Scone - Hunter New England Health

2014-2015
Scone
Health Service
The year at a glance
2014/15 has been another positive and busy
year for Scott Memorial District Hospital.
The Scone Health Committee continues to
support the Health Service by gathering
community feedback to ensure we are meeting
the needs of our community. This partnership
helps to ensure patients, carers and families
have active input into the health service.
Completed in June 2015, the new upgrade
ensures that surgical services at Scone
provide the community with an efficient and
functional service.
We have continued with our focus of
embedding Excellence: ‘every patient, every
time’. Excellence is Hunter New England
Health’s planned approach to delivering
patient-centred care. It ensures patients and
families are well informed and involved in their
care and that there is effective communication
within the health care team.
New entrance to operating theatre
Capital works projects
This year has seen some amazing capital
works projects undertaken.
There have been multiple roof replacements
and ongoing painting both inside and out.
Replacement of floor vinyl has begun
throughout the hospital’s long corridors, and
the Ambulance door has been replaced with
an automated one. While the 102-year-old
hospital building naturally requires ongoing
maintenance, this year has seen additional
upgrades improving the facility to maintain
services available to the community.
One of the main focuses was the upgrade and
modernisation of Scone operating theatre.
Our staff accommodation, otherwise known
as ‘the old Nurse’s home’, has had ceiling
fans and air-conditioning installed in all 12
rooms, and some flooring replaced. Staff
accommodation is frequently utilised by
nursing students on placement and agency
nurses and midwives. These upgrades were
a welcome addition for staff making their
accommodation more comfortable,
particularly during our hot summers.
Community Health has had its front door
replaced with an automated door and awning
providing clients and staff with a much safer
and more weather-tolerant entrance (below).
Furniture and some flooring have also been
replaced.
About our Health
Service
Scone Health Service comprises Scott
Memorial District Hospital and Community
Health services, and provides care for the
community of Scone and surrounding district.
Scott Memorial Hospital offers a range of
services including 24-hour emergency care,
surgical including orthopaedics and
endoscopy. As well as medical services,
obstetric, antenatal shared care clinics,
telehealth, paediatric, palliative care,
outpatient clinics, specialist’s clinics including
orthopaedics, radiology as well as a rural
rehabilitation program and acute and age
related care services.
Physiotherapy - Daily
Speech therapy- Twice a week – Monday
and Wednesday
Foot care - Twice a month – (1st and 3rd
Thursday)
Occupational therapy - Monday to
Wednesday
Palliative care and dementia advisor
On request and also home visits
Upper Hunter Community Health is located
at Muswellbrook Hospital’s Weidman Wing
and provides an extensive outreach service.
Services include:
Aboriginal health
Audiometry
Once a month (1st Tuesday) 9am to 3pm
Early childhood
Tuesday to Friday – newborn to 4 years old
Contact Details:
Counselling services
Monday to Thursday weekly
Scott Memorial Hospital
Community mental health
Address: 16-20 Stafford Street, Scone 2337
Phone: (02) 6540 2100
Fax: (02) 6540 2180
Community nursing
Diabetes
Once a month (3rd Tuesday) – 9am - 4pm
Dietician - Weekly – Thursdays and 3 times
a month on Wednesday
Women’s health
Monthly – 9.30am to 3pm
Young parent support worker
Community Health, Scone
Phone: (02) 6540 2121
Fax: (02) 6540 2170
Scone Physiotherapy
Phone: (02) 6540 2157
Fax: (02) 6540 2784
Scone
Health Committee
The committee meets regularly to review the
activities and initiatives throughout our
hospital in its attempts to build partnerships
with organisations which can assist us in a
practical and meaningful fashion. The
committee also provides regular community
feedback which is vital to ensuring a positive
health experience for our community.
The committee will continue to communicate
with the many local organisations that assist
the committee in promoting the hospital not
only to the established community but to the
many new arrivals to our area. To further
encourage community input, names of the
committee members are displayed in the
foyer of the Upper Hunter Shire Council
administration building in Liverpool Street
and inside the hospital’s main entrance.
Over the past year, Scone Health Committee
has taken a keen interest in the key
performance indicators for the hospital such
as inpatient falls and pressure injury data as
well as reviewing our Emergency
Department triage waiting time. These
results are displayed in the main entrance to
the health service for the community to view.
Committee members:
Brian Brown - Community / TransCare
representative. Chairperson until April 2015
Bruce Buls – long-time resident of Scone
and retired Hunter New England Health Hub
Maintenance Manager – Chairperson
Amanda Albury – Community
representative
Kerri Cone – Upper Hunter Shire
representative
Mary Spora – Community representative
Nicole Briggenshaw – Nursing Unit
Manager Operating Theatre
Christine Harle - Upper Hunter Community
Health Manager (until April 2015)
Yvonne Patricks – Hunter Valley Sector
General Manager
Judy Bernasconi – Health Service Manager
A high priority for 2015 / 2016 will be to
create a health service that is responsive to
all patient, carer and consumer needs by
increasing the diversity of our Local Health
Committee to ensure a focus and
consideration of changing cultural needs of
the community are met.
Pictured above from left: Judy Bernasconi, Bruce Buls,
Kerri Cone and Amanda Albury,
Absent: Yvonne Patricks, Christine Harle, Mary Spora
and Nicole Briggenshaw.
Hunter New
England Health
Scone Health Service is part of a larger
organisation called Hunter New England
Health, which provides a range of public health
services to the Hunter, New England and
Lower Mid North Coast regions.
Hunter New England Health:
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provides services to more than 873,000
people, including 21 per cent of the state’s
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
population
employs 15,900 staff including 1990
medical officers
is supported by 1600 volunteers
spans 25 local council areas
is the only district in NSW with
o a major metropolitan centre
o a mix of several large regional
centre
o many smaller rural centre and
remote communities within its
borders.
Our Chief Executive, Michael DiRienzo, and
his Executive Leadership Team work closely
with the Local Health District Board to ensure
our services meet the diverse needs of the
communities we serve. These services are
provided through:
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3 tertiary referral hospitals
4 rural referral hospitals
12 district hospitals
6 community hospitals
13 multipurpose services
More than 60 community health
services
3 mental health facilities and several
additional inpatient and community
mental health services
1 rehabilitation service
2 residential aged care facilities.
Our organisation's vision, goals and values
are aligned to those of NSW Health. At the
same time, our strategic direction supports
the principle of Excellence for every patient.
every time. It’s the ultimate aim of Hunter
New England Health and the core of our
culture.
Excellence is the approach we take to doing
the right thing for patients and their families,
doing it consistently, and doing it with
respect. It’s also about making Hunter New
England Health a better place to work.
By adopting a series of proven tools and
techniques to align goals, behaviours and
processes, Hunter New England Health is
building the capability of our leaders and
staff and making sure everyone is working in
the best interests of patients and the
organisation.
Our vision
Healthy people - now and into the future.
Our goals
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Keeping people healthy and in the
community.
Providing world-class clinical
services with timely access and
effective infrastructure.
Our values
Hunter New England Health is a valuesbased organisation. Staff behaviour and
interaction with patients reflect our CORE
values:
 Collaboration
 Openness
 Respect
 Empowerment
Our district
Highlights 2014 - 2015
New beds, July 2014
Staff Christmas Lunch 2014
Scott Memorial Hospital received 28 new
electric beds and a new $18,000 birth bed
funded by Hunter New England Health
All the staff celebrated Christmas together at a
lunch organised by the department managers
on Wednesday, December 17, 2014.
NUM Christina Haddrill and Clinical Nurse Educator
Trudy Simpson with the new birthing bed.
Multicultural Health Day, September 2014
Many staff cooked a variety of foods from all
over the world for everyone to share on
Multicultural Health Day.
ABOVE and BELOW: Administration and Nursing Staff
together with HealthShare staff and medical officers
enjoying the Christmas festivities.
ABOVE & BELOW: Enjoying the Multicultural Health
lunch were, above, Suneesh Stephen, Kairsten Marley
and Mandy Collison; and below, Bradley Kilroy, Chrissy
Haddrill and Peter Cutler
Community Health
highlights
Farewell to Gael Holland
The Scone Community Health team
completed 494 Better Health assessments
2014-2015.
As well as their new automated front door,
Community Health staff got a much awaited
new kitchen in their tea room.
We farewelled Gael Holland from with
Community Health in December 2014.
We are very sad to see Gael go. She has
been an exceptional ambassador for nursing
and we will miss her terribly.
Thank you Gael for your professional, service
and dedicated commitment to your patients.
Better Health
Formerly known by the acronym “SNAPIF”,
Better Health assessments target risk factors
such as smoking, nutrition, alcohol
consumption, physical activity, immunisation
status and being at risk of falls. The
assessment is an evidence based risk factor
screening tool that Community Health
professionals complete with their clients to
identify risk and provide appropriate care and
referral.
Upper Hunter Occupational Therapist Katie
Cook checks out the new kitchen.
Early childhood assessment room
A new early childhood assessment room
(pictured below) has been created to allow
more room for mothers with prams and other
small children.
In the spotlight
Farewell to chairman after 22 years
Brain Brown has been involved with his local
community, in particular Scott Memorial
District Health Service for many years. Brian
stepped down from his role of Chairperson of
the Scone Health Committee in April 2015,
after serving in that position on that and other
similar health committees for 22 years.
While involved with the Scone Health
Committee, Brian was able to effectively
contribute to the health service provided in
his community. He was able to provide
constructive community opinion to
management for services already provided in
Scone. In addition, Brian was an integral
component throughout the assessment and
evaluation of future projects and goals of
service delivery to adequately meet our local
health needs.
Brian has always remained very passionate
about Scone Health Service. He is a
wonderful advocate for the hospital to the
public and has always been able to
effectively communicate our core values and
aspirations. Brian has had personal
experience with our health care service and
understands the varied needs of the
community and the individual. Brian's
presence at many public functions shows his
appreciated ongoing commitment and
support of our health service in Scone.
Well known in the Scone community, Brian
was acknowledged for his long service at the
Hunter New England Health Community
Partnership Forum held at Scone racecourse
in November 2014. Through his participation
on the Scone Local Health Committee, Brian
has been involved in the introduction of
several innovative strategies to engage
patients and improve their health care
experience.
To recognise and celebrate Brian’s
outstanding commitment and achievements,
Brian was nominated for a Hunter New
England Health Excellence Award in the
category of Volunteer of the Year.
Brian has also been acknowledged for his
role as a Scone Shire Councillor and has
been a board member on numerous local
organisations.
Local Health Committee Member Bruce Buls,
Theatre Nurse Unit Manager Nicole Briggenshaw
and Local Health Committee Chair Brian Brown at
the Hunter New England Health Community
Partnership Forum, held at Scone race Club in
November 2014.
Partnering with our
community
Preventing falls
The ‘Stepping On’ program held in our
Physiotherapy department once a week, is
a seven-week program educating people
on how to mobilise safely and reduce falls
hazards in every day life. The program
accesses information from various allied
health professionals such as our
physioherapist, occupational therapist and
pharmaicist.
Scone and District United Auxiliary
Members at the April 2015 Zone Meeting
held at Scone Hospital
Rehabilitation program
Rural Rehabilitation is a program designed
to support and educate people in the
Upper Hunter with heart and lung disease.
Stepping forward: (from left) Physio
Technical Assistant Lorraine Harris,
members of the 2014 Stepping On Program,
Community Health Occupational Therapist
Sarah Brooks, Physiotherapist Flora LeeWarner and Pharmacist Kathryn Jacobse.
Scone Auxiliary
The wonderful ladies that make up the
Scone Hosptial Auxilliary continue their
valuable work fundraising for much needed
equipment for the hospital and spoiling
patients and staff alike with their much
loved ‘lolley trolley’. This year Scone
Hospital was able to host the United
Hospital Auxilliaries Regional Zone Day
attended by more then 30 members of the
Upper Hunter district.
Held each Monday at the hospital, the
program consists of an hour of exercise
and an hour of health education with Rural
Rehabilitation coordinator Julie Bailey
(pictured below). Clients are referred to
the program by their GP making the
service very accessible. Julie has already
received 40 referrals for the program since
January 2015.
How we performed
4101
94.5%
patients presented at our
emergency department
of patients presenting to the ED were
admitted or discharged within 4

hours
34
8755
58
babies were born
patients accessed services (like
blood tests, clinics & community
nursing) but were not admitted
day only surgical procedure were
performed
100%
100%
100%
of Category A patients received their
elective surgery within the 30 day
timeframe 
of Category B patients received their
elective surgery within the 90 day
timeframe 
of Category C patients received their
elective surgery within the 365 day
timeframe 
45.64
9,293,108
full-time equivalent staff
expenditure budget
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Emergency Treatment Performance (ETP) measures the percentage of patients who present at the emergency department who are
admitted to hospital or discharged within a four-hour timeframe. The target is 81%.
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Elective Surgery Access Performance (ESAP) measures the percentage of patients who have waited longer than the recommended time
frame for elective surgery.
Category A patients should have their surgery within 30 days. The target is 100%.
Category B patients should have their surgery within 90 days. The target is 97%.
Category C patients should have their surgery within 365 days. The target is 97%.
Future directions
The changing face of healthcare
In the past 10 years significant changes have
occurred in the way health services are
delivered across Australia.
The growing focus is on new ways of
providing care that will see shorter hospital
stays and an increase in services provided in
the community and people’s homes.
These changes include an increased focus
on community-based services, preventative
care and chronic disease management.
There is an increasing specialisation of
services that is giving new and different roles
for acute hospitals.
Healthcare must be responsive to the needs
of the local community and adhere to the
highest standards of safety and quality.
All health services across Australia are faced
with the challenges of increasing demand for
services, while meeting expectations of
communities and ensuring services are
provided in a safe, appropriate and
sustainable way with good value for the
health dollar.
The range of services provided in hospitals
has also changed, with increasing
concentration of specialist and diagnostic
services delivered by multidisciplinary teams
in large referral and tertiary referral hospitals.
The safe and effective treatment of more
complex health conditions often requires a
larger facility with a critical mass of staff with
the relevant skills and experience and
supported by the necessary equipment and
technology.
Improvements in technology and surgical
techniques means that more surgery is being
performed as either day-only procedures or
shorter hospital stays after surgery.
Increasingly, people are being admitted to
hospitals for the acute phase of their illness
only, discharged and then followed up at
home by community-based services. This
means that patients are able to recuperate at
home close to their family and friends.
Most causes of ill-health are chronic (or long
term). These are often best managed in the
community setting with care provided by local
community health services or specialist
outreach teams.
In many cases, hospitalisation is considered
potentially avoidable by providing
preventative care and disease management
programs in the community setting.
Hospital admission is no longer the best
treatment option for many conditions,
including diabetes, asthma, angina,
hypertension, pneumonia, chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease and kidney infections.
It’s important to remember the public health
system is not the only provider of health
services. Hunter New England Health works
closely with a number of organisations to
provide community-based services.
Responsibility for coordinating and delivering
primary health services was transferred to the
Medicare Locals in 2011. A more integrated
primary health care sector will help address
the needs of our ageing population and
increasing rates of chronic disease.
Hunter New England Health has worked
closely with the Hunter Medicare Local and
New England Medicare Local in a
collaborative approach to providing primary
health care to our communities. That
relationship and collaboration will continue as
the Medicare Locals transition to Primary
Health Networks from July 2015.
Acknowledgements &
Feedback
Scone Health Committee would like to take
this opportunity to thank managers and staff
for their support and dedication to the health
service and the community.
We have a wonderful team of enthusiastic
medical, nursing, community and allied health
staff, administrative and ancillary staff who
are committed and passionate in providing
positive outcome for all our patients and
clients, their families and carers.
The Scone Hospital Auxiliary continues to
provide donations to the Walter Pye Ward for
comfort care items. Members’ focus this year
has been on replacing patient lockers and is
much appreciated by patients and staff.
The Scone Cancer Support group continues
to work with the health service for the
provision of inpatient, home care client and
family comfort and support. What an amazing
group of volunteers.
The Scone Men’s Shed continues to support
the health service, this year giving some
much needed care to the outdoor furniture.
Thank you to the Inner Wheel of Scone
Club for the donation to Walter Pye Ward of
a specially designed comfort recliner chair
with hospital specific features.
Much thanks goes to the Scone RSL. The
club donated $1000 towards equipment for
newborns as a ‘gift’ to the community.
Thank you to Scone Grammar School for
the generous donation of two new iPad Minis
to be used predominantly by patients in the
Emergency Department and Walter Pye
Ward. The funds were raised from a ‘mufti’
day held at the school in conjunction with
Year 1 student Caitlin Atkinson, who
independently made and sold cupcakes.
Heartfelt appreciation goes to members of
the Scone Hospital Social Club for their
ongoing fundraising activities which results in
the purchase of equipment and items to
enhance the hospital experience for patients
and staff alike.
Humpty Dumpty Foundation continues to
support our children with wonderful donations
of much needed equipment.
Scone Health Service has a dedicated team
of volunteers, community members and
organisations who continue to support the
hospital with financial donations and
donations of their valuable time.
Thank you to Chairman of the Local Health
Committee Chairman Bruce Buls, Clinical
Manager and Acting Nursing Unit Manager of
Maternity Unit Leigh Schalk, Nursing Unit
Manager of Operating Theatre Nicole
Briggenshaw, Nursing Unit Manager of
Walter Pye Ward and Emergency
Department Lesley Roser, Acting
Administration Manager Renee Gould,
Administration Support Officer Leonie Roser,
Acting Clinical Nurse Educator and Quality
Coordinator Christina Haddrill, and the
Scone Health Committee members for their
contribution in preparing this report.
Scone Health Committee would like to hear
from you. Please send your comments to:
Scone Health Committee
Stafford Street
Scone NSW 2337
Or send an email to Health Service Manager
Judy Bernasconi at:
Judy.Bernasconi@henhealth.nsw.gov.au