Improvement Grant Program Winners 2012

A Palliative Aged Care Nurse Practitioner Community Based Model of Care

Team Leader: Lisa Shaw, Advance Care Planning Project Officer

Aim: To integrate a Palliative Aged Care Nurse Practitioner model of care into Community Aged Care Services. As a result of this project, there will be an increase in the effective communication and translation of known client choices and wishes for care and treatment at their end of life. This will lead to an increase in documented clinical care plans / medical orders which may be used to respect person centred care at the end of life across health and residential care settings.

Reducing Weight and Waiting Lists: Improving Patient Outcomes and Service Delivery

Team Leader: Anna Dawson, Dietitian Royal Newcastle Centre

Aim:  To redesign the current Dietitian clinic (JHGDC) from individual consultations to a group model of care. This will provide a more efficient and effective weight loss intervention that is in line with current clinical practice guidelines in regards to content and frequency and duration of support. Specifically this project will aim to:

• Improve patient outcomes and satisfaction by addressing the discrepancy between current practice and established best practice weight loss treatment.
• Decrease the current waiting list and expand the reach of the service to other patient groups through the redesign of the clinic structure to a group education model and further development of appropriate education materials.
• Increase staff efficiency by reducing time wasted by patient non-attendance at individual appointments and eliminates duplication of services by creating specially designed program content.
• Develop clear treatment pathway and improve the referral process into the clinic.

​Coledale Community Mental Health, Social and Emotional Wellbeing Drop In Clinic, Empowering the Community of Coledale

Team Leader: Bronwyn Pascoe, Aboriginal Clinical Leader

Statistics indicate that 1 in 5 people or 20% of the community suffer mental health illnesses. In Coledale, only 2.3% of the population have been identified as accessing mental health services. Following an extensive consultation process, a multidisciplinary Drop In Clinic where no appointments are necessary was established in Coledale. The clinic is for Aboriginal and non Aboriginal people but the target is Aboriginal people. This clinic has been effective in improving access to HNE Health Mental Health services for Coledale residents with a mental health diagnosis.

Aim: To provide an accessible and sustainable culturally appropriate clinic that empowers the community, provides prevention, promotion and early intervention of mental health support for Coledale residents and to develop a transferable model to support Aboriginal mental health clients in other communities.

​“Going MAD in the ED”: Introduction of Intranasal Fentanyl via Mucosal Atomiser Devices in Children

Team Leader: Helen Stevens, Paediatric Outreach Clinical Nurse Consultant

Aim: To ensure that all children presenting to Emergency Department at Armidale Rural Referral Hospital are provided with appropriate pain assessment and procedural analgesia according to best practice. This will be followed by a roll out to HNE LHD Emergency Departments in rural areas.

​Improving microbiological diagnosis in prosthetic joint infections

Team Leader: Catherine Berry, Microbiology Registrar

Outcomes in prosthetic joint infections are improved if the infections are identified in a timely manner and the responsible organism is isolated. Currently, the rate of culture negative prosthetic joint infections at the John Hunter campus is as high as 21% compared with 7% in other centres. The use of the techniques of techniques such as sonication, histopathological examination and multiple tissue biopsies have been shown to improve the sensitivity and specificity of microbiological identification.

Aim: To improve the diagnostic accuracy in John Hunter Hospital by making these techniques part of standard practice.