Murdoch Monthly September 2022

A message from the CEO

our new recruits as quickly as possible and making them at home here.

depending on which bank you are with.

Welcome to the September Murdoch Monthly.

Recruitment

We are seeing our very proactive recruitment efforts pay off. We have recruited over 650 new caregivers in the last 12 months.

We still have gaps in some Departments though and I am delighted to say that Jobsfest earlier this month was a huge success. Over 200 people attended, many were interviewed on the day and over 80 walked out of the Hospital with written employment offers. Our focus is now on onboarding

Lots of the candidates are from other Perth hospitals (private & public). Many commented on the difference between Murdoch and where they currently work. They mentioned the warmth, fun and welcoming culture of Murdoch. It is undoubtedly a challenging time across the whole health system and I recognise that life isn’t perfect here however it was reassuring to hear that our Hospital and caregivers stand out for positive reasons. St John of God Health Care Group are also kicking off an International Recruitment drive which will strongly assist our recruitment efforts.

Pay day change

From Monday, 24 October 2022 onwards, your pay will be deposited into your account one business day later than it currently is.

This means, you will receive your first impacted pay on Thursday 27 or Friday 28 October 2022,

Please ensure your direct debit arrangements are in order ahead of the change.

2022 Murdoch Ball

This year’s Murdoch Ballour biggest ever was EPIC once again. See page 4 for some photos hot off the press (including our outstanding Best Dressed!), watch the highlights video and stay tuned for more photos soon.

The generosity of our Murdoch heroes was in full force too, with $18,000 raised for our Charity of the Year, Djaalinj Waakinj through the Ball raffle. Thank you to everyone who bought tickets and congratulations to our winners.

Thank you also to all of you who worked on the National Day of Mourning public holiday You’re awesome.

Ben

Perioperative Course Immersion

We recently hosted a group of Nursing Students from The University of Notre Dame for a Perioperative Immersion Day. The immersion included four 2 hour sessions taking

the nursing students through the department, explaining processes and procedures and perioperative nursing roles. Notre Dame facilitators took the students through, one of

them being our very own Scrub Nurse Eunice! It's great to see our future nurses so excited and energised to learn and immerse themselves.

Reflection

Foundation Day is on October 7.

The founding story of St John of God Health Care is one of dedication, faithfulness, and courage – one of truly making a difference. Such was the Sisters commitment to their Christian faith that they left the familiarity of their homes and communities and travelled across the world to put their beliefs into action.

I often wonder about the first impressions of the Sisters as they arrived in sunny Western Australia to commence the work of the Church all those years ago. How different it must have been for them and how many challenges and struggles lay ahead? What inner strength would they need to find as they bravely and consistently overcame the difficulties they faced? And there must have been many - apart from the weather (hot), their dislocation and distance from the familiarity of home, the lack of resources, the overwhelming needs of those around them, and the pressure to build a sense of community.

The love of Christ was described by the Sisters as a motivating factor that urged them on in their work and it was clear by the care they provided that they made a significant difference to the lives of many. Such was

A tree for Jacob

A beautiful tree has been planted in the hospital grounds in memory of Jacob, Sarah-Jayne and Vic’s son. In a lovely ceremony, caregivers took part in a tree planting out by the lake, with specks of pink spotted around the group – Jacob’s favourite colour.

The wonderful Quality and Risk team have offered to look after Jacob’s already thriving tree, until its roots are established.

their calling and passion that they excelled in creative and life affirming ways.

Foundation Day is an occasion to remember and acknowledge our own moment in history, and envision the future with hope and fidelity. Maybe we might ask ourselves how the Sisters story impacts our own –where can we derive inspiration or encouragement? What motivates us in our work? And how might we develop inner strength and bravery to step into, rather than away from challenges that arise for us?

Let us believe, like the Sisters of St John of God, that we too make a significant difference, in creative and life affirming ways as we transform the lives of others by our care.

Happy Foundation Day Everyone! Jenni Ashton

Our twelve caregivers of the months as well as two sneaky stand ins!

2022 Murdoch Ball

Hot

Best Dressed for 2022:

First prize – Rhonda and Tahlia (RNs) from St Francis

Second prize – Marie Lam from Hospice and husband Tony (as black widow and captain america)

Third prize – Cheryl Eldridge from St Elizabeth as Starlight

Patient Experience Matters

Murdoch NPS

AUGUST

Surgicentre

St

Bridget

St

St Michael's

St

Emilie

Caregiver of the Month

Murdoch patientsare saying:

Comment 1:

LUKE'S

Thank you for making my hospital stay as

as it could be.

Comment 2:

CLANCY

Great care and very attentive nurses. Surgeon and anaesthetic both extremely experienced and put me at ease. Great experience all round.

Comment 3:

Although they were quite busy, the nurses and

were so nice and amazing, they kept checking in on me and letting me know what was going on, although they were very busy

continually checked on me and they were so nice. I felt like I was taken care of so well.

World Patient Safety Day –“Medication Without Harm”

Author: Director of Pharmacy Richard Grainger

The important role of pharmacy in medication safety

The safety of our patients, clients and caregivers is always our highest priority. World Patient Safety Day is celebrated yearly on 17 September to enhance patient safety and reduce patient harm, through greater engagement in health care safety around the globe.

Medication intervention in patient care is the most common action we make in healthcare when treating a condition. This also means that problems with medicine use are also common.

Facts and figures from the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia:

• 250,000 hospital admissions annually are the result of medication-related concern.

• The annual costs for Australia is approximately $1.4 billion

• An additional 400,000 presentations to emergency departments are attributed to medication-related concerns.

• Over 90% of patients have at least one medication-related problem post-discharge from hospital.

• 50% of medication related harm is considered preventable.

Pharmacy services play an important role in improving medication safety during a patients stay and at the point of discharge. Epic Pharmacy

Murdoch supports SJGMH and your patients in the following ways:

• Providing education to caregivers through presentations and written publications.

• Completing Best Possible Medication History (BPMH) so that Medical Officers can have a reliable source of information when deciding on a patient’s treatment.

• Providing comprehensive discharge medication lists for patients who are at risk of a medication misadventure or entering transitional care.

• Counselling patients on their new medications during their stay or at the point of discharge.

Epic Pharmacy are also involved with medication safety clinical governance. A pharmacy representative sits on clinical standard committees across the hospital including infection control, antimicrobial stewardship, and medication safety committee.

We help develop and review policies to aid in the

management of medication such as the antimicrobial restricted formulary (the traffic light system), high-risk medications (APINCH drugs) and the storage and transport of controlled medications.

Epic Pharmacy maintain a roster of specialised pharmacists who hold portfolios of Medication Safety, Opioid Stewardship and Antimicrobial Stewardship.

Epic Pharmacy also collaborate with SJGMH to conduct various audits to ensure polices and procedure are being followed and are having the desired outcome on improving patient safety.

The team at Epic Pharmacy

Foundation Day 2022 Foundation Day

making a difference

6am

Gingernut

the

call Ferns (88774)

Fontenays (89175)

Murdoch

11.30am

only.

1.30pm

to Djaalinj Waakinj

welcome.

2.30pm

Foundation Story

New Clinical Nurse Consultant role to help cancer patients and their families

Comprehensive cancer support made possible at St John of God Murdoch Hospital thanks to generous gift from grateful patient

According to the Cancer Council, one in two Australians will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85. For patients and their families, receiving a cancer diagnosis can be a terrifying, confusing and isolating time.

Thanks to generous donor support, St John of God Murdoch Hospital is establishing a new Clinical Nurse Consultant for Cancer Services, so that the hospital can offer patients and their families’ crucial support from diagnosis and throughout the cancer journey.

This position, which was only made possible through a compassionate gift from a grateful hospital patient, will enable the hospital to provide comprehensive cancer support services, coordinating the existing Clinical Nurse Specialist

Welcoming our Grads

roles for prostate, breast and colorectal cancer, and also providing endto-end support for all patients diagnosed with other types of cancer. This provides patients with essential continuity of care throughout their cancer journey.

Marie Condon is the newly appointed Clinical Nurse Consultant for cancer patients and families at St John of God Murdoch Hospital, thanks to generous donor support.

The Clinical Nurse Consultant will also build an important relationship with each patient they support, becoming a trusted, consistent and knowledgeable point of contact for the patient and their family.

The position will support St John of God Murdoch Hospital’s existing oncology team, including oncologists, surgeons, Cancer Centre caregivers and oncology researchers.

There is also potential for the Clinical Nurse Consultant to

provide and capture extensive data that can contribute to ground-breaking and transformational national research across different cancer types.

St John of God Health Care believes in providing compassionate and holistic care for both patients and their families throughout the cancer journey, and thanks to generous donor funding, this position will allow us to do that in a coordinated way that will provide vital care and support at a time where people need it most.

We are so excited to have 21 new enrolled and registered nurses start their graduate nursing and midwifery programs with us mid-August!

This program is designed to give our graduate nurses supported clinical experiences in our hospital which include rotations in a variety of speciality areas.

We can't wait to watch you all thrive - welcome to the Murdoch family!

Jobsfest

Recruitment has been and continues to be our number one top priority. Here are some fun facts about our recent Jobsfest, which was a huge success!

involvedthank you!

St John of God Murdoch is the first hospital in Perth to run a Jobsfest where experienced nurses could be offered a job on the day!

offers made - huge success!

These new caregivers are now completing their paperwork and arranging their start dates.

We anticipate these new caregivers will start over the next few weeks.

nurses (including some students and grads) attended

We recruited to almost every clinical area including Theatres, ED, DPU and most wards.

New recruits were able to chat to our caregivers and get a feel for our culture and work environment, while also seeing the professional development and learning opportunities that are available at Murdoch.

The two sessions received an overwhelmingly positive response and we look forward to welcoming a group of new excited faces to the Murdoch family.

OHS Update

It’s time for some spring cleaning!

There are a few things that we need to look out for to make sure our hospital is as safe as possible at all times.

Fire doors

All fire equipment including fire exits, fire hose reels and fire extinguishers, should have at least one metre of clearance around them at all times. This is to make sure that they are easily accessible when they are required for use. This includes

Know who your Departmental Health & Safety Representative (HSR) is

All areas have a departmental HSR. A HSR is responsible for helping both caregivers and managers to manage safety matters in the area. This is done by attending monthly meetings where safety concerns can be raised, as well as complete inspections of their areas to make sure that any hazards present are addressed.

ensuring there are no beds, wheelchairs or Sara Stedy’s in front of fire equipment.

Clutter

Throughout the course of the year it is easy to hold onto and store various things in a way which eventually builds up into clutter. It’s time to do a spring clean and get rid of anything that is unnecessary and reorganise how equipment is stored. Try to make sure that there isn’t anything stored on the floor, instead store in cabinets and on shelves.

Chemical Safety

Do you know what a MSDS file is?

An MSDS file contains information on the frequently used chemicals in any area and how to safely dispose of, or treat someone who is exposed to the chemical. If you are unsure where your MSDS file is in your area, please make sure to ask your HSR!

Keeping up with Housekeeping

Our Housekeeping team have been busy working towards some impressive goals. Check out what they have been getting up to.

Na Zhu has been studying nursing and starts her placement program with SJGMH next year.

Na Zhu is currently enrolled in the Diploma of Nursing course with South Metropolitan TAFE and will graduate at the end of this year. She has successfully completed placements in aged care at Sir Charles Gairdner hospital and Graylands hospital. During two stages of Clinical Placements, Na Zhu was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work in a multidisciplinary team where she was able to incorporate an understanding of intraprofessional and interprofessional learning. Recently, Na Zhu said she is fortunate enough to have received a graduate program from St John of God Murdoch Hospital, starting next year.

Amazing work Housekeeping team!

Ting has completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Physiotherapy and is currently waiting for her results to be finalised by Curtin University, to become officially registered.

This Curtin University Bachelor of Physiotherapy takes four years full-time to complete, with a high practical load along the way.

result.” This GPA gives Julie a higher chance of getting into the very competitive Bachelor of Midwifery course, which she will find out about by the end of the year. Julie will be studying part time in this direct entry course through Charles Darwin University. It’s a very intense course involving online study, clinical placements and following 15 women and their families through their antenatal, birth and post-partum journeys. Julie has big aspirations for her future in midwifery and says she is “very passionate about supporting women and holding space for them in this time of their lives.” Julie said she would love to work in community midwifery, and further her studies as a lactation consultant. Julie said she is “so happy” she took the leap, a few steps closer to her dream job!

Julie has worked in Housekeeping at Murdoch for five years. She recently completed a Tertiary Enabling Course through Charles Darwin University and was extremely nervous to start, after not having studied for a very long time. Between working full time, raising three children and studying, Julie is proud of what she has achieved. She came away with a GPA of 6.5 and said she was both “shocked and so, so proud of this amazing

Sohana says “being a nurse was my dream, finally it’s come true ” While she was working, she began her nursing studies and had her third baby while doing so – no small feat. Sohana says, “thank you to every one who helped me during my studies, especially Dot who encouraged me every step of the way I would like to thank housekeeping and mail services for their support throughout my progress and also Michael for giving me opportunity to be a part of his team ”

Prostate Cancer Awareness month

Did you know Prostate Cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australian men with 20,000 diagnoses and close to 3,300 deaths each year? Prostate cancer kills more men than breast cancer kills women.

This Prostate Cancer Awareness month, we continue to encourage all men over 50 years of age, or 40 years if they have a family history of prostate cancer to talk to their GP about testing for prostate cancer, as part of their regular health check-up.

Russell Reyes, Murdoch’s Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurse, did a presentation earlier in the month on Sex and Hormones. Due to the calibre of presentation, Russell has been

invited by GenesisCare to present this talk at a big education session at Crown in November.

Russell said he feels “privileged” and it is an “honour” for him to present amongst a panel of highly esteemed speakers.

Christmas Decorating

Announcing this year’s Christmas Decorating theme…

This year’s theme is a continuation on from this years ball… Healthcare Heroes!

This theme has been chosen, so we can keep recognising our Healthcare heroes and continue the theme into the end of 2022.

The theme gives departments the opportunities to showcase either their work and/or link to the many heroes of the Christmas story. This theme can

be easily expanded and incorporates all caregivers, no matter the area you work.

Criteria for this years’ Christmas Decoration Competition:

• Teamwork and creativity that comes together with a great visual effect

• Materials that have been recycled/repurposed/ self-made

• Interpretations of the theme that get people smiling, bring

This year’s awareness month is extra special, as the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia is celebrating 10 years of leadership and care from the Prostate Cancer Nurse Specialist (PCNS) in 2022.

a sense of joy, and are also consistent with our mission and values.

Gloria – fiddle squares

A big thank you to Gloria who read an article about our Fiddle Square project and was inspired to go home and spend hours knitting and crocheting some creations for patients with dementia and delirium. These squares are a sensory tool, which help to provide comfort and reduce anxiety.

“After picking up the Hospital magazine, I went home that night and found some squares I had left over after making a Fremantle Dockers blanket. I spent hours putting them together, time goes by fast when you really enjoy yourself.”

Gloria is getting together with her sister and sister-in-law to make some more, which we can’t wait to see!

Mandorla art awards

Did you catch the Mandorla Art Award Exhibition while it was at Murdoch?

This is Australia’s most significant thematic Christian art prize, attracting some of the country’s finest artists since its inception in 1985. SJGHC is proud to be the major sponsor of the award.

Pictured here is SJGHC's new Art curator Carina McPherson (left) with Lyn Di Ciero (right)

who is the Curator for the Mandorla Art Award. Lyn paid us a friendly visit on installation day!

This is the first installation Carina has coordinated at Murdoch, as SJGHC’s new art curator. She has a history of extensive experience in the art space, including nearly 10 years at the State Library of Western Australia.

If you missed the exhibition, never fear, there is new artwork up in the linking corridor already!

Taking the leap from EN to RN

Natalie Pearce, EN on St Francis Ward, is currently completing an RN conversion course through Charles Darwin University.

During her placement at the University, Natalie has completed a stint in our Emergency Department, on St Joseph’s ward and more recently on St Emilie’s ward.

Natalie is close to becoming a Registered Nurse and we cannot wait to see her thrive.

If any caregivers are currently completing education and are interested in a 2023 placement, please contact Tania Welsh via tania.welsh@ sjog.org.au

We love growing our own and we would love to hear from you!

Natalie (kneeling) is pictured here with St Emilie’s caregivers during her recent placement.

Employer Support award presented to Murdoch

St John of God Murdoch Hospital recently won the WA Private Sector-Large category award at the WA Employer Support Awards, on the nomination of Signaller Emma-Lee Jeavons.

Defence Reserves and Employer Support (DRES) host an annual Employer Support Awards evening for supportive employers of the reserve workforce.

Held across the nation, winning businesses are selected from five categories with the winners given a chance to receive a national award for their support to Australian Defence Reservists.

Emma-Lee, who is a Signaller for the Army Reserves and a Registered Nurse at Murdoch on St Francis ward, nominated St John of God Murdoch Hospital for the award.

SJGMH were honoured to accept the winning award for the WA Private Sector-Large Category, with Director of Business and

‘Loo roll lottery’

Head Joint Support Services Division Major General Douglas Laidlaw AM CSC with Signaller Emma-Lee Jeavons and Ben Dellar, St John of God Murdoch Hospital’s Director Business and Service Development, at the annual WA Employer Support Awards event in Perth.

Service Development Ben Dellar accepting on the hospital’s behalf.

“We are very proud to receive this honour, nominated by our caregiver and Army Reservist Emma-Lee. We value her contribution to the Defence Force, to us as an employer, and will continue to support and protect the employment of all caregivers who undertake defence service now and in the future.”

The role of Signaller, which Emma-Lee holds, includes duties like providing communications, information systems, cyberspace operations and electronic warfare (CISEW) support to the Army and the Australian Defence Force to allow command and control of deployed forces in peace, crisis and conflict on any operation anywhere around the world.

CDS love to get creative with their fundraising efforts, and this time held a ‘Loo roll lottery’, which is exactly how it sounds!

Through raffle ticket sales, CDS raised $240 for Djaalinj Waakinj.

Cheryl Eldridge was the winner, taking home a $30 Coles Myer voucher.

CDS want to thank everyone who bought one or more loo rolls for their fundraiser!

Diabetes case study wins national award

Diabetes Educator Shona Vigus won a national ‘People’s Choice award” for a case study she presented at the 2022 Australasian Diabetes congress.

Researchers, diabetes educators, doctors and nurses from all over the region gather at the Australasian Diabetes Congress (ADC) each year for three full days of content, learning about the latest research, up and coming developments on products and technology, diabetes medications and more.

The conference looks at results of many diabetes related research projects around Australia in hospitals, communities and rural settings across a range of areas including, but not limited to, diabetes in pregnancy, type 1 and type 2.

Shona presented her case study in a session called ‘People’s Choice Award: Libre Flash Case Studies.’

“It’s a competition that any diabetes educator from around

Australia can enter by submitting a 1000 word case study of a patient using the Libre flash glucose monitor,” Shona said.

“The top 10 submissions receive free registration to the congress, and the top four presented their case study at the People’s Choice award session.

“The audience voted for their favourite case study and I was named the national winner.”

Shona’s case study presented Ron* who developed type 3c diabetes subsequent to pancreatic cancer. He has had to learn how to manage insulinrequiring diabetes while also navigating cancer treatment.

Ron* has managed exceptionally well, taking charge of his own health choices, and using the Libre flash sensor to inform his insulin dose adjustments.

“We collaborated on the presentation together and I really enjoyed the opportunity to share his story. He is convinced that the reason we won was

because he included a joke, which I filmed and included in the presentation.” Shona said.

St John of God Murdoch Hospital Allied Health Manager Liz Gomez praised Shona’s dedication and expertise in the diabetes field.

“We are very lucky to have Shona as our experienced and passionate Credentialed Diabetes Educator at Murdoch. Shona continues to drive evidence based practice and quality improvement in order to strive for excellence. She is well respected within her specialty and strongly demonstrated this at the recent Australasian Diabetes Congress.”

Shona and *Ron had the opportunity to catch up after winning the case study award, where Shona took the opportunity to provide him with an official copy of the study.

*Ron is used as an alias name to protect the privacy of the patient.

Shona presenting her winning case study at theAustralasian Diabetes Congress

Shona and Ron* are happily pictured together inthe Murdoch Cancer Centre after the winning casestudy is announced. Ron* is absolutely chuffed atShona’s achievement and couldn’t be more proudthat his case study won a national award

Welcoming Sunny to the Murdoch family

Many of you will have met our new ray of sunshine, Sunny the Wellbeing Dog.

She is comfortably settling into

her workplace and is loving being around people all day, while learning to be our wellbeing dog. Sunny even got to meet and play with some therapy dogs we are

lucky enough to welcome on occasion to the hospital. Check out a few happy snaps of some of Sunny’s first days with us at Murdoch.

Ready to up your style game?

Feeling like your identity is shaped by your profession, shift after shift, unable to connect to the personal style you dream about? Do you look at your wardrobe constantly thinking there is nothing to wear? Want to break out and reflect the person you are, wearing clothes that bring out your sense of essence and confidence?

Enter the fashion stylist raffle, where two lucky caregivers could be in the chance to win a FREE styling consultation, wardrobe makeover and personal shopping experience package, to redefine the look and feel of your radiant, inner self!

Normally these packages are valued at $1400 if you were to hire a personal stylist, but are up for grabs for two lucky caregivers.

A message from Liz:

I’m Liz Mudri, social worker, and soon to be Fashion Stylist graduate in the coming months!

I am excited to develop my skills, so as part of SJG Excellence Charity of the Year, Djaalinj Waakinj, and SJG Murdoch Social Work Department, I would like

to offer my services as First and Second prize, and the third prize, 2 x Float-with-aFriend gift cards, at Salt Float Studio, in South Perth.

The Styling Packages are inclusive of a style consultation, wardrobe makeover, personal shopping session and wardrobe integration. All money raised will go towards the Djaalinj Waakinj charity, to provide free ear procedures to Indigenous children from southern Perth.

Tickets are available from the Social Work office (next to Room 17 on Thomas Furlong), between 8am and 9am, and 12:30 to 13:00, on Thursday 6 - Friday 7 October and Thursday 13 - Friday 14 October. Entries close and drawn on Friday 14 October.

$5

ticket,

tickets, EFTPOS available.

Email Liz.Mudri@sjog.org.au for more details.

Last months doc was: Professor Peter Bremner

National Health Information Management Week

From the 22-26 August, we celebrated National Health Information Management Week. Since opening our doors to patients in 1994, the Health Information department has grown tremendously and has moved multiple times throughout the hospital, including what is now known to be Patient Admin and MURTEC.

5 Facts About the Health Information Department:

1. We currently only store 18 months’ worth of records onsite! The rest are stored in our offsite storage facility.

2. We have not disposed or destroyed any records EVER!

3. The reason we are located on Lower Ground floor is due to the weight of all the records.

CDS Corner

Prof Yates Genie Genius

Our genius who has helped us fix Genie…

We all love our technology, don’t we?

In a world where it’s meant to make life easier, save us time etc The reality is it does not always behave perfectly.

Genie is a program used by many of our specialists here at Murdoch and it enables them to easily type up their operation records and then print onto our hospital operation records.

CDS were having some issues with it not printing accurately

4. Our most expensive piece of equipment down here is our Scanners! These machines assist with our Scanned Health Record system and cost about $25k each.

5. You may have seen Jo around the hospital – she one of our most dedicated Caregivers in the department and has been here since the doors opened on the 14th of February 1994!!

onto the proforma and not being clear for our Clinical coding team to read.

A huge thanks to Professor Piers Yates and Practice Manager Vihara for coming to the rescue. Vihara has worked with the company that make Genie and Professor Yates has added a couple of extra steps to make sure our coders can read every word of his operation records.

We will now roll this out to any of our other Surgeons who are having the same issues.

Turning Murdoch Pink

Murdoch

Discounted mammogram

at Murdoch SKG is providing

mammograms

SJOG caregivers: -those with a

AND clinical history / indications

be bulk billed.

-those with a

only

offered a $80 out-of-pocket

which

heavily discounted.

Alternatively, the

older. Telephone 132050 to find the nearest centre.