Thank you to the clinicians, health managers, consumers and stakeholders who work with us to drive healthcare innovations across NSW.
Clinical network updates
A Palliative care video library of 43 educational videos has been recently reviewed and updated by respected experts and specialists in their field. The videos aim to better equip health professionals and other partners to gain confidence and specialised knowledge in the delivery of appropriate palliative care to people in need. Topics covered include communication; families and carers; physical and clinical; psychological; service delivery and care coordination; and spiritual and cultural.
Positive language in pain consultations
People living with chronic pain can sometimes feel shame, disapproval or judgement about the validity of their pain. A new guide to Positive language in pain consultations offers advice for clinicians on using positive language when caring for people experiencing chronic pain. It aims to reduce stigma and improve a patient's health outcomes and self-reliance.
Toolkit to support young people with chronic pain
Adolescents and young people need resources and support to maintain engagement with adult services. The network has published an updated toolkit to support young people with chronic pain to transition to adult services. The toolkit guides adult and paediatric pain management services to make appropriate modifications to their services to allow young people a successful transition into adult services.
Chronic pain virtual care toolkit
The recently updated Chronic pain virtual care toolkit provides information specific to clinicians delivering pain management services via virtual care in NSW hospitals. This updated toolkit, including an implementation checklist, describes the virtual care service model for chronic pain, which connects local health districts to primary care.
New chronic wound management resources
Several recently published video and web resources are now available to support chronic wound management. Read more in the article Improving chronic wound management through workforce development .
The Statewide Burn Injury Service (SBIS) welcomes Kate Welsh to the Executive as our new Co-Chair. Kate is Clinical Nurse Consultant at Royal North Shore Hospital's Severe Burn Unit, bringing extensive experience and knowledge to contribute towards improving care delivery to people with a burn injury.
The SBIS would also like to farewell two outstanding clinicians who have given their time and expertise to burn care in NSW, and beyond. Thank you to Deborah Maze for 28 years of service at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead Burn Service, as a nurse leader, teacher and clinical nurse consultant.
Thanks and farewell to Peter Campbell, who is leaving the position of Burn Nurse Practitioner at Royal North Shore Hospital Burns Ambulatory Care Clinic after working in burns and plastics for more than 30 years at Royal North Shore and Concord Hospitals. The SBIS wishes him all the best in his new role establishing in-person and virtual wound care clinics at Hunter New England Local Health District.
New videos: Finding a GP and specialist referrals
The Transition Care Network (TCN) has developed two videos: Finding a general practitioner and Getting a referral to help young people find a general practitioner and to understand the referral process for specialists. The network collaborated with consumers and Northern Sydney Local Health District youth health consultants to produce the videos. We thank everyone for their contributions and hope these short videos can be shared widely to reach young people, especially those moving from children’s to adult health services.
Join the Executive Committee
Would you like the chance to help improve the transition journey for young people and carers? Expressions of interest are open to join the TCN Executive Committee, for individuals with an active interest in the health needs of young people with chronic conditions or disability, and improving their transition from paediatric to adult health services. The committee is seeking people with a broad range of skills and expertise, including rural and regional health, adult health, Aboriginal health and primary care services.
On 1 September, the Urology Network held the first statewide Nephrostomy Workshop at the Royal Prince Alfred Institute for Academic Surgery. This innovative workshop offered clinicians theoretical and practical training through the use of anatomically correct torso models.
The workshop was facilitated both face-to-face and virtually, with presentations by expert clinicians, including a urology fellow, radiology fellow, nurse practitioner, radiology nurse and a training team of clinical nurse educators.
The workshop was well received, offering a high level of training to 29 participants from regional and metropolitan areas. The network is exploring the opportunity to run further workshops in 2024.
Statewide program updates
Virtual Care Exchange Forum
The Virtual Care Exchange Forum (VCEF) is a community of practice that engages with participants demonstrating innovation in healthcare. It is facilitated by experts and clinical champions who openly share their insights and experiences (successes and failures) when integrating technology into clinical care.
During Virtual Care Awareness Week, 16-22 October, the ACI Virtual Care team hosted a series of three VCEF events. Access the forums and find more information. The final VCEF for 2023 will be held on 16 November.
Join the Virtual Care Network to receive updates on the 2024 schedule and invitations to the forum.
Virtual Care Central updates
Virtual Care Central (VCC) is the ACI’s comprehensive resource hub accessible to all NSW Health staff. Following user feedback, the resource section has been reviewed and restructured to make resources easier to find, improve categorisation and eliminate duplication. The hub aims to provide a seamless experience that encourages cross-collaboration and allows users to effortlessly navigate related topics. Your feedback and suggestions are essential to the ongoing improvement and expansion of VCC.
Visiting Illawarra Shoalhaven LHD
The team was delighted to visit the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD) Virtually Enhanced Community Care (VeCC) service in October.
The ISLHD VeCC service is a versatile and multidisciplinary program designed to empower patients in the community to take charge of their health conditions. It offers a range of care options, including remote patient monitoring, aiming to reduce the risk of hospitalisation and support early hospital discharge.
Their service assists patients and their carers in effectively managing their healthcare needs, offering support with care navigation, care coordination and health coaching.
The ACI team gained valuable insights from the visit, which will help inform the development of the statewide remote patient monitoring implementation guidelines. We are documenting our experience and look forward to sharing this as part of an upcoming Virtual Care Spotlight in the coming months.
Thanks to the ISLHD team for their warm welcome and sharing their experiences.