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New Year, New Career Feature New year, new career for physiotherapy graduate Robots set to assist nurses in aged care Cultural competence training for mental health practitioners Managing potentially violent situations in remote settings
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Waikato topples hospital fall rates By Karen Keast Orange non-slip socks, sensor mats and Invisa-Beams are working to reduce falls at Waikato District Health Board (DHB). The measures are part of a range of initiatives credited for reducing falls by 41 per cent at the DHB in the past four years. The orange SafeFeet socks, equipped with grip, work to prevent the patient from falling while also acting to alert staff on the ward that the patient is at risk and shouldn’t be moving on their feet independently. A monitoring system, the Invisa-Beam sets off an alarm when a patient gets out of bed while enabling nurses to identify the room in which the alarm is sounding. The DHB also has signs in patient rooms to remind patients, family and nurses of high fall risks, along with ultra low beds that reduce fall height and impact, bed-side crash mats, long reach call bells, transfer belts for mobility and sensor mats on the patient’s bed or seat. Waikato DHB’s annual quality report shows there were 327 falls with injury reported in 2013-14 with 17 resulting in serious injury. Thirteen of those patients sustained a fracture, including six patients who sustained a fractured hip and seven received upper body fractures. Falls prevention has been one of the DHB’s main patient safety priorities. DHB service quality and patient safety coordinator Susan McHugh said while the falls prevention initiatives are not unique to the DHB, Waikato has been one of the first DHBs to implement all the current best practice, evidence-based interventions. “The non-slip socks are used throughout the DHB as appropriate for patients who are mobilising and at high risk of falling,” she said.
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Ms Hugh said the Invisa-Beams are used in several areas of the hospital, including the older person and rehabilitation wards and the Rhoda Read Hospital. She said the DHB conducted its own clinical product trials as part of the DHB quality assurance process before implementing any falls prevention intervention. “The Invisa-Beams were introduced in 2011 and are manufactured for both chair and bed situations. They can be portable or built into the electrics of the building.” The 2013-14 quality report shows hand hygiene compliance improved to 71 per cent, slightly above the national target of 70 per cent, while there were 39 serious adverse events investigated.
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Managing potentially violent Cultural competence training for situations in remote settings mental health practitioners come tense and angry, and there can be clear A collaborative survey of 600 professionals Mentalbyhealth issuesGovernments are one ofDepartthe leading of the Indigenous health signscauses of restlessness and anxiety such as pacing, funded the Australian gap.ofA Health groupand of Ageing Indigenous psychologists are twitching stepping into the gap, develmuscle or dilated pupils. ment suggests that docoping essential resources competence of Australia’s • cultural Intoxication significantly increases the risk of tors, nurses, teachers and policeto in improve rural and the mentalareas health violence. remote feel workforce vulnerable to violence in the By KarenWorking Keast.unsociable hours, often • The person may be experiencing delusions or workplace. hallucinations with violent content. alone in isolated settings contributed to their feelshow Aboriginal and Torres Strait ndigenous psychologist Tania Jones is addAny Statistics health professionals engaging with indiings of vulnerability. 50% of respondents reportIslander people have the highest rates of psychoing an Aboriginal voice to mental health care viduals or patients with a history of violence or ed a specific incident in the prior 12 months, but logical distress in Australia while the suicide rates provision for Indigenous Australians. displaying these types of behaviours should proall respondents felt increased stress and anxiety are at least two to three times higher for Aboriginal A descendant of the Gunditjmara and ceed with extreme care and caution, and engage resulting from concerns about workplace viopeople than for non-Indigenous Australians. Wathaurong peoples of Victoria, Ms Jones is the assistance of colleagues if possible. lence. Staff training regarding managing violent AIPA is working to improve the mental health based in Warrnambool, where she works with Strategies for de-escalating potentially violent and aggressive behaviour was one suggestion of Indigenous Australians through a raft of measIndigenous communities and stakeholders as situations to assist staff to remain in their roles. The report ures. an Indigenous family violence re1. Do not attempt to de-escalate the situation if on the findings of the survey, and of a literature One measure is to equip gional coordinator. the individual is actually being violent and document review, is available online at www. non-Indigenous mental health Ms Jones is also chair or if they are carrying a weapon. Fa rdaa.com.au/papers. of the Australian Indigpractitioners, including miliarise yourself with your health facility’s pol Sue Lenthall’s research Nursing workforce enous Psychologists mental health nurses, icies and procedures for responding to situa in very remote Australia, characteristics and key Association (AIPA), an psychiatrists, occupations such as these. issues found that the registered nursing workaffiliate of the Austional therapists and 2. Take a deep breath, and keep calm. force in very remote Australia is mostly female tralian Psychologipsychologists, with 3. Ensure you are not wearing any necklaces, (89%) and ageing with 40.2% 50 years or over cal Society (APS), mental health cultural scarves, hanging jewellery or any religious compared to 33% nationally. As many as 43% which is committed competence training. symbols when confronting aMs person or pa are in remote indigenous communities. Only 5% to advancing the Jones says tient that may pose a risk to you of these RNs have postgraduate qualifications in social and emotional it’s vital nurses and alor others. remote health practice. wellbeing and mental lied health professionals 4. Where possible moveprovide the individual to aapproroom Warning of potentially violent situa health of signs Indigenous culturally in which other patients membersthat of the tions: Australians. priateorservices focus public are not present the audience), • Reports from prior care givers of previously “I’m passionate about on the (remove social and emotional there are atwellbeing least twoframework exits and plenty of violentwith behaviour. working my own Aboriginal for Indigenous room to move, and in which staff arecon• Previous expression of a desire or intent to people and also about ensuring a viable Australians, rather than other mainstream available to provide self-harm. choice for people to get good service provicepts of mental health. assistance if required. 5. Do not turn your backfor on Aboriginal the patient, and try • Verbal threats or gestures, or otherwise reck sion and to have good outcomes when they do Mental health issues and Torres to remain at least an arm’s length away from less behaviour. seek mental health and allied health services,” Strait Islanders go beyond the individual and are the patient. • sheA history of violent behaviour, particularly if says. linked to a person’s connection to land and cul6. Speak to the physical, person inemotional, a slow monotonous the patient doesn’t acknowledge prior “When people have really goodthis outcomes, ture, alongside spiritual and tonefactors. of voice. This is the opposite of history. that impacts on their entire life. social what a scared person usually doesconnections (there is a • A visual display of agitation, excitement or “I suppose that’s what got me into this Social and emotional wellbeing a high-pitched voice). social, suspicious area was thatbehaviour. driving, burning need to have alsotendency need to to beuse considered within broader The person to concentrate • When anger builds, facial expressions besome input into that.” cultural, politicalwill andhave historical contexts. to hear
I
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“I think that people are all well-intentioned you speak softly and slowly and service this andyou theyif think that by providing the same can have a calming effect. to everybody, they are catering to everybody,” 7. Do not says. maintain close eye contact; allow the Ms Jones patient to break theirnot gaze away. you “Sometimes that’s theand caselook because 8. Benot firm but respectful when giving instruc may know that an Aboriginal person comes tions, settling as limits or calling fortherefore assistance. from a collective a society, and their 9. Do not respond questions that contain obligations and theirtoresponsibilities can be very abuse.toEmpathise with feelings, but not with different that of a person in an individualistic behaviour that is not acceptable. For exam culture. ple you might say “I understand you have “If you don’t take into account their broad the right totobe angry,kinship but it isgroups not OKand for comyou connections family, to threaten me or the other people here.” munity, then you may be missing some of the 10.There is a high correlation between a per story or some of the picture when you are dealson’s self-perceived powerlessness and ing with that client and you may not be giving the a tendency to behave violently. Giving the in assistance that is going to help them heal. dividual concerned a lot of reassurance and “If this misconnection is occurring then peothe opportunity to communicate and express ple don’t engage.” their emotions can significantly reduce the AIPA has provided cultural competence risk of that individual becoming violent. workshops to the majority of Medicare Locals Encourage the person to tell their story. The nationally and also provides free, online resourcintroduction of a neutral ‘3rd person’ to the es for mental health practitioners including the situation that listens to and empathises with Working Together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait the individual can provide additional support Islander Mental Health and Wellbeing Principles and further reduce the risk of escalation. and Practice book. 11.Distraction can be a very useful tool to deThe book, now in its second edition, was edescalate a situation and interrupt an individu ited by leading Indigenous psychologist Profesal’s behaviour pattern. sor Pat Dudgeon, of the University of Western 12.Be familiar with your health service policies Australia, who is also chair ofto the National and procedures in relation dealing withAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leadership potentially violent situations, including the in Mental Health (NATSILMH) group, support and her UWA use of restraints, and engaging colleagues staff. Professor Helen Milroy and Associate Professor Roz Walker. The book details the social determinants of Have you been a illness social and emotional wellbeing, mental in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, victim of workplace harmful substance use and mental health, suiviolence? cide prevention among Aboriginal Australians, Leave a comment on this and other and mental disorder and cognitive disability in articles by visiting the ‘news’ the criminalsection justice system. of our website It also explains cultural competence and http://www.ncah.com.au outlines assessment and management, working To go to this article directly, visit with children, families and communities, as well http://tinyurl.com/lx9b4n2 as healing models and programs.
Significant differences exist in the way that social and emotional wellbeing, mental health and mental health disorders are understood in different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia. As a result, Ms Jones also advises mental health practitioners to seek Aboriginal support. “If you’re dealing with Aboriginal people you really should be also talking to somebody who can give you guidance if something comes up around community, obligations and responsibility about the way they perceive mental health issues,” she says. “Sometimes it is very different to the way that other people can perceive it, depending on where they are from in Australia and what their belief systems and that are. “It’s very important to have contact with Aboriginal people to say - is this something that is common with people from this part of Australia or not? “It’s about being able to have that cultural understanding of what you’re dealing with and the presentations can be different because of that.” AIPA is striving to increase the number of Indigenous psychologists which currently stands at just 50, and the group is working towards Indigenising psychological curriculum in universities, while providing mentoring and professional support for members. Indigenous psychologists are making a major contribution to Indigenous health, Ms Jones says.
“We are working with a lot of trauma and grief - it can be attached to the closing the gap statistics of lower life expectancy, chronic illness, those sorts of areas, also suicide is three times higher within Aboriginal communities.”
For the full article visit NCAH.com.au Nursing Careers Allied Health - Issue 24 | Page 13
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Applications close at 5:00pm 17 December 2014 and should be forwarded to: recruitment@kynetonhealth.org.au Page 14 | www.ncah.com.au
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Midwives and Registered Nurses Required for both permanent roles and short or long term contract opportunities in all areas of nursing over the next 12 months. Mackay Hospital and Health Service offers the opportunity to work in a dynamic environment including rural facilities and experience a diverse range of services including midwifery, renal, coronary care and cardiac interventional services, general medical/rehabilitation, ambulatory care and hospital in the home, mental health, alcohol and other drugs, oncology, general surgical, operating theatre and extended day surgery unit, emergency department, women’s and children/adolescent services, sexual health and cancer screening and rural nursing. There are seven rural hospitals with opportunities for a unique rural experience in a supported environment to develop and enhance a wide range of clinical skills. We provide education and training to assist our staff to develop their skills, advance their career and work to their full scope of practice. Mackay Base Hospital has undergone major development of clinical services and facilities to ensure it is a state of the art facility including wireless technology and electronic medical records and is in the process of becoming a fully digital hospital. Mackay is a tropical setting situated halfway between Brisbane and Cairns, is the gateway to the Whitsundays and offers the opportunity for a lifestyle change in one of Queensland’s most liveable regional cities. Please email your resume and expression of interest to Mackay.Recruitment@health.qld.gov.au or call Lynne Cameron on 07 4885 7712 and reference this advertisement Please note: only applications from candidates will be accepted; applications that may result in an agency fee will not be considered
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New year, new career for physiotherapy graduate By Karen Keast Bianca Ferreira can’t wait to get moving on her physiotherapy career. The 23-year-old, who will graduate from the University of Sydney this year with her Masters in Physiotherapy, is now applying for positions in a bid to kick-start her career as a physiotherapist in 2015. “It’s quite daunting because right now there are so many students that are graduating and I have to really be open-minded as to where I go,” she said. “I am happy to move just as long as I get that experience and I’m getting that supportive working environment.” Bianca is the national student chair of the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) and she’s also a graduate representative on the APA’s musculoskeletal physiotherapy committee. Bianca was studying a Bachelor of Health Science and considering a career as an occupational therapist when her dad’s prostate cancer diagnosis inadvertently changed the direction of her career path in health. “My dad had to go to the physio to do preop exercises,” she said. “I used to go with him to his physio sessions. The way they approached his situation and gave him the ability to take control of his own health through exercise and education, you could just see the improvement in him and it helped him to become more positive. “I thought - wow, I really want to be a part of that process, and that experience just changed my mind.” Bianca said a variety of placements during her physiotherapy studies, from musculoskeletal outpatients to rehabilitation in a geriatrics
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ward and cardio placements, enabled her to experience the wide range of diverse positions the physiotherapy profession has to offer. “It’s also amazing how different physios have different approaches, they interpret evidence in different ways,” she said. “It’s good to get all of those different experiences and put them into the mix - you can’t be close-minded. “The one thing I’ve learnt is you always have to keep an open mind and also your treatment needs to be based on the patient and prioritised based on the patient - not because you have seen that shoulder injury before and you’ve done this and that on someone else, you have to do what’s best for that person.” Bianca now aspires to work in musculoskeletal practice and she’s looking forward to being a part of a team of health professionals, all working to assist patients or clients. While she’s preparing to graduate from her Masters, Bianca says she plans to continue her education. “There’s so many additional courses I want to do just so I can be the best physio that I can be,” she said. “I’m pretty interested in the different techniques and I just want to keep adding on to my skills.” Bianca can be contacted via email at bfer8164@uni.sydney.edu.au
For more articles visit NCAH.com.au
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OUR PEOPLE TREAT PEOPLE, NOT JUST CANCER Chris O Brien Lifehouse is a not-for-profit, world-class cancer hospital that treats public and private patients. As an integrated cancer centre, we provide all aspects of clinical treatment, education, research, complementary therapies and emotional support all in one location. From February 2015, we will be opening our inpatient services including 125 overnight beds, an intensive care unit and 8 operating theatres. As a result, we are looking to fill numerous positions including: • Nurse Unit Managers for ICU, Surgical and Medical wards • Clinical Nurse Specialists • Registered Nurses • Endorsed Enrolled Nurses • Patient Services Assistants (AIN certified) • Casual positions for Registered Nurses, EENs and PSAs We are looking for enthusiastic and compassionate people who will thrive on working in an energetic environment with a committed team of professionals. We need great communicators with excellent problem solving and decision making skills. Lifehouse is a values-based organisation offering a supportive and collaborative environment and a commitment to our employees’ ongoing education and professional development. Other benefits include: • Career growth opportunities • Working in a state of the art facility: fantastic light filled working spaces and great café • Attractive salary packaging benefits including mortgage and rental packaging, novated leasing, accommodation packaging, a meal and entertainment card* • Low price membership to Sydney Local Health District Gym • Staff discounts on integrative medicine/complementary therapies such as yoga, massage, acupuncture, reflexology, mindfulness, exercise and nutrition plans.
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If you are interested in a position, please call Diana Castrillon on 02 85140313 or Jackie Webb on 85140951 for a confidential chat or send your resume as an Expression Of Interest to careers@lh.org.au. Nursing Careers Allied Health - Issue 24 | Page 19
Cultural competence Managing potentially training violent for mental health practitioners situations in remote settings
Mental health issues are one of the leading causes of the Indigenous health come and angry, be clear of 600 professionals gap.A Acollaborative group of survey Indigenous psychologists aretense stepping intoand thethere gap,can develof restlessness and anxiety such as pacing, funded essential by the Australian Governments Depart- thesigns oping resources to improve cultural competence of Australia’s muscle twitching or dilated pupils. ment of Health Ageing suggests that docmental healthand workforce • Intoxication significantly increases the risk of tors,Karen nurses, Keast. teachers and police in rural and By remote areas feel vulnerable to violence in the workplace. unsociable hours,is addoften ndigenous Working psychologist Tania Jones alone in isolated settings contributed to their feeling an Aboriginal voice to mental health care ings of vulnerability. 50% of respondents reportprovision for Indigenous Australians. ed a specific incident in the prior 12 months, but A descendant of the Gunditjmara and all respondents felt increased stress and anxiety Wathaurong peoples of Victoria, Ms Jones is resulting from concerns about workplace viobased in Warrnambool, where she works with lence. Staff training regarding managing violent Indigenous communities and stakeholders as and aggressive behaviour was one suggestion an Indigenous family violence reto assist staff to remain in their roles. The report gional coordinator. on the findings of the survey, and of a literature Ms Jones is also chair and document review, is available online at www. of the Australian Indigrdaa.com.au/papers. enous Psychologists Sue Lenthall’s research Nursing workforce Association (AIPA), an in very remote Australia, characteristics and key affiliate of the Ausissues found that the registered nursing worktralian Psychologiforce in very remote Australia is mostly female cal Society (APS), (89%) and ageing with 40.2% 50 years or over which is committed compared to 33% nationally. As many as 43% to advancing the are in remote indigenous communities. Only 5% social and emotional of these RNs have postgraduate qualifications in wellbeing and mental remote health practice. health of Indigenous Warning signs of potentially violent situa Australians. tions: “I’m passionate about • Reports from prior care givers of previously
I
working my own Aboriginal violentwith behaviour. people and also about ensuring a viable • Previous expression of a desire or intent to choice for people to get good service proviself-harm. sion and to have good outcomes when they do • Verbal threats or gestures, or otherwise reck seekless mental health and allied health services,” behaviour. she says. • A history of violent behaviour, particularly if “When people have really goodthis outcomes, the patient doesn’t acknowledge prior thathistory. impacts on their entire life. “I suppose that’s what got me into this • A visual display of agitation, excitement or areasuspicious was that behaviour. driving, burning need to have some inputanger into that.” • When builds, facial expressions be-
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violence. • The person may be experiencing delusions or Statistics show Aboriginal and Torres Strait hallucinations withthe violent content. Islander people have highest rates of psychoAny health professionals engaging with indilogical distress in Australia while the suicide rates viduals or patients with a history of violence or are at least two to three times higher for Aboriginal displaying these types of behaviours should propeople than for non-Indigenous Australians. ceed with extreme care and caution, and engage AIPA is working to improve the mental health the assistance of colleagues if possible. of Indigenous Australians through a raft of measStrategies for de-escalating potentially violent ures. situations One measure is to equip 1. Do not attempt to de-escalate the situation if non-Indigenous mental health the individual is actually being violent practitioners, including or if they are carrying a weapon. Fa mental health nurses, miliarise yourself with your health facility’s pol psychiatrists, occupaicies and procedures for responding to situa tional therapists and tions such as these. psychologists, with 2. Take a deep breath, and keep calm. mental health cultural 3. Ensure you are not wearing any necklaces, competence training. scarves, hanging jewellery or any religious Ms Jones says symbols when confronting a person or pa it’s vital nurses and altient that may pose a risk to you lied health professionals or others. provide culturally 4. Where possible move the individual to aapproroom priate orservices focus in which other patients membersthat of the
on the (remove social and emotional public are not present the audience), wellbeing Indigenous there are at least twoframework exits and for plenty of Australians, rather than mainstream conroom to move, and in which other staff are
cepts of mental health. assistance if required. available to provide Mental health issues andand Torres 5. Do not turn your backfor onAboriginal the patient, try Strait Islanders go beyond the individual and are to remain at least an arm’s length away from linked to a person’s connection to land and culthe patient. ture, alongside spiritual and 6. Speak to thephysical, person inemotional, a slow monotonous social factors. tone of voice. This is the opposite of Sociala scared and emotional wellbeing connections what person usually does (there is a alsotendency need to be considered within broader to use a high-pitched voice). social, cultural, politicalwill andhave historical contexts. to hear The person to concentrate
403-013 407-008 404-007 1/2PG FULL COL 405-011 402-013 423-2003 1/2PGFULL FULLCOL CO 414-002 422-003 419-003 416-002 418-002 401-039 409-008 408-00 1/2PG 410-003 412-002 411-006 421-003 420-003 413-005 415-004 417-004 424-003 you if you speak softly and slowly and this “I think people are all well-intentioned can have that a calming effect. and they think that by providing the same service 7. Do not maintain close eye contact; allow the to patient everybody, they are catering to everybody,” to break their gaze and look away. MsBe Jones 8. firm says. but respectful when giving instruc “Sometimes that’s or notcalling the case because you tions, settling limits for assistance. may thattoanquestions Aboriginal person comes 9. Donot notknow respond that contain from a collective as awith society, and therefore their abuse. Empathise feelings, but not with obligations responsibilities canexam be very behaviourand thattheir is not acceptable. For to that of a person in an individualistic different ple you might say “I understand you have culture. the right to be angry, but it is not OK for you you don’t take account to“Ifthreaten me or theinto other people their here.”broad connections to family, kinship groups and com10.There is a high correlation between a per munity, then you may be missing some of the son’s self-perceived powerlessness and story or some of the picture when you are deala tendency to behave violently. Giving the in ing with that client and you may not be giving the dividual concerned a lot of reassurance and assistance that is going to help them heal. the opportunity to communicate and express “If this misconnection is occurring then peotheir emotions can significantly reduce the ple don’t engage.” risk of that individual becoming violent. AIPA has provided cultural competence Encourage the person to tell their story. The workshops to the majority of Medicare Locals introduction of a neutral ‘3rd person’ to the nationally and also provides free, online resourcsituation that listens to and empathises with es for mental health practitioners including the the individual can provide additional support Working Together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait and further reduce the risk of escalation. Islander Mental Health and Wellbeing Principles 11.Distraction can be a very useful tool to deand Practice book. escalate a situation and interrupt an individu The book, now in its second edition, was edal’s behaviour pattern. ited by leading Indigenous psychologist Profes12.Be familiar with your health service policies sor Pat Dudgeon, of the University of Western and procedures in relation dealing withAboAustralia, who is also chair oftothe National potentially violent situations, including the in riginal and Torres Strait Islander Leadership use of restraints, and engaging support Mental Health (NATSILMH) group, and her UWA staff. colleagues Professor Helen Milroy and Associate Professor Roz Walker. The book details the social determinants of social and emotional wellbeing, mental illness in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, harmful substance use and mental health, suicide prevention among Aboriginal Australians, Leave a comment on this and other and mental disorder and cognitive disability in articles by visiting the ‘news’ the criminal justice system. section of our website http://www.ncah.com.au It also explains cultural competence and outlines assessment and management, working To go to this article directly, visit with children, families and communities, as well http://tinyurl.com/lx9b4n2 as healing models and programs.
Have you been a victim of workplace violence?
Caregivers
Significant differences exist in the way that social and emotional wellbeing, mental health and mental health disorders are understood in different Aboriginal and YOUR Torres Strait Islander communities START OE EXPERIENCE across Australia. As result, Jonesand also advises mental Doayou wantMs to work travel? healthPay practitioners to seek plus holiday pay Aboriginal based on support. your “Ifexperience you’re dealing with Aboriginal people you reHave care-giving experience or have ally should be also talking to somebody who can trained as a nurse? give you guidance if something comes up around Are you eligible to work in the UK by community, and responsibility aboutorthe virtue obligations of youth mobility, ancestry Visa way they perceive mental health issues,” she says. EU Passport? “Sometimes it is very different to the way OXFORD AUNTS CAN HELP that other people can perceive it, depending on YOU where they WORK are from in AND AustraliaTRAVEL and what their INsystems THEand UKthatAND belief are. BEYOND! very to have contact with Abo• “It’s Up to 12important week assignments (or longer). riginal people to say is this something that is • Living & caring for people in their homes. common with people from this part of Australia • Board & lodgings on assignment. or not? • Dormitory accommodation provided whilst undertaking initial UK training “It’s about being ableyour to have that cultural un• Professional and friendly support. derstanding of what you’re dealing with and the presentations can be different because of that.” In you are interested in this exciting opportunity AIPA is are striving to increase the of Inand you eligable to work in thenumber UK, email digenous psychologists which currently stands enquiries@oxfordaunts.co.uk at just 50, and the group is working towards Indigenising psychological curriculum in universities, while providing mentoring and professional support for members. Indigenous psychologists are making a major contribution to Indigenous health, Ms Jones says.
“We are working with a lot of trauma and grief - it can be attached to the closing the gap statistics of lower life expectancy, chronic illness, those sorts of areas, also suicide is three times higher within AborigiWebsite: www.oxfordaunts.co.uk nal communities.”
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For the full article visit NCAH.com.au Nursing Careers Allied Health - Issue 24 | Page 21
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Robots set to assist nurses in aged care By Karen Keast Robots could be entertaining, serving food and fluid, conversing with and lifting aged care patients in Australian facilities in the not too distant future. Professor Wendy Moyle, of Griffith Health Institute’s Centre for Health Practice Innovation, said robots will soon have an important role to play in assisting nurses to care for Australia’s rapidly ageing population. “There isn’t a lot around now at the moment off-the-shelf - it’s a growing industry,” she said. “In the next five years, we are going to see massive growth. I think we are going to see great advances very soon.” Professor Moyle, who is researching how robots can help people with dementia and their carers, said research shows people with dementia often have very little face to face contact with care staff. “There’s a large number of residents and a small number of staff and they are very busy; they’ve got numerous tasks to do,” she said. “It was identified that people have between two and 28 minutes in a 24-hour period where they actually have face to face communicative contact with care staff. “There are long periods of time where robots could be used to entertain people, to socialise, to engage them with other humans as well. “Robots can be used to connect people, to play games, to entertain, to do exercise. “We are not saying you should do away with humans, not at all, but we’ve found that the use of robots actually increases human interaction. “When we are out with the robots and care staff, the care staff are also interested in the robots and they often use the robots as a means of communication with residents.
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“We find it increases the more valuable, meaningful conversations that haven’t gone on previously.” Griffith University this week opened the doors to its Social Robotics and Assistive Technology Laboratory at its Nathan campus. An Australian first, the robotics laboratory will enable health care providers and practitioners to test technologies and to seek expert advice on new proposals or uses for existing technologies. “Often the products are developed and they don’t work, they don’t work well or they don’t work in an Australian environment,” Professor Moyle said. “I guess what we’re trying to do is to get the end users in and get them involved in terms of what they require, what it might look like and how we can go about either developing new products or redesigning the products that are currently available. “In terms of our research and development, we are developing new softwares and technologies and testing them with end users in the laboratory before they actually go out into the community.” Professor Moyle said while robots are relatively new in Australia, robots are already assisting aged care patients in parts of Japan, Denmark, Sweden and Germany. “In Germany, there is a robot which is probably the most sophisticated around,” she said. “It will deliver fluids to someone…and calculate how much fluid that person is drinking at the end of the day.
For the full article visit NCAH.com.au
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Learning powered by online technologies: collaboration is key By Clare Wilding Advances in online technologies have meant that global information-sharing, communication, and connection have now become realities for many people. This revolutionary way of learning has also impacted upon the provision of health care and on relationships between health practitioners and their clients.Although it is wise not to trust all of the information that is available online without testing it, it may be counter-productive, even destructive, for health professionals to ignore the presence of online materials and opinions. Instead, healthcare and patient-practitioner relationships may be enhanced when health practitioners and patients work collaboratively to seek, sort, and test online advice. A recent study by researchers in the United States (Rupert et al. 2014) found that patients and caregivers frequently consulted online health communities and social media to seek out more information about their health issues. Online health communities are comprised of engaged Internet users – people visit a site to collect and to share information with others from around the world who are interested in similar topics. Sometimes members of these communities have professional knowledge and education about the topic at hand; however, there are also communities in which the members primarily have lived experience of the medical condition and willingly share their
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experiences with others. Therefore these sites can offer a different type of information-sharing than health care providers, including empathy, support, and real-life examples of challenges and successes in coping with ill-health. Such a level of empathy may be difficult to achieve other than by having a comparable shared experience. Rupert et al. (2014) found that people used online health communities and social media to researchhealth information because they perceived that health workers were too busy to provide them with the level of detailed information that they wanted. Members of online communities provide advice about different types of treatments, and they offer stories about their own coping strategies. The participants in Rupert et al.’s study felt that health professionals were reluctant to discuss other possibilities of care than those advocated by their own particular profession. This finding is perhaps not surprising because to commit to a particular health profession is to take on the values and beliefs of that profession, including its methods of creating health and well-being.
For the full article visit NCAH.com.au
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Physiotherapy referrals key to improving care in the bush By Karen Keast Empowering physiotherapists to refer direct to medical specialists with a Medicare rebate will bolster patient care in regional and remote areas, according to the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA). APA president Marcus Dripps said state and federal governments must invest more into advancing physiotherapy opportunities, such as changing legislation to enable physiotherapists to refer with a rebate, in a bid to improve care for rural and remote patients. “Patients of physiotherapists in rural areas, who already have restricted access to the medical specialists because of chronic shortages, have an additional hurdle… when accessing the most suitable medical practitioner,” he said. “The extra doctor visit also carries a Medicare cost, takes up the GP’s time and resources, and patients also carry the cost of gap payments.” New Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures show rural and remote Australians face greater barriers to health care, including cost and longer waiting times, compared to people living in major cities. In 2013-14, 12.9 million people (82 per cent) living in outer regional, remote or very remote locations aged 15 and over visited a GP at least once in the previous 12 months.
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The report shows six per cent of people were more likely to delay seeing or not see a GP because of cost while almost a third waited “longer than they felt acceptable” to get an appointment with a GP. About 33 per cent of people living in outer regional, remote or very remote locations who visited an emergency department in 201314 presented at ED because a GP was not available. Under current legislation, physiotherapists must refer patients to a GP to ensure patients qualify for a Medicare rebate. In its pre-budget submission, the APA said physiotherapist referrals will reduce GP visits by about 737,000 a year, increase specialist medical practitioner consultations by 55,521, and deliver more than $2.1 million in savings to patients while shaving $3.6 million from the federal health budget every year. With about a quarter of APA physiotherapists living in regional and remote areas, Mr Dripps said physiotherapy referrals with rebates will benefit the economy and health care system while enabling GPs to spend more time on clinical care.
For the full article visit NCAH.com.au
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Boost to Victorian paramedics and nurses By Karen Keast Victorian paramedics are on the threshold of a new era with the incoming Labor government promising to resolve their bitter long-running industrial relations dispute. New premier Daniel Andrews has pledged to end the paramedics’ pay dispute with the outgoing government, with a finalised EBA set to be sent to the independent umpire for a work value case. Labor has also pledged to change the culture at Ambulance Victoria, replacing the service’s entire board with new members. It’s also promised $100 million to reduce response times, upgrade ambulance stations, vehicles and equipment, and to review call taking and dispatch procedures at the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority. Ambulance Employees Association Victoria (AEAV) general secretary Steve McGhie said paramedics are feeling “relieved”. “Our members have been in their industrial campaign for two and a half years - they’re tired, they’re fatigued, they’re frustrated, and they are now pleased that it looks like finally they will get an outcome that they believe they deserve. “Full credit to them and unfortunately the previous Napthine Government didn’t appreciate their paramedics enough and I will use Daniel Andrews’ words - ‘they had a war on paramedics’ - and it didn’t work. “I think paramedics feel that a weight’s been lifted off their shoulders.” Mr McGhie said paramedics will also have a voice as part of a ministerial working group, the Ambulance Performance and Policy Consultative Committee, to fix issues such as hospital ramping, response times and dispatch issues.
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“We think it can work - there need to be some pretty drastic changes in ambulance,” he said. “Paramedics deal with the frustrations of not having enough ambulance crews and delayed response times and long hospital ramping times, and the call taking and dispatch process needs overhauling. “There are lots of situations where paramedics are sent to emergency cases that are not real emergencies, so there’s a lot that can be done that can change it around in quite a short period of time.” Mr McGhie said the union hoped to finalise an enterprise agreement, comprising a clause taking into account the Fair Work Commission’s work value process, that could go to a vote of members before Christmas. He hoped paramedics could have a decision on their wage rates, handed down through the Commission, by mid-2015. “We’re not asking for more - all we want is to be fairly assessed and valued by the Fair Work Commission after we put all of our evidence together and obviously we have to cop what they award,” he said. “If it’s a significant amount, then they clearly believe that paramedics have been underpaid.” Labor has also promised to enshrine nurse to patient ratios in legislation and pledged to allow private eligible midwives, with a collaborative arrangement, access to public hospitals to provide birthing services. The new government has pledged to boost safety for nurses with a $20 million fund designed to upgrade facilities, and conduct a bed audit amid plans to increase hospital beds.
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