each cabinet contains essential emergency items including dust masks, heavy duty transparent tarpaulins, safety glasses, water, duct tape, buckets, light sticks, hard hats and more. Additional cabinets on the remaining floors will be installed before the end of the year. “We hope the cabinets will provide essential aid in the event of an emergency, such as an earthquake, so staff are better equipped to manage the circumstances and continue to care for patients,” says Southern DHB Emergency Management Manager, Paul McNamara. “The equipment is also useful for events that aren’t as earth shattering as say an earthquake would be, but anytime a service delivery in an area is being severely disrupted. An example of this could be a burst water pipe in a ceiling causing flooding.” Pictured from left: Southern DHB Emergency Management Manager Paul McNamara, Executive Director Allied Health Lynda McCutcheon, and Midwifery Director Jenny Humphries, showcase the cabinets Dunedin is the third hospital to receive emergency management cabinets, with Southland and Lakes District Hospital already equipped. As with the cabinets in Southland and Lakes District Hospitals, all the cabinets in Dunedin are accessible via a padlock code 777. Southern DHB celebrates World Breastfeeding Week Southern DHB will continue to be strong advocates of breastfeeding as part of World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) from 1-7 August. In support of WBW, we'd like to introduce one of of wonderful breastfeeding staff members - Sara Styles, Postdoctoral Research Fellow and mum to Noah. Oxygen film a breath of fresh air A short film has been produced to help educate patients about using oxygen at home. Southland Hospital Pharmacy Manager Rachael Turnbull and Pharmacist Diane Redding came up with the idea to produce the short film, as the previous practice involved a one-on-one catch up with a patient and an hour and a half briefing about safe use of oxygen equipment at home. Pictured from left: Southland Hospital Pharmacy Manager Rachael Turnbull and Pharmacist Diane Redding “A lot of information was being given to unwell patients and it was difficult for them to maintain concentration and absorb all the information,” says Rachael. This inspired Rachael and Diane to enter the 2016 Southern Innovation Challenge and led to a Westpac grant to produce the film. “The film will benefit patients by providing essential safety information in a format they can view at their convenience, share with family members and support people, and review any time they feel the need.” Staff will still be available to answer any questions and a check sheet will be completed to ensure the patient has all the essential information and feels confident about heading home with the equipment. Get Dotted workshops open to all staff It may sound like a strange medical condition, but 'getting dotted' is actually an important and popular communications exercise and the next round of workshops are now open to all staff to attend! 'Get Dotted' is an all-day communication workshop intended to help staff recognise their own particular communication style and from there, understand the impact their communication style may have on others they come in contact with. "It helps people understand why they think and act the way they do," says Innovation Facilitator Viv-Allen Kelly. "Great communication is a two-way thing. It isn't only about the ability to talk to people - it's also about interpreting, listening and being aware of the ways people communicate with you and how they comprehend the messages you're sending to them." Get Dotted dates Friday, August 18: Otago Museum, Hutton Theatre, Dunedin Register today! |