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

A life serving others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Fresh look for Balmain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Sustainability overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5

Heroes in our midst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Half century of care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

What’s in a name? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Pull up a chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Blue ribbon babies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Specialist counselling on offer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Sydney – it’s your local health districtHealthMattersISSUE 80 • JANUARY 2020

Many Sydney Local Health District clinicians and staff have now been deployed to help exhausted colleagues in Southern NSW and Murrumbidgee local health districts in the aftermath of the catastrophic recent bushfires.

Most of our doctors, nurses, social workers and mental health experts will stay down south for up to six weeks relieving and supporting staff.

“Health staff in these areas were all directly or indirectly affected by the bushfires and some have lost

their homes,” says Chief Executive Dr Teresa Anderson.

“They are physically and mentally exhausted, and understandably traumatised. Our hearts go out to them – and everyone in the community impacted by this disaster. We are here to help.”

Here to help

CONT

ENTS

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

JANUARY 2020

Executive Messages

Message from the Chair, District Board

Message from the Chief Executive

It has been a challenging start to

2020 and a difficult one for many

people across the state affected

by the bushfires, but I would like

to echo Dr Anderson’s words of

thanks to our staff for stepping

up and providing assistance to

our colleagues.

We will continue providing support

while these communities recover

and rebuild, and I am grateful

to all involved.

Meanwhile, back on home turf, work

is progressing well on the $341 million

Concord Hospital redevelopment, the

$6.5 million Canterbury emergency

department and planning for the

$750 million RPA development so it

looks like an exciting year ahead for Sydney Local Health District.

Next month, we will launch RPA Virtual, a new model of care which will be led by acting General Manager Miranda Shaw and acting Clinical Director Dr Owen Hutchings. We’ll release more details soon so please keep an eye out.

In closing, I would like to thank everyone for your hard work over the Christmas and New Year break. Demand for our services is every increasing and our emergency departments are busier than ever. Your continuing dedication to providing excellent healthcare is much appreciated and I wish everyone the very best for year ahead.

Welcome to a new year – and decade – across Sydney Local Health District.

It has been a very sad and busy start with

bushfires devastating much of NSW. Our

hearts have gone out to our colleagues in

health and others in the community who

have lost loved ones and homes. It has

been a deeply traumatising few months

for all involved.

The south coast of NSW was

catastrophically affected by the fires, so as

part of the NSW Health bushfire response,

we have partnered with Southern NSW

Local Health District to provide support

and resources wherever needed.

I am very proud that so many of our

staff volunteered to help, with more

than 50 nurses, doctors, mental health

clinicians, allied health staff and others

deployed to date.

Our staff are working in Moruya, Batemans Bay, Queanbeyan, Bega, Delegate and other areas. We have also sent mental health clinicians to Murrumbidgee Local Health District.

These deployments have allowed staff impacted by the fires to take much-needed time off work to rebuild their lives, and I know our staff feel very privileged to be able to support our colleagues in this way.

I’d also like to thank those members of our staff who have spent the past few months working with the Rural Fire Service, fighting fires and providing logistical support.

Recovery will take some time and we will continue to provide support where needed. Thank you to all involved. You are a credit to Sydney Local Health District and NSW Health.

HealthMatters • Sydney – it’s your local health district2

Dr Teresa Anderson AMChief Executive, Sydney Local Health District

The Hon Ron Phillips AOChair, Sydney Local Health District Board

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

JANUARY 2020 JANUARY 2020

District HighlightsExecutive Messages

Fresh look for BalmainThe brickwork at Balmain Hospital has been re-pointed, the building washing and the paintwork refreshed – just in time for its 135th birthday in August next year.

The work took more than 10 weeks and was overseen by a heritage architect to make sure it was in keeping with the building’s original appearance.

The first baby Ann Kelly delivered at RPA was named Kelly-Ann. She never knew if her skill contributed to the appellation, but it is a fitting tribute to a woman who has dedicated her life to helping others.

This month, Ann leaves Sydney Local Health District, more than 48 years after arriving at RPA as a student nurse in January 1972.

After doing a stint in orthopaedics, she headed off on an overland trip from Kathmandu to London – a trip which would spark a lifelong love of travel – and on her return, she pursued her dream of working in the Emergency Department.

It was busy and chaotic, and she loved every minute.

As was the convention at the time, Ann then undertook further training in midwifery at the King George V Hospital for Mothers and Babies, across the road from RPA.

Neonatal Intensive Care was Ann’s favourite part of midwifery, and the team there invited her to stay on, but the lure of the Emergency Department was too great, so she returned to her first love, later becoming Nurse in Charge.

In the early 1980s, Ann travelled to Thailand, treating Cambodian refugees escaping the oppressive Pol Pot regime. The place was rife with malaria, TB

and other infectious diseases. In 1984, she spent three months in a remote part of Tanzania, providing care to patients in the midst of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

“I’ve worked in different places, but coming back to RPA always felt like coming back home,” she says. “It’s where I started, and it’s where I’ll finish.”

Ann’s career gradually moved away from the forefront of patient care into health management and administration.

“I missed patients, but I felt I couldn’t do it for the rest of my life. It was hard to leave clinical work. I had to do it gradually,” she says.

After working as Director of Nursing at Balmain Hospital and the Clinical Manager for Aged Care and Rehabilitation for the Area Health Service (a dual role), she went on to become General Manager, a position she held for eight years.

Then, as General Manager of Canterbury Hospital, she oversaw the set-up of a high volume short stay surgery unit, doubled the capacity of the Special Care Nursery, and opened an Emergency Department Short Stay Unit, greatly improving the hospital’s capacity to cope with increasing patient load.

“I’m proud of what we achieved. Being a General Manager isn’t a job, it’s a life,” she reflects.

In 2012, Ann was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for her contribution to healthcare.

This month, she is retiring from her current position as Director of National Safety and Quality Standards at Sydney Local Health District. But she isn’t quite ready to leave healthcare.

She will continue to serve patients in her role as an Assessor with the Australian Council of Healthcare Standards, a position she has held for more than 20 years.

“The reason I come to work is to make things safer and better for patients. I tell myself that every day.”

Then and now: Ann Kelly is still smiling

A life serving others

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

JANUARY 2020

District Highlights

Sustainability overviewSydney Local Health District has decreased electricity consumption, cut down waste, and reduced its carbon footprint in a suite of sustainability changes.

ENERGYMore than 465 solar panels were installed on the Institute for Rheumatology and Orthopaedics and the Robotics Training Institute at RPA, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 230 tonnes each year and saving about $50,000.

Solar panels were installed at the Concord Hospital Centre for Mental Health, saving the District about $26,000 a year, and reducing carbon emissions by 120 tonnes.

Solar panels and an LED lighting upgrade at Marrickville Local Health Centre have reduced electricity consumption and costs by more than half.

A 600kW system is planned for Canterbury Hospital next month, adding to the solar hot water system which reduces the energy demands of the gas boilers.

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

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District Highlights District Highlights

FOOD WASTEAn organic waste recycler at RPA turns about 250kg food waste into 50kg of nutrient-rich soil aggregate a week, significantly reducing waste costs, landfill, and the amount of methane and leachate created by rotting organic matter.

WATERRainwater is harvested at the Centre for Education and Workforce Development at Rozelle for use on gardens and lawns.

Plans are underway to redirect and repurpose water used in haemodialysis at RPA and Concord.

LIGHTINGMore than 24,000 fluorescent, halogen and incandescent light globes across RPA were replaced with energy-efficient LED lights, reducing consumption by about 60 per cent and carbon dioxide emissions by more than 5,000 tonnes a year. It also saves about $1.1 million per year in electricity costs.

Lights were upgraded in Canterbury Hospital’s carpark, and will soon be done at Croydon and Redfern health centres.

RECYCLINGA pilot program in RPA’s Intensive Care Units and 11 other departments recycles PVC (polyvinyl chloride), used for IV fluid bags, oxygen tubing, masks and irrigation bags. Since January, more than 2,000kg of plastic waste from RPA has been diverted from landfill.

At Concord Hospital, Michelle Skrivanic, Perioperative Nurse Unit Manager, has pioneered waste reduction and recycling with a Waste Action Group. The initiative reduced clinical waste generated by theatres from four to two tonnes per month, which has been maintained over the past decade. Theatres also have several streams for recycling of hard and soft plastics, instrument wrap, and medical instruments.

JANUARY 2020

District Highlights

New doctors in the ranksSydney Local Health District is welcoming 104 new doctors to the ranks, part of a cohort of more than 1,000 starting across the state.

A total 55 will be employed across Royal Prince Alfred and Balmain hospitals, with another 49 at Canterbury, Concord and Broken Hill hospitals.

The interns spend their first week learning the processes and systems in place across our hospitals, then a second week with a more senior buddy to learn the day-to-day practicalities of working on the wards.

A big welcome to all of our new doctors and thank you for choosing us.

HealthMatters • Sydney – it’s your local health district6

For five months Royal Prince Alfred Hospital nurse manager and NSW Rural Fire Service volunteer Peter Linnegar has been fighting the current tranche of bushfires across the state.

Peter, who has worked at RPA for 25 years, is usually responsible for allocating staff and resources across the hospital, managing incidents and performing the endless juggling act of finding beds for patients after hours.

But since September, he’s also put in more than 40 days fighting fires in the Blue Mountains and the state’s north around Tenterfield, Casino and Armidale.

Peter joined the Rural Fire Service more than 20 years ago after moving to the Blue Mountains and has been captain of the Valley Heights brigade for the past five years.

During the recent fires, his own home was directly in the predicted paths of the out-of-control Grose Valley and Green Wattle Creek blazes.

But, in true RFS spirit, he was on duty heading up a strike team to go wherever needed across the state.

Peter has alternated his full time work at RPA with multiple five-day RFS deployments, involving fire ground shifts of 14 to 16 hours a day.

During his stint up north, however, one shift stretched to 28 hours because there were no crews available to take over.

“Houses were under threat and Triple-0 calls kept coming in so we battled on,” he says.

He’s also had some very close calls in volatile situations where his crew has had “to down the hoses and run”.

And he knew the volunteers involved in the incident where an RFS truck was flipped upside down in a fire tornado at Jingellic last week, killing volunteer Sam McPaul.

“It is getting tiring and it does get to you,“ he says.

“I’ve had some teary moments but everyone at RPA has been so supportive. The staff all juggle shifts when I need to go and temporary staff have been taking on more hours to cover me.”

Heroes in our midst

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

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District Highlights District Highlights

It’s been 50 years since nurse Robyn Eglington stepped onto the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital campus for a career that would see radical changes in healthcare.

The 17-year-old had travelled on an overnight bus with her mum from Tweed Heads the day before, armed with two pairs of black shoes, stockings, suspenders, a collar stud and 26 safety pins to keep her starched apron in place.

“I’d only been to Sydney once in my life before the interview,” she says.

But after being allocated a room in the Queen Mary building, and collecting her apron and hat, Robyn was one of 80 recruits to embark on six weeks of training in one of the old army huts on the RPA campus.

“Nursing was the only thing I ever wanted to do,” she says. “I knew I’d be good at it and I’ve never regretted it.”

Now a nurse manager in the executive team, Robyn is the only member of her original cohort still at RPA – and is well

known for having a formidable bank of knowledge on every

aspect of the hospital’s history and operations.

“Every day at RPA I come across something new and

challenging. I still feel proud to work here. And I still believe I

can help people.”

What’s in a name?The two cranes working on the Concord Hospital redevelopment have been christened Saso and Giganto.

The names, chosen by two local children, were officially announced as the winning entries in the ‘Name the Crane Competition’ during a ceremony on the campus in December.

More than 150 students from five schools and the adjoining Yaralla Childcare Centre submitted entries into the competition.

“I chose Saso because it stands for stay strong, and I named it Stay Strong to motivate cancer patients,” said Concord Public school student Iris Doh, 12.

She was inspired by her grandfather in Korea, who had been a diagnosed with cancer.

Three-year-old Ava Andreassi represented her elder brother Luca at the event, and said the entry of her brother was “exciting”. Luca, 5, from the Yaralla Child Care Centre named the crane Giganto because “it was big and gigantic”.

Half century of care

Pull up a chairSydney Local Health District has thousands of chairs and replacing them can be costly.

But, now, our new chair refurbishment program is saving money and landfill.

Seventy patient chairs have been reupholstered so far with 14 destined for the new arthritis clinic at Canterbury Hospital.

Another 24 disused consult room chairs and 10 meeting room chairs have had their frames sanded and sprayed and been reconstructed with new upholstery, costing half the price of buying the chairs new.

The program, led by Relocation Manager Rob Pike, could soon be expanded across the District.

JANUARY 2020

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

Specialist counselling on offerSydney Local Health District’s Employee Assistance Program now offers a specialised counselling service for staff with a current or past experience of domestic and family violence.

“I meet so many resilient people who feel trapped in a situation, says social worker Meg Carrigan. “They just need a bit of help to shift their thinking. Together, we address barriers to leaving. Some decide not to leave. My job is about emotionally supporting people, whatever they decide to do.”

For more information, please contact Meg on 9515 9681 or meg .carrigan@health .nsw .gov .au

Thanks to the midwifery and obstetric

teams working hard to provide excellent care for mothers and babies across

Sydney Local Health District.

▲ Brooklyn Leo Nguyen was the first born at the RPA Birth Centre at 2:01am, weighing 2.85kg. Mum Yummii and dad John even managed to secure the same room in the Birth Centre where they delivered their son, Avery.

▶Meanwhile, Harper Barbara Clair Gregory

was the first to arrive in RPA’s Delivery Ward, arriving at 3:10am,

weighing 3.3kg.

▲ Jamal Tabbaa was Canterbury Hospital’s first, born by Caesarean section at 10:14am. He’s the first child for Rayan and Sam, who live in Yagoona.

They may only be a few weeks old, but Brooklyn, Harper and Jamal are already high achievers as the first babies born in Sydney Local Health District’s maternity units for 2020.

Blue ribbon babies