NSW Health WSLHD Safety & Quality Account 2020-21

Retrospective Clinical Audit of Intercostal Catheters

Dr Xinxin Hu, Dr Mohan Nagarajah and Clinical Nurse Consultant Ruth Miranda from Blacktown Hospital’s Respiratory Service conducted a retrospective clinical audit to evaluate insertion and management practices of intercostal catheter (ICC) at Blacktown Hospital. The audit identified 30% of ICCs were inserted by non-respiratory clinical staff in non-respiratory clinical settings. Overall complication rates were low and aligned with similar rates to other comparable Australia hospitals, however the audit highlighted the importance of continued medical and nursing education surrounding ICC management. A recommendation to standardise documentation templates for ICC management was also highlighted. Greener Theaters Climate change has significant impacts of the health of our global community, with the Australian health system contributing to approximately 7% of the nation’s CO2 emissions. Approximately 20-30% of the healthcare system’s waste is generated by operating theatres. Blacktown and Mount Druitt Hospitals formed a multidisciplinary Greener Theatres Team and introduced a monitoring system for carbon emissions from operating theatres. The team changed theatre practices by decreasing more environmentally harmful anaesthetic gas use, more efficient use of these gases and promoting other environmentally friendly techniques. The aim of the project was to decrease operating theatre carbon emissions by 50% within 2 years. The Greener Theatres Team successfully exceeded this target and achieved a 84% reduction by collaboratively discussed practices with clinicians around anaesthetic practices. Other initiatives were also introduced such as improved waste collection and recycling. This has highlighted a commitment and passion within Blacktown and Mount Druitt’s operating theatre to drive sustainability forward for WSLHD.

Mount Druitt Hospital surgical bookings clerk Wendy White

Midwives Making Health Matter Blacktown Hospital’s Women Health Clinic has developed an initiative called ‘Midwives Making Health Matter’ aimed at increasing the number of women referred and enrolled in state-wide program called NSW Health Get Healthy in Pregnancy. The state-wide program provides access to trained healthy lifestyle coaches during pregnancy to help mothers manage their weight and choose healthier lifestyle options during pregnancy. The Midwives Making Health Matter initiative had achieved its goal of referring at least 18% of pregnant women to the state-wide initiative by June 2023. There has been significant improvements in physical activity and dietary behaviours of women enrolled to the program, with 78% of all women enrolled not exceeding the Institute of Medicine (ION) gestational weight gain guidelines. There was also a significant improvement in meeting the recommended daily fruit and vegetable consumption, along with meeting physical activity recommendations. Factors Contributing to Length of Stay for Pulmonary Embolism Dr Xinxin Hu and Dr Mohan Nagarajah from Blacktown Hospital’s Respiratory Service conducted a retrospective clinical audit to determine the significant contributors to length of stay for acute pulmonary embolism at Blacktown Hospital between March 2019 to February 2020. The audit identified several factors associated with longer length of stay for acute pulmonary embolism at Blacktown Hospital. The results indicate that the length of stay for acute pulmonary embolism can be reduced by improving access to medical imaging, using alternatives to warfarin anticoagulation and having a streamlined process for managing concurrent medical and allied health issues.

Safety & Quality Account 2022-2023 Western Sydney Local Health District

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