Welcome to this week's jam-packed edition of Check in.
Read more about how to tune into the Excellence in Allied Health Awards, find out about our Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery Award winners, save the date for the NSW Health Awards, Thursday 19 May, 12:30-2:30pm, and share your Patient Experience Week celebrations with our Patient Experience team.
From 6pm on Friday 22 April, household contacts and close contacts who don’t have COVID-19 symptoms will no longer need to self-isolate.
A household contact is someone who lives with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19. A close contact is someone who has been formally notified by NSW Health that they are a close contact.
While self-isolation is no longer required, household contact and close contacts must follow the NSW Health Household and Close Contact Guidelines for 7 days from the last time someone in their household tested positive for COVID-19 (or as otherwise directed by NSW Health if they’re a close contact).
These changes remove the requirement for a Health Care Worker (HCW) to seek an exemption to attend work when they have been a close contact. However, because hospitals and health service facilities remain high risk settings, there is still a need to undertake a risk assessment for individuals who are close contacts before attending the workplace.
This means the current risk assessment process that all NSW Health Services and MPSs have been using for close household contacts since 1 January 2022, Managing Health Care Worker Exposures – high COVID-19 community transmission stays in place. Potential exposures in the workplace will continue to be assessed utilising the Health Care Worker COVID-19 Exposure Risk Assessment Matrix.
You can read more on the NSW Health Household and Close Contact Guidelines.
Don't forget to join the livestream tomorrow, Thursday 28 April, 4-6pm, to celebrate the NSW Excellence in Allied Health Awards.
NSW Health employs more than 13,000 allied health professionals and the Awards aim to promote and recognise the high-quality work of our professionals and their support staff.
Tune into the livestream to meet our 24 finalists across the six categories, and find out this year's winners.
Listen to our Chief Allied Health Officer, Andrew Davison, below, ahead of tomorrow's Awards.
Name: Phil Minns
Role: Deputy Secretary, People, Culture and Governance
Now, let's get to know you a little better…
I think you would need to ask them …
"The Last Kingdom" – closely rivalled by the never-ending "Resurrection: Ertugrul" (I'm on a pause after 250 episodes)
Too many to land on one – first most favourite – "The Lord of the Rings"– followed by "The Razors Edge" – through to most recent favourite – "The Ghost: Life of CIA Spymaster James Angleton
Play the cello – Elgar's Cello Concerto is the goal!
Tuscan Beef Stew with Asparagus and Peperonata topped with toasted pine nuts – or traditional Minestrone
I'm learning the harmonica (Bruce Springsteen fan) – very slowly – seems it is as difficult as the cello.
We celebrated the incredible Nurses and Midwives at our Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery Awards 2021 last week.
Congratulations to our winners!
If you missed the broadcast, you can catch up on the highlights or watch the whole show on the NSW Health website.
Western Sydney communities will benefit from a new neonatal intensive care unit, expanded emergency department and 200-plus inpatient beds under the $1 billion Nepean Hospital redevelopment, with construction of the first hospital tower now complete.
Premier Dominic Perrottet, Minister for Health Brad Hazzard, Member for Penrith and Minister for Western Sydney Stuart Ayres toured the new 14-storey clinical services building, now Penrith's tallest landmark, which will open in stages from mid-2022.
"This major redevelopment of Nepean Hospital will transform services in Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains providing the best healthcare in the nation for our people now and into the future," Mr Perrottet said.
"Our record investments in our health system also ensure our frontline workers have access to world class facilities and services to provide that care."
"People think because you're vision impaired that you can't do things, but I can!"
Margaret Booth, the Administration Officer at HealthShare NSW said she doesn't think she is different to anyone else. "I just use my other senses."
Capable is something Margaret certainly is. She has raised three children and carved a successful career at HealthShare NSW, embedding herself as a crucial member of the team.
Margaret's own personality is one to be admired. Since joining HealthShare NSW more than six years ago, she has earned her stripes providing critical operational support to the CGS team.
"I love learning new things and my favourite thing about my job is taking on new challenges. Contributing to the procurement of rapid antigen tests over the past few months has been really interesting and rewarding. It's these new jobs that I get the most out of, but I also try to do professional training in my own time to accelerate my career."
Margaret's ambition and enthusiasm is unwavering, and the use of technology can be challenging at times.
"The role technology plays in my work is big – when it works it empowers me, but when it isn't accessible, it makes me feel disempowered," she said.
"Others may not be aware, but some of the challenges I face are when people send me a jpeg, PDF or other files with images or graphs that don't include alternative text." Alternative text is a description of content in an image, graphic or table that is picked up by screen readers.
"When documents don't include it, it can be very difficult for me because it means I may miss important information." Margaret says her screen reader is more accurate when the headings and text in documents are clear and well spaced.
Margaret says that while it may take a little extra time to make documents accessible, it not only makes her work easier, but it also makes her day.
Meg Austin has just completed her graduate year as a registered midwife in Broken Hill and has been nominated as a finalist in the R.M. Williams RAS Rural Achiever Award for her passion as a supporter and protector of the women and babies in her care.
Don't forget to register for value-based healthcare week, 2-5 May. Join us for sessions on embedding value based healthcare.
St Vincent's Diabetes Service launched a new clinic aimed at supporting young people with diabetes, knowing that the transition years between paediatric and adult care can be the hardest.
Communities in the State's Far West will benefit from a major investment in local health services, with the NSW Government announcing an upgrade to the Broken Hill Health Service Emergency Department, an enhanced acute mental health inpatient unit and a new virtual intensive care (vICU) service.
NSW Health Secretary Susan Pearce said the partnership between Sydney and Far West LHDs showed how the highly networked NSW Health system continues to collaborate to improve patient experiences and health outcomes throughout the State.
"Having worked as a clinician at the Broken Hill Health Service ICU at the start of my career, I understand how valuable this service is for staff and patients alike, and we will continue to encourage and support these kinds of collaborations throughout the NSW Health system," Ms Pearce said.
"Regional health is a focus of our Government, and the announcement builds on our vision to deliver the best possible health outcomes for all our remote communities, including here in the State's Far West," Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said.
"This is about ensuring patients, their families, carers and staff in the region have access to the best health and mental health care available," Minister for Regional Health and Mental Health Bronnie Taylor said.
"The emergency department will be reconfigured to better meet the critical health needs of the region, including tailored treatment spaces for children and those requiring mental health services.
"The NSW Government is also upgrading the mental health unit at Broken Hill Health Service, delivering a modern therapeutic space with co-designed facilities by people with lived experience."
The latest COVID-19 weekly data overview report is now available:
In the week ending 16 April 2022:
Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District's work experience program, Health Inspirations, recently welcomed 21 students from 14 local schools.
The local health district is proud to provide local high school students with a unique opportunity to experience what it's like to work in health.
After spending the week rotating through the hospital departments, talking with health professionals, and getting hands on with equipment, great interest was sparked among students.
The first time Christine fell, it was in the street outside her local post office. Ninety-seven percent of falls happen in our older community.
April Falls Month is an annual campaign to raise awareness about the impact of falls and to promote the latest best practice fall prevention strategies. The overall campaign goal is to encourage people to get active and improve balance for fall prevention.
Mrs Christine Gleeson in the Mt Druitt Falls Clinic shares her experience and highlights the importance of falls prevention and involving patients in their care planning.
It's well known that poor balance and strength will affect a person's mobility and put them at an increased risk of a fall. So, by improving balance and strength, people can reduce their risk of falling and suffering a fall-related injury.
Research has shown that exercise of any type has been shown to reduce the risk of falling by 23 percent.
For optimal physical and mental health, it is recommended that all adults (regardless of age, health, or ability) to do 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity most days.
To prevent falls and maintain independence this should include exercise or activities that improve strength and balance. It's never too late to get active and every bit of activity helps!
The Critical Intelligence Unit COVID-19 Monitor provides a snapshot of topical information and graphs – generally drawn from international and national sources. This week the Monitor provides updated data on COVID-19 cases, testings, vaccines, hospitalisations and deaths.
In the past weeks, the Critical Intelligence Unit (CIU) Daily Digest has included a range of new articles:
The Daily Digest is available via the Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI) website. To receive the Digest each morning, sign-up by emailing Critical Intelligence Unit.
The Critical Intelligence Unit continues to provide:
Health check in is sent directly to all employees across the health system to keep you informed of important updates. Email story ideas, suggestions or feedback.
