Department of Health, Tasmania

How do we address differing objectives within the team, to enable better collaboration and teamwork?   In a recent webinar livestreamed for all staff at Tasmania’s Department of Health, Dorian Broomhall from Culture and Wellbeing discussed how we do teamwork with guests Gemma Laver, ANUM Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory and Cardiology Outpatient Services; Mark Gregory, Orderly Supervisor; and Ian Thomas, Chief Risk Officer. Within a shift, members of a team may have competing objectives. In this clip, Gemma speaks about the importance of understanding and communicating our differing priorities to working effectively as a team. #tasmania #healthcareers

👩🏻⚕️ Anaesthetic departments across the Tasmanian Health Service showcased the incredible work of the Tasmanian Anaesthetic Simulation Education and Training Network (TASETN), by demonstrating the simulation training for anaesthetists and anaesthetic nurses. “Simulation is a way of learning without real patients,” says Dr Lia Freestone, Specialist Anaesthetist at Royal Hobart Hospital and TASETN Clinical Project Lead. “It improves patient care and patient safety and leads to better clinical performance. This means better outcomes for patients. Its real benefits are improving care of very unwell patients or during emergencies.” Knowing how to identify and manage adverse events during an anaesthetic is a major part of the team’s training and clinical work, shares Dr Justine Heard, Staff Consultant Anaesthetist at Launceston General Hospital. 🏥 At the LGH, the scenario for the simulation activity was the rare but life-threatening airway emergency of not being able to intubate a patient and supply oxygen. “There is a particular stepwise anaesthetic management and well-documented guidelines,” says Justine. “Simulation plays an important role in our education. It also allows us to practise using clear communication between team members, especially important at times of high stress.” Medical students from The University of Tasmania joined in. “The anaesthetic department works closely with UTAS in medical student training and in a variety of simulation activities,” says Justine, “We were grateful to have them involved to help with the debrief and discussion.” ➕ At North West Regional Hospital, the simulation took place in the entrance foyer, and was attended by visitors, medical students, and staff including Paula Hyland, Chief Executive – Hospitals North West. “We simulated induction of a general anaesthetic in which the team had to troubleshoot the management of a difficult airway, which is critically important in keeping our patients safe,” says Dr Holly Sturgess, Staff Specialist - Anaesthetist. “The event was well-received as we demonstrated the importance of simulation not just as a training tool but also as a means to improving communication, teamwork and ultimately, patient care.” 👋 Meet some of our fab anaesthetic teams! 📸 RHH: Dr Lia Freestone and Dale Webster, Acting Secretary for Tasmania’s Department of Health (top left) watch Dr Harry Laughlin (centre) demonstrate the simulation 📸 RHH: PARU Nurse Angie Kirkham and Anaesthetic Nurse Brett McMaster (centre), upskilled through TASETN 📸 LGH: Dr Sam Walker and Dr Justine Heard with medical students Robyn Bosveld, Remy Ortmann, Taronika, Arushi Joshi 📸 LGH: Anaesthetic Nurse Caitlyn Webster, Dr Amelia Yee, Dr Daniel Brownstein 📸 NWRH: Anaesthetic Nurse Kiara Braslin, Dr Morgan Neasey, Dr Nicola Tan 📸 NWRH: Dr Holly Sturgess, Kiara Braslin, Dr Morgan Neasey, Dr Nicola Tan, Clinical Nurse Educator Matt Wooler, Clinical Nurse Educator Emily Charles #healthcareers

In July, Rachael Shotter was booked in for surgery at the Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH), while caring for her autistic son who was scheduled for surgery a week before. “A lot was going on and had to be organised in a very short time,” she recalls. “I was offered a Telehealth appointment as an option to support me in the lead-up to my ENT surgery,” Rachael says, “to go through the requirements prior to surgery and instructions for the day.” Rachael first had an in-person appointment a fortnight before surgery with Registered Nurse Amy Johns and an anaesthetist, where she shared her concerns about other treatments she had scheduled and a possible complication she was experiencing. “Amy organised everything that needed to happen before my surgery, and around my son’s surgery appointments,” she said. “None of that would have happened in that timeframe if it hadn’t been for her.” 👩🏻💻 With a round of reviews, scans and procedures now lined up in the weeks ahead, Rachael used Telehealth to keep her GP updated, and for a final check-in with Amy. “The Telehealth appointment with her really pulled it all together for me, and I felt reassured that nothing had been missed, and that the surgeons and their teams were fully aware of my situation,” she shared. “It allowed me to stay with my disabled son who was recovering from surgery, and still get the confirmation and confidence I needed to face my own journey. “The Telehealth appointment had a few elements and departments involved; the senior anaesthetist was calm, confident and relaxed in his approach over the conference call which made me feel comfortable. He had awareness of the issues, and spoke to me and not at me. I was truly grateful for having access to this service with such skilled, knowledgeable professionals. There is definitely a place where Telehealth appointments would be really helpful and the staff allocated to my case were exceptional!” Thank you Rachael for sharing your story, and thank you, Amy and all our incredible staff! ✨ 📸: Rachael Shotter on the day of her surgery ℹ️ Patients who have an appointment with the Tasmanian Health Service can ask their clinician if the appointment can be done over the telephone or a Telehealth video call. The clinician decides if a teleconsult is okay, such as when no physical examination or tests are needed. This service saves time for patients and staff, and it helps reduce the number of missed or cancelled appointments. #healthcareers #virtualcare #tasmania

Are you ready to grow your medical career in a place that values connection? From working in one our accredited university teaching hospitals, acute and primary health settings, urban or rural locations, the Tasmanian Health Service has unique career opportunities in more than 360 sites. As a Junior Doctors, Registrar, Career Medical Officer, or Staff Specialist, you will find the support, training, and opportunities you need to succeed. Join us and experience: ✅ Collaborative teams and strong partnerships across disciplines ✅ Extensive salary packaging options with excellent leave benefits ✅ Close links to the University of Tasmania and opportunities to participate in research ✅ Accredited teaching hospitals and professional development programs ✅ Generous relocation support and accommodation assistance Want to know more? Explore current vacancies at www.jobs.tas.gov.au or contact us at healthjobstas@health.tas.gov.au. Read more about working in the THS at https://lnkd.in/gVUKeQrt #MedicalCareers #JuniorDoctors #HealthJobsTas #WorkInTasmania #ConnectedCare #HealthCareers #Tasmania #healthtas

Meet two of our newest Occupational Therapists (OTs) in North West Tasmania, Nima Gonzalez-Obst and Caleb Loh! 👋 They are among the Allied Health Scholarship recipients this February who appreciated the support to relocate interstate and work in Tasmanian hospitals. “The scholarship provided a strong incentive to work for the Tasmanian Health Service and helped me establish my life in Tasmania,” shares Nima. OTs help people who have injuries, illnesses or disabilities, to adjust to the challenges of daily living. “Working as a new graduate OT with THS has been fantastic,” Nima adds, “I get so much support and guidance from my colleagues, during dedicated supervision time and tutorials. The new grad tutorials have been invaluable, allowing me to consolidate my learning and reflect with peers on various topics such as stroke rehabilitation, pressure care prevention, and home modifications. “Being in a regional setting has presented unique challenges, offering the opportunity to engage with more complex cases that I might not have encountered so early in my career.” Caleb loves the holistic approach to helping people regain their independence, safely resume everyday activities, and avoid hospital readmissions. OTs work with the person on a plan that will help them safely resume everyday activities and avoid hospital readmissions. “The most rewarding part of my work is seeing someone being able to return to their own home and be able to thrive in their environment,” he says. “Being a new grad OT with the THS has been eye-opening and rewarding. The OT department in the North West is incredibly welcoming and amazingly supports the transition to full-time work. I receive frequent formal and informal supervision and always feel I can seek support from our seniors in the department.” 🙌🏼 It’s OT Week (21-27 October 2024), with World Occupational Therapy Day on Sunday 27 October. This year’s theme highlights the role OTs play in helping people and communities to participate at their best in their daily lives. We thank our OTs across the state for their fantastic care of Tasmanians! #otweek #occupationaltherapy #healthcareers #tasmania

Virtual care technologies play an important role across the Tasmanian Health Service. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a catalyst for this rapid change and innovation, demonstrating the value of virtual care to support new and modified clinical operations within Tasmania’s health system. 🎥 Listen to Dr Paul MacIntyre, Statewide Clinical Lead for Tasmanian Cardiac Services, share his encouragement for patients and clinicians to choose virtual care where clinically appropriate. Virtual care technologies enable more patients to receive care in their home or in their community, and save time for patients and our staff. Enabling patients to access appointments from their own home will reduce the costs and inconvenience associated with travel, reduce the number of missed or cancelled appointments, and support patient wellbeing by avoiding unnecessary travel prior to an operation or procedure. #healthcareers #virtualcare #tasmania

🙋🏽♂️Kent is a team leader with Child and Youth Mental Health Services for Northwest Tasmania. He plays a key role in providing care to children and young people who present with severe, complex and/or acute mental health issues within the region. “Our team works with a multi-disciplinary structure, which provides children and their families access to Child & Adolescent Psychiatrists, Certified Medical Officers, a range of Allied Health professionals, mental health Nurses and Lived Experience workers.” Kent explains, ‘This multidisciplinary approach ensures families have access to the right care and expertise”. “We are focused on the development of new services aimed towards supporting our most vulnerable groups of children and the delivery of specialist mental health assessments, individual and family interventions, group programs and clinics.” Kent highlights working respectfully and collaboratively as one of the key skills in his role. “Due to the often-emotive nature of our work, being able to work through these moments respectfully, in a collaborative manner with an evidenced based and person-centred approach is an important foundation I base my work on.” he said. When asked for advice for parents concerned about their child’s mental health, Kent suggests being proactive. “If your child is showing signs of learning or behavioural difficulties, its important to seek early assessment,” he advises, adding that the presence of underlying and unsupported neurological disorders are a common factor present in young people who develop mental health disorders. “I would advocate for parents being curious about their child’s world, by actively tuning into their interests and concerns alike, in a non-judgmental way.” “Be a good listener, and support activities that help your child build a strong sense of self, resilience, and self-care. This will give them the tools they need to face challenges both now and in the future.” Reflecting on his work, Kent shares, “Hearing and seeing the stories of individual and family resilience, which result in a child or young person moving away from mental ill health and towards their best life is a beautiful thing, which inspires all those who have had a small part in their recovery journey. “ 🙏 We thank Kent for his work and all our Child and Youth Mental Health Workers supporting the health and wellbeing of young Tasmanians across the state. ℹ️ If you’d like to hear more of Kent’s story, visit https://lnkd.in/gm5M3jM9 If you’d like to know more about the service please visit: https://lnkd.in/gTtTPyrg Call Access Mental Health on 1800 332 388 (24/7) for information about the Tasmanian mental health system and referral to public mental health services. #healthcareers #mentalhealth #tasmania

Registrations are closing soon for the Tasmanian Nursing and Midwifery Symposium and Tasmanian Public Sector Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards! Join us for our annual conference at Wrest Point Convention Centre, Hobart on 15 November 2024. This year's theme Dive Deep, Soar High promises an inspiring day featuring national and international keynote speakers, presentations from nurses and midwives from across the state, and the exciting opportunity to network with colleagues from all areas of practice. Keynote Speakers are: • Christine Pabico – Director, Pathways to Excellence Program, American Nurses Credentialing Centre • Dr Zoe Bradfield - President of the Australian College of Midwives and Associate Professor Midwifery at Curtin University • Stephanie Trethewey - 2024 Australian of the Year for Tasmania and founder/CEO of national charity 'Motherland'. 🎫 Don't miss out, book your ticket at: https://lnkd.in/gEx58_b8 💁 Following the Symposium, the Tasmanian Public Sector Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards will be hosted. The Awards recognise and acknowledge the significant contribution nurses and midwives make individually and/or collectively to the people they care for within our public hospitals, the community, public health and primary health care sectors of Tasmania through their practice. ℹ️ To learn more, visit https://lnkd.in/gM6mNwgs #NursingExcellence #MidwiferyExcellence #NursingAwards #MidwiferyAwards #TasmanianNurses #Symposium #TASNMS2024 #Tasmania #HealthTas

Care@home is a state-wide, interdisciplinary service that remotely supports patients with an acute respiratory illness to manage illnesses and chronic conditions at home. Since June, Care@home has been collaborating with Cardiac Rehabilitation Coordinators across Tasmania to increase patient access to the cardiac rehabilitation program, via the Cardihab application. This care model helps optimise health for people at risk of or living with, heart disease. Cardihab targets patients facing difficulties that prevent them from attending the cardiac rehabilitation face-to-face group or individual clinics. It helps clinicians to remotely deliver a scientifically validated, comprehensive, cardiac rehab program based on Australian guidelines. 🙌🏼 95% of patients who began using Cardihab with Care@home have completed the six-week cardiac rehab program, delivering over 200 appointments in the last four months. “I really enjoy working with patients in the Cardihab program, which has broadened my practice,” says Registered Nurse Jess Wieczorski. “Recovering from a cardiac event can be overwhelming and it is great that I can provide support and advice to patients in the comfort of their own home. It is rewarding to see patients making positive lifestyle changes from the education our service provides, and the feedback from patients on the program has been tremendously positive.” Thank you to our teams across the state who are working hard to enable the delivery of safe, effective and confidential healthcare anywhere! 📸 (from left to right): Meet some of the wonderful Registered Nurses at Care@home, Lynnelle Barton-Johnson, Elysia Hodge and Jess Wieczorski Care@home’s expansion will go live in December 2024, and is aimed to improve patient health outcomes and reduce preventable hospital admissions. https://lnkd.in/gRJ4kciE #virtualcare #healthcareers #tasmania

🧑🏻💻It’s Virtual Care Awareness Week (21 – 27 October 2024)! Here are some ways that virtual care technologies are transforming how care is delivered across the health system. Patients with a healthcare appointment with the Tasmanian Health Service that doesn’t require a physical examination, may ask their clinician to have a telephone consultation or a Telehealth video call. This particularly helps patients in regional and remote areas. There’s virtual care in the support services, too. Access Mental Health is the 24x7 phoneline providing mental health support, triage and referral to the public mental health services. By not requiring in-person consultations, the phoneline helps people to overcome difficulties with travel time or mobility in accessing timely care. The GoodSAM app, launched by Ambulance Tasmania with support from the Heart Foundation, provides lifesaving care in cardiac arrest emergencies. GoodSAM’s video-calling features help improve patient care by enabling on-scene crews to access additional clinical resources through virtual consultations. Virtual care is expanding at the Department of Health, Tasmania, in line with the Long Term Plan for Healthcare in Tasmania 2040, which recognises the need for, and patients’ preference for, receiving hospital-level care within the community. Expansion plans are underway for Hospital@home, a virtual ward in Southern and North Tasmania. It provides acute hospital care where clinically appropriate for adult patients in their residence or community facility. Care@home is a state-wide interdisciplinary service that remotely supports eligible patients in managing illnesses and chronic conditions at home. Its expansion, aimed to improve patient health outcomes and reduce preventable hospital admissions, will go live in December 2024. Pictured here are some of the staff at the Royal Hobart Hospital’s Pre-Admission Clinic, which is accommodating more appointments via Telehealth. At the Pre-Admission Clinic, patients scheduled for an elective surgery or procedure, are booked into a virtual appointment to assess their health and medical history, and provide information about what to expect up to and following surgery. This service helps reduce the number of missed or cancelled appointments, and supports patient wellbeing by avoiding unnecessary travel prior to an operation or procedure. 📸 (from left to right): Amy Johns (Registered Nurse), Giri Chandrashekar (Telehealth Coordinator) and Angela Banks (Acting NUM) We thank all our incredible staff for the amazing virtual care and support they provide across the state! 🙌🏼 #healthcareers #virtualhealthcare #virtualcare #tasmania