Narrabri to hear about Garling Inquiry progress
2 September 2010
Community members and staff from Narrabri and the Mehi Cluster will tomorrow (Friday) meet with senior representatives from Hunter New England Health to discuss the progress achieved by the Area as part of Caring Together: The Health Action Plan for NSW.
A mixture of doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, management, support and non-clinical staff will be attending tomorrow’s forum, with an opportunity for participants to ask questions about the Health Service’s progress in implementing Stage 1, 2 and 3 recommendations of Caring Together.
Community members – including a number of Local Health Advisory Committee representatives – are also expected to take part in the Narrabri event.
The Caring Together Health Action Plan was developed in response to the recommendations made by Mr Peter Garling SC, following his Inquiry into Acute Care Services in NSW public hospitals in November 2008.
Chief Executive Dr Nigel Lyons will be attending tomorrow’s forum and will be available for media interviews.
“Staff across our metropolitan and rural centres should have equal opportunity to give consideration to the issues raised and to provide feedback about HNE Health’s direction and response,” Dr Lyons said.
“It's important that feedback is canvassed from right across our Area, which is why we have held Caring Together Forums in Maitland, Gunnedah, Glen Innes, Manilla, Singleton and Taree so far in 2010.”
Dr Lyons said a number of recommendations had been implemented by HNE Health during the past 18 months, with consultation forums proving enormously valuable in shaping the health service’s response to Caring Together.
Some of the initiatives include improvements to out-of-hospital care, the development of clinical resources such as a standardised Emergency Department Checklist and patient observation chart, and improving staff identification for the benefit of patients.
“Caring Together provides a number of long-term recommendations that will gradually be implemented by Hunter New England Health to ensure they deliver genuine, sustainable improvements to both clinical care, and the way in which care is delivered,” Dr Lyons said.
“We’ve also initiated a number of immediate changes to demonstrate our commitment to improving patient care.”
Two Narrabri District Health Service staff members will also present during the forum:
Karen Transton, Essentials of Care Facilitator, Narrabri District Health Service
Essentials of Care (EOC)
EOC was developed in response to feedback which indicated the need to improve fundamental aspects of patient care such as hygiene, nutrition, comfort and communication. Nursing teams at Narrabri District Health Service have been using tools from the Essentials of Care program to help improve interactions between staff and with patients. Their hard work has reaped a range of benefits, particularly with the implementation of walk-around clinical handover, empowering nurses to make changes, an orientation folder for new staff and agency staff, and regular audits of documentation.
Pauline Welch, Discharge Planner and Community Nurse, Narrabri District Health Service
Discharge planning: Approaches and outcomes
Since introducing discharge planning at Narrabri District Health Service, there has been a reduction in preventable readmissions from 15.56 per cent (December 2008) to 2.28 per cent (December 2009). A patient’s average length of stay in hospital has also been reduced by 5.26 per cent. Through collaborative teamwork and effective communication, the Health Service team is able to provide a quality experience for health care clients and their families or carers within the Narrabri community. There is now better access to community-based health services, more effective use of resources and enhanced continuity of care.
Media note: The forum will take place in the Narrabri Community Health Centre, TOMORROW, Friday 3 September from 10am to 11.30am. Chief Executive Dr Nigel Lyons will be attending and is available for media interviews.
If you would like further information regarding the Caring Together: The Health Action Plan for NSW, the plan is available at http://healthactionplan.nsw.gov.au/
(HNE-2352)
Contact: Carisa Green
Phone: 0428 106 183