Executive messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

All hands on deck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

RPA screening study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Leading the way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Fighting diabetes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Staff spotlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Get moving this STEPtember . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

COVID-19 option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

ED welcome wagon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Quick takes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Sydney – it’s your local health districtHealthMattersISSUE 83 • SEPTEMBER 2020

with Lifehouse board member Gail O’Brien and patient experience manager Lorainne Brecard named as her godmothers.

Five months after Natalia’s birth, Maria died, and staff from both hospitals came together again for a memorial service.

There are some extraordinary successes in our hospitals, and some very dark days.

But we have immense pride in our staff for their tireless care and collaboration in going above and beyond for our patients and their families each and every day.

A higher love

A precious moment between Maria and Natalia, made possible by hospital staff

CONT

ENTS

Working together to provide the most compassionate care for our patients is what we do best.

When trainee chef Maria Calibag was 29 years old and pregnant, she experienced acute stomach pains.

Doctors found she had stage four colorectal cancer and urgent plans were made to deliver her daughter, Natalia, two days later at RPA.

Born eight weeks early, Natalia was admitted to our neonatal intensive care unit, where Maria held her in her arms and sang her the theme song Tomorrow from the musical Annie – before she was immediately admitted to Chris O’Brien Lifehouse for palliative chemotherapy and radiation.

Between treatments, Maria and her husband, Julian, regularly walked the tunnels under the campus to visit their new daughter.

Eventually, Natalia was discharged – not to her home, but to Lifehouse where staff quickly pulled together a baby’s nursery on the ward, bringing in clothes, sheets, towels and a bouncer, while RPA staff collected money to buy a bassinet.

Staff also helped the couple organise a christening at St Joseph’s in Camperdown,

2 HealthMatters • Sydney – it’s your local health district

SEPTEMBER 2020

Executive Messages

Message from the Chair, District Board

Message from the Chief Executive

Each and every member of the Sydney Local Health District team should be extremely proud of their performance during 2020. Your level of commitment and drive during this difficult time is inspiring.

We recently saw Redfern Health Centre celebrate 10 years of operation. This clinic offers valuable health services to the community, and continues to do so with a COVID‑19 clinic set up in the former court room. Our team, in conjunction with the Aboriginal Medical Service, is seeing about 200 people a day for swabs or flu shots.

I’m excited that the $341 million redevelopment of Concord Hospital has reached a key milestone with the new seven‑story clinical services building reaching its highest point, and we look forward to celebrating this soon.

We recently opened a prototype of the rooms that will be in the new clinical services building and have been conducting virtual tours for our consumers and staff. This has provided a great opportunity for people to ask questions, get an understanding of the layout and provide feedback to the redevelopment team.

We are also holding our first The Pitch event for the year on 25 September and I’m looking forward to hearing many innovative ideas from our staff. We have $100,000 up for grabs, so please look out for the details.

And keep an eye out as we will be setting a date for our Annual General Meeting shortly. This year it will be online.

Thank you again for your continued passion and drive.

It continues to be a busy period across the District and I would like to thank you for your hard work and support during 2020.

We have now swabbed more than 150,000 people for COVID‑19 across Sydney Local Health District and screened about 80,000 passengers at Sydney Airport’s international and domestic terminals. RPAvirtual has treated almost 900 people with COVID‑19 and we cared for about 560 people in our health hotels.

This is an incredible collaborative effort and I’m very proud that Sydney Local Health District staff have continued to rise to the challenge, and taken on new tasks with grace and commitment.

As many of you will know, we have now taken possession of the multi‑storey car park and adjacent land at the western edge of the RPA campus and have been able to offer 500 new parking spaces to staff and another

578 to visitors. This is a fantastic outcome for a city hospital where parking is always a challenge. I also look forward to discussing plans for the land down the track.

I am very pleased to announce that several staff have been nominated for the 2020 NSW Health Awards. The awards recognise innovative and sustainable health programs delivering outcomes that matter to patients. We’ve entered programs and staff in 11 categories and the winners will be announced on 29 October so please keep an eye out.

Please continue to stay safe by maintaining physical distance, washing your hands and wearing masks when within 1.5 metres of patients. These measures are making a difference and together we will beat this virus.

Please continue to be kind to yourselves and each other.

Until next time, stay healthy.

HealthMatters • Sydney – it’s your local health district2

Dr TeresaAnderson AMChief Executive,

Sydney Local Health District

The HonRon Phillips AOChair, Sydney Local Health District Board

3HealthMatters • Sydney – it’s your local health district

SEPTEMBER 2020 SEPTEMBER 2020

District Highlights

Screened almost

3,000 travellers at Central Train

Station

Run 7 quarantine hotels

caring for

over 3,000 patients

Executive Messages

Did you know we have:

All hands on deckConducted

more than

150,000 COVID-19

tests

Screened almost

80,000 passengers at Sydney

Airport

Treated

almost 900 COVID-19

patients through

rpavirtual

Run

12 permanent

COVID-19 clinics,

11 pop-up testing

clinics and

8 wellness

clinics

Used more

than...16.2 million gloves

1.5 million gowns 1.9

million masks

over

20,000 litres of hand

sanitiser

4 HealthMatters • Sydney – it’s your local health district

SEPTEMBER 2020

Research Matters

RPA has been selected as a centre for Mackenzie’s Mission, a national research study that will provide reproductive genetic carrier screening to 10,000 couples.

The need for a genetic carrier screening program was championed by Rachel Casella, mother of Mackenzie who died in 2017 at seven months old from spinal muscular atrophy type 1 (SMA), an incurable genetic condition that causes progressive muscle wasting. Rachel and her husband Jonny were both identified as carriers of the SMA genetic mutation after Mackenzie was diagnosed.

Rachel and Jonny had followed their doctor’s advice regarding prenatal screening but were unaware genetic carrier screening could be undertaken – a test they believe should now be made available to all Australians planning a pregnancy.

In 2019, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists released a recommendation that information on reproductive carrier screening should be offered to every woman prior to conception or early in pregnancy.

Dr Nasrin Javid, in her new role Reproductive Genomics Clinical Midwife Consultant, a position she believes is the first in Australia, is the research site coordinator at RPA.

“Carrier screening is a challenging topic and, to date, has not been routinely offered at RPA. In current clinical practice, the screening test is only available through private companies and is relatively expensive” Dr Javid said.

The Mackenzie’s Mission project screens for variants in about 1,300 autosomal recessive and X‑linked genes that cause serious childhood‑onset conditions including cystic fibrosis, spinal muscular atrophy, and fragile X syndrome.

“Couples will be recruited if they are planning to have a child within the next two years or are early in pregnancy,” Dr Javid said.

“If couples are identified as genetic carriers and have an increased risk of having a child with a severe genetic condition, they will be able to explore all reproductive options with the guidance of a genetic counsellor.”

Further information can be found at the study website mackenziesmission .org .au.

Pharmacist Fady Gad is part of a team spearheading a program aimed at preventing hospital deaths from venous thrombosis embolism.

VTE is a condition where clots can form in the legs, groin, and arms (known as deep vein thrombosis or DVT) and travel to the lungs, which can cause breathing difficulties or death.

People who are high risk include those who have prolonged hospital admissions or immobility, recent surgery (especially hip or knee operations) or cancer

VTE can occur without warning, but there are multiple prevention strategies to reduce its risk, including

blood thinning medications and compression stockings.

Sydney Local Health District’s VTE prevention stewardship program was developed as a multi‑pronged and is led by Fady and Julianne Chong.

The pair survey electronic records to ensure patients have been assessed for VTE and prescribed appropriate prophylaxis. They also provide ongoing analysis, feedback and educations sessions so junior doctors, nurses and pharmacists are up to date with the latest research.

“There has been a positive response from staff which has been reflected in the programs results,” Fady says.

RPA in screening study

Leading the way

“

”5HealthMatters • Sydney – it’s your local health district

SEPTEMBER 2020 SEPTEMBER 2020

District HighlightsResearch Matters

Fighting diabetes Staff Spotlight

Anne-Louise Allan-Georgas Projects Administrator, Capital Assets, Property and Engineering Services, Sydney Local Health District

“My role has evolved significantly

since I first started within the District .

After I completed my studies, I

joined the District’s Graduate Health

Management Program and was given

the opportunity to join the Concord

Hospital Redevelopment team .

“Concord Hospital is very special to

me . I have worked there for almost

10 years and I am also a Concord

resident . Having the opportunity to

work with the redevelopment team

and participate in turning the first

sod turn made me extremely proud .

“Knowing that I am able to contribute

to the health and wellbeing of my

community is incredibly satisfying .

I am proud to work alongside

colleagues that truly make a

difference to so many people’s lives .”

Tri Phan is Canterbury Hospital’s new diabetes nurse practitioner

engaged to combat the high rates of diabetes in the area.

It is estimated that diabetes affects more than 940,000 Australians, with

half of these not being aware that they have the disease. If left untreated

or poorly managed, diabetes can lead to kidney failure, blindness, heart

attack, stroke and lower limb amputation.

Canterbury has one of the highest rates in Sydney Local Health District

and Tri is looking forward to his new role.

“I will be working with the patients to develop a treatment plan that is

individualised for their specific needs, and helping to provide support

and training for staff and nurses and the extended multi‑disciplinary

team,” Tri says.

Early diagnosis, personalised treatment plans and ongoing support

and management are key in treatment diabetes and diabetes

related complications.

Tri Phan is committed to improving health outcomes for diabetes patients in south-western Sydney and the Inner West

6 HealthMatters • Sydney – it’s your local health district

SEPTEMBER 2020

District Highlights

With our lives continuing to look different in these times, Sydney Local Health District staff are encouraged to look after their health and wellbeing and ensure they stay active by recording their steps for STEPtember.

It has been a busy time for our staff. Many have taken on new responsibilities and adapted to changes in their work practices to support our District’s response to COVID‑19 and help keep our patients and community safe.

Moneisha McKenzie, the director of physical wellbeing for the District’s MDOK program, says it is important to stay active, even when life looks a little different.

“The requirements for social distancing and restrictions on gatherings can make it challenging to find time to for yourself. For our doctors and health staff, their personal health and wellbeing could not be more important during these times, and one of the best ways to keep your mind and body fresh is to stay active,” she said.

“Walking is a great way to keep moving. It’s low impact, free and you can do it with a friend at any time and stay socially distanced. If time is a barrier, or gyms and sport are out of the question, you can still find ways to get moving in your

daily routine. You’d be surprised how many steps you may take in a day.”

This September, Moneisha and the team at MDOK are committing to walk 10,000 steps each day for STEPtember.

“In my role, I want to help our doctors to find ways to feel energised and restored – walking has the power to do both. As a group challenge, STEPtember helps with the extra motivation to get moving as a team, share a goal of how many steps we can record and promotes self‑care,” she said.

The Concord Resident Medical Officers’ Association have already stepped up with their own Walk 4 Wellness challenge in July. More than 50 members signed up to a step count challenge, recording their daily steps to promote activity and wellness. Together they walked nearly 8.5 million steps, about the distance from Sydney to Hong Kong.

If you would like a little extra motivation to get active, stay connected and foster teamwork among staff why not register for STEPtember and raise money for people living with cerebral palsy.

Staff are encouraged to register a team of four for free using the code SLHD2020 at steptember .org .au and compete with other teams in the District.

COVID-19 option Remdesivir, the antiviral medication

that aims to stop viral reproduction

in human cells, is now available for

use in Sydney Local Health District

though a special access program.

Remdesivir has been used in several

published clinical trials which have

shown it may decrease the time of

hospitalisation in patients that suffer from severe disease by days.

The National Medical Stockpile has received a donated supply of Remdesivir and on 10 July the drug was approved and available for use in the District for patients whose severe symptoms of COVID‑19 meant that they require oxygen or ventilatory support.

Get moving this STEPtember

7HealthMatters • Sydney – it’s your local health district

SEPTEMBER 2020 SEPTEMBER 2020

District Highlights District Highlights

Costume and prop designer Jo Woodcroft has been selected as one of RPA’s 2020 Artist-in-Residence for the Institute of Academic Surgery.

The team at RPA’s Arts + Health program, Arterie@RPA, in partnership with the Institute of Academic Surgery, commissioned Jo to create an artwork to spark curiosity and conversation about surgery.

“We commissioned Jo to work with out‑of‑date surgical equipment to design and create a costume sculpture,”

says Amanda Solomon, the founder and head of Arterie@RPA.

The sculpture is now on display in the window at RPA’s Institute of Academic Surgery.

“Bringing together the arts and surgery is really important for the Institute of Academic Surgery as we like to encourage innovation and different ways of thinking, and there are so many synergies between the two fields,” says the institute’s executive director Katie McBride.

Leif Ringe-Corben is here to make your life better.

He’s one of six new patient experience officers in our emergency employed as part of a NSW Health project to help patients and their families feel welcome, safe and informed.

They can let people know what to expect during a visit to the ED and provide information on any ongoing tests needed for their family members or potential delays.

“[Visiting an ED] can be challenging for vulnerable people, but I can help put them at ease and understand the processes,” Leif says.

“I lead with empathy. Everybody has a story and I put that at

the forefront of my mind with each interaction.”

Concord Hospital’s patient experience officer Leonardo

Gasparre has refocused the skills he developed during his

25 years at Qantas.

“At Qantas, I would often get thanks but here I have received

more heartfelt gratitude from people on their worst days. It

has been extremely rewarding and I am very much enjoying

the position. I feel like I was made for the role,” he says.

ED welcome wagon

Sew good

SEPTEMBER 2020

HealthMatters is all about you. We would love to hear your stories. Simply email SLHD-media@health.nsw.gov.au

Quick Takes

Hearing the call

When the RPA Institute of Academic Surgery got a call from operating theatres asking if they could help with some ‘ear-savers‘ for the staff, they jumped at the opportunity.

Ear savers work as a tie between the elastic ear loops of a face mask, stopping pressure behind the ears for wearers.

The IAS team moved quickly to finalise a design and 3D print them with their resin printer.

“I hear they have been a big hit and it feels so nice to be able to help the team in theatres,” says the institute’s executive director Katie McBride. Health on the go

Have you seen our new mobile health van out and about?

The van features an examination bed, desk, sink, secure storage, router, external retractable canopy, solar panels, goose neck lamp, duress alarm and seating.

It’s already had an outing to the Australian Maritime Museum as part of a pop‑up COVID‑19 testing clinic – and provided much needed shelter for our clinicians on a very windy day.

Joining forces

As part of National Homelessness Week, Sydney Local Health District participated in the launch of the Intersectoral Homelessness Health Strategy.

It is a partnership set up with South Eastern Sydney

Local Health District, St Vincen’t Hospital, the Department of Communities and Justice, Central and Eastern Sydney Primary Health Network and the City of Sydney Council.

The strategy will coordinate the planning, delivery and evaluation of homelessness health services to make sure that we are reaching people with the right help at the right time.