Camden kids’ garden

SOUTH WESTERN SYDNEY LOCAL HEALTH DISTRICT

July 2014

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A new children’s garden was opened at Camden Hospital thanks to the Kids of Macarthur Health Foundation, which raised $60,000 to create the bright, colourful space.The Kids of Macarthur-Karitane Children’s Garden will be used by Karitane clients as well as families visiting loved ones at Camden Hospital.Funds to build the garden were raised at the Kids of Macarthur Ball last year.

This year’s Ball, held in June, raised more than $42,000 to purchase an omnicot for Campbelltown Hospital’s new Paediatric Emergency Department. Over the past 15 years, the Kids of Macarthur Health Foundation has raised more than $3 million to help enhance the quality of life of children in the Macarthur region.Minister for Health Jillian Skinner visited Camden Hospital to open the garden.

Kids of Macarthur Health Foundation Director Julie O’Keefe (left), Ella Katon and Camden and Campbelltown Hospitals General Manager Lynne Bickerstaff enjoy the garden.

Support Dry JulyEven if you haven’t pledged to be booze-free this Dry July, you can get on board by sponsoring those who have.Visit the Dry July website and donate now to directly impact the lives of adults with cancer.Funds from the 2014 Dry July campaign will be used to help design, build and furnish a new Cancer Wellness Centre on Goulburn Street at Liverpool, and to contribute to a Cancer Survivorship treatment program, including a purpose-built facility at Camden.Liverpool Cancer Therapy Centre patient Valerie Drew (pictured below with friend Roy Ramsey) encouraged everyone to get behind Dry July.Support patients like Val by visiting www.dryjuly.com, searching Liverpool or Macarthur and selecting the Cancer Therapy Centre team.

Please join me in congratulating our colleague Professor Guy Marks who was honoured at the NHMRC’s 200th Council session as the top ranked NHMRC Research Fellow applicant in 2013. NHMRC Research Fellowships are amongst the most prestigious fellowships available in Australia and are awarded following a very rigorous peer review process. To have been named as the most outstanding candidate in the 2013 round is testament to Guy’s great standing in the research community and yet another milestone in an outstanding research career.As many of you will know, Guy has recently joined the academic staff of South Western Sydney Clinical School with the support of the Local Health District and UNSW. We are proud to have Guy join our LHD and we look forward to working closely with

him along, with the Ingham Institute, to continue building and expanding our research work in south western Sydney.I’m pleased to announce that we have appointed the lead design team to plan the Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital redevelopment. The design team comprises: Capital Insight (project manager), DesignInc Sydney (architect) and Donald Cant Watts Corke (cost manager). The Board will determine details of the redevelopment based on future clinical needs of Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital following consultation with clinicians, staff and the community.I was also delighted with the announcement of $9 million funding in the State Budget for construction on a new Clinical School

at Campbelltown Hospital, in partnership with the University of Western Sydney. The new Clinical School will provide an integrated clinical and research facility including allied health, nursing and clinical psychology professionals in a dedicated educational and research zone. This will also allow the onsite expansion of Campbelltown and Camden Hospitals’ education and research capacity for the rapidly growing student population.This is all great news for the people of south western Sydney.

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July 2014

District Board update

Staff support commendedLiverpool Hospital has received a Special Commendation for its outstanding support of volunteer firefighting efforts in NSW. Minister for Police and Emergency Services Stuart Ayres presented the award to Liverpool Hospital General Manager Robynne Cooke. Ms Cooke congratulated Liverpool Hospital staff volunteers for their outstanding contribution to the community.

Congratulations to Bowral and District Hospital Nurse Elizabeth (Liddy) Longhurst, who has won the Rotary Club of Bowral-Mittagong Nursing Vocation Service Award.Liddy is a Registered Nurse and Clinical Nurse Educator in the High Dependency Unit and recently completed a project to improve the patient journey from Bowral and District Hospital to Liverpool Hospital for patients who require cardiac intervention following chest pain. The project enables patients who require a procedure at Liverpool to return to a bed at Bowral for post-procedure care. It involved up-skilling staff and ensuring systems were in place and education completed to allow for a safe patient outcome.The project has been presented at several forums, including the NSW Ministry of Health.

Rotary recognises Liddy

Liddy Longhurst received her award at a special Rotary dinner.

from Prof Phil Harris, Chair

Prof Guy Marks with Board Chair Prof Phil Harris.

For information about becoming a volunteer firefighter visit www.rfs.nsw.gov.au.

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July 2014

Forum for ladies in red

More than 70 women dressed in red took to the auditorium at Warwick Farm Neighbourhood Centre to hear from health experts about cardiovascular health last month.The successful Healthy Heart Forum, run by SWSLHD Women’s Health, featured guest speakers including Director of Cardiovascular Health Programs at the National Heart Foundation, Julie-Anne Mitchell, and Liverpool Hospital cardiologist Dr Liza Thomas.The District’s Women’s Health Service has partnered with the Heart Foundation, Liverpool Council and Liverpool Hospital’s Cardiology Service to deliver the project, which also aims to promote the Heart Smart for Women walking group; and increase the number of women attending the Women’s Health clinic for cardiovascular disease and other screenings.South Western Sydney Local Health District Manager of Women’s Health Rana Qummouh said it has been estimated that 80 per cent of Australians have at least one modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease.“Through the forum we aim to give women the knowledge and understanding of these factors so they can avoid being highly at risk of cardiovascular disease,” she said.The Forum was an initiative of the Heart Smart for Women project being piloted at Warwick Farm Neighbourhood Centre.

Women’s Health Nurse Lorena Schot, Kate from Heart Foundation, Julie-Anne Mitchell, cardiologist Liza Thomas and Sharda Jogia.

As construction of the Campbelltown Hospital Stage 1 Redevelopment reaches its final stages, NSW Premier Mike Baird and Health Minister Jillian Skinner toured the site and were impressed with the progress.The multi-storey Acute Services Building - which is the centrepiece of the redevelopment - is on target for construction completion in December and will open to patients early next year. Scaffolding surrounding the six-storey building is coming down to reveal the impressive façade and the internal fit-out has begun.Ms Skinner said the redevelopment’s pace was inspiring.“I share the excitement of the clinicians, staff and community as this impressive building takes shape.“No-one can be in any doubt that Campbelltown Hospital has fine staff but the future needs of this fast-growing population demand a world-class environment in which our clinicians can deliver care.“I am proud to say we are delivering just that,” she said.As Stage 1 nears completion, planning has begun on Stage 2, which will include imaging services and further expansion of the acute hospital, including the emergency department, theatres, inpatient beds and cancer services.

Premier takes a tour

Fast facts about the new Acute Services Building at Campbelltown Hospital: • Around 250 construction workers are on site each day. • It comprises 8500m3 of concrete - equivalent to around three and a half Olympic-sized swimming pools. • It contains about 850 tonnes of steel reinforcement - equivalent to almost eleven fully-loaded Boeing 737 aircraft.

Bankstown Hospital challenged staff to create a slogan for World No Tobacco Day recently. Congratulations to staff from ward 2G, who came up with the winning slogan: ‘Enjoy free fresh air when visiting Bankstown Hospital – help keep your hospital a smoke free zone!’. The slogan will be used to continue promoting a smoke free environment around the Hospital.

Free fresh air at Bankstown

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July 2014

The District has celebrated the launch of its first mother-baby bed for perinatal women with a psychiatric illness.The bed, based at Liverpool Hospital, helps ensure that whilst psychiatric services are being provided for the mother, she is able to be with her baby (when feasibly possible) to minimise the disruption to the relationship and to focus on the mother-baby relationship as an integral component of treatment.

The initiative has been spearheaded by the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health team whose role is to enhance the mental health and wellbeing of infants, children and their families.Throughout the mother and baby stay, Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Team staff will provide support to Inpatient Unit staff and will also support the mother, focusing on the mother-baby relationship.

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Refugee WeekDuring Refugee Week, NSW Refugee Health Service held an event at Parramatta Park to recognise innovations in Refugee Health. The day included guest speaker, author Kooshyar Karimi. Awards were handed out to showcase the Health Services’ contribution to addressing the health needs of refugees.

New standardsThe Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI) has developed new minimum standards that describe how care should be provided to older patients undergoing hip fracture surgery in NSW hospitals. The ACI is visiting hospitals across NSW to support the roll out of the standards.Learn more about the standards at: www.eih.health.nsw.gov.au.

Giving thanks for 125 years

Printed on 100% recycled paper

St Jude’s Church in Bowral held a thanksgiving service to celebrate the contribution of Bowral and District Hospital staff to the local community over the past 125 years.Reverend Stephen Fifer, Rector at St Jude’s, said he couldn’t overstate the importance of a hospital within the local community.“Bowral Hospital has been serving the medical needs of the people of the Southern Highlands for 125 years,” Reverend Fifer said.“St Jude’s Anglican Church has had strong links with the Hospital since its beginnings, visiting the sick, fundraising and supporting the development of medical services.“We are grateful for the service of the Hospital to our community and are very pleased to join the 125th anniversary celebrations,” he said.Bowral and District Hospital General Manager Alison Derrett thanked St Jude’s for supporting the Hospital’s anniversary.

Now easier to stay updatedThe Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI) and Clinical Excellence Commission (CEC) have joined forces to launch a new website making it easier to stay updated on healthcare improvement initiatives across NSW. The Excellence and Innovation in Healthcare portal provides at a glance detail with links to the ACI and CEC websites for further information on initiatives. Visit the Excellence and Innovation in Healthcare portal at: www.eih.health.nsw.gov.au

Visitors to the website can access: • information through their smart phones or tablet devices;• updates which outline the aim of the initiative and benefits for patients; • background information and milestones; • locations of healthcare facilities across NSW piloting or implementing initiatives and • details of evaluations planned to assess the difference to patient care.

Mother-baby bed launched

For more on Bowral’s 125 celebrations, visit swslhd.nsw.gov.au/bowral125

The mother-baby bed helps new mums who are receiving psychiatric treatment at Liverpool Hospital to remain with their baby.

At their Refugee Week event, NSW Refugee Health Service recognised a pregnancy clinic run for Sudanese and Arabic women.