Far West Local Health District

BROKEN HILL HOSPITAL PICNIC DAY HOLIDAY TOMORROW

Broken Hill Health Service is having its Picnic Day Holiday tomorrow Monday 2 September 2024.

Only emergency services will operate as normal. All other services will be closed, including the BHHS Kiosk, resuming Tuesday 3 September 2024.

OUT OF THE SHADOWS WALK TUESDAY 10 SEPTEMBER

A walk to remember those lost to su***de, and to help Australians in crisis, will be happening from 6am on Tuesday 10 September in Broken Hill.

Full details below.

Pop on your shoes and go on a noticing nature walk! A nature walk can help your family learn to focus their attention and take in the details of things around them.

For more tips from to get you and your family moving, visit: www.healthyliving.nsw.gov.au/families

Congratulations to our three Extended Nursing Placements Program (ENPP) nursing students, from the University of Sydney, who completed the ENPP program in June.

The ENPP is a collaborative project involving multiple stakeholders in our region including Far West LHD, the University Department of Rural Health, The Susan Wakil School of Nursing at the University of Sydney, Western Sydney University, University of Notre Dame Australia (Sydney), RFDS (NSW SE & VIC NW Divisions), Maari Ma Aboriginal Corporation, Coomealla Health Aboriginal Corporation, Murray Valley Aboriginal Corporation, Robinvale District Health Services and Sunraysia Community Health Services.

ENPP students completed two placements over a 20-week period in primary health care or the acute care setting. The extended placement presents a major shift from traditional short term nursing student placements.

The goals of the ENPP are to enhance the clinical learning experience for student nurses, develop practice and leadership skills required for successful nursing practice and broaden the students’ understanding of the unique complexities of rural/remote healthcare.

The longer term placements improve patient outcomes and access to quality healthcare for rural and remote communities by contributing to a pipeline of rural/remote- ready nursing graduates. The ENPP stakeholders want to ensure nursing students have the confidence and skills to pursue a career in rural/remote nursing.

Successful ENPP Program: Back row, from left - Sarah Milne, Clio Astridge, Chloe Organ (3 ENPP students from University of Sydney) and Danielle White (Director of Sunraysia Corporation). Front: Kazuma Honda (University of Sydney Academic), Liz Nichols (ENPP Project Officer, FWLHD) and Professor Sue Randall (Professor in Nursing Rural and Remote/Primary Health Care, University of Sydney).

The Silver City Quilters Club in Broken Hill have made and donated fabric bags to Palliative Care that can be used in the ward to place a deceased person’s belongings in for family to take home, rather than a plastic bag.

The handmade bags provide a personal and dignified touch to the difficult task of packing up and taking home a loved one’s belongings after they have died.

Melissa Cu***ng, Director Cancer and Palliative Care offered her sincere thanks to the Silver City Quilters Club for their thoughtful and generous gifts, which have already been used with very positive feedback.

If you need help in supporting patients with alcohol and drug use, DASAS provides free 24/7 clinical advice for any health professional.

Simply call 1800 023 687 and speak to one of our clinical nurse consultants for advice on:

• Management of withdrawal and intoxication
• Opioid dependence treatment
• Treatment for alcohol dependence
• Alcohol and other drug conditions, advice and management

For more information, visit: health.nsw.gov.au/DASAS

Our dental health team are celebrating the upskilling in promotion and community engagement skills of one of their newer staff members.

Kyra Tumes started with Far West LHD in 2021 as a part time dental assistant then moved to full time after completing further education.

Attending NAIDOC Days and the Child and Family Health Team ‘Mums and Bubs’ group led to a keen interest in community engagement and health promotion. From there she decided to further her studies and has recently successfully completed a Cert IV in Oral Health Promotion, skills she now brings to her role at FWLHD.

“Kyra works full time at CHC and is an energetic and caring part of the expanding Oral Health Team,” said Oral Health District Manager, Karen Kennedy.

“She is a valuable team member who brings enthusiasm and a can-do attitude to work at Community Health Centre and our Outreach clinics.”

Congratulations, Kyra!

UPDATE: IMPACTS TO BROKEN HILL HOSPITAL CAMPUS FROM WEDNESDAY 17 JULY 2024

Health Infrastructure is building a new Acute Mental Health Inpatient Unit (MHIPU) and refurbishing the Emergency Department at Broken Hill Hospital to better meet the health needs of the Broken Hill community now and into the future.

Construction on the Acute Mental Health Inpatient Unit has now commenced. Notice was previously issued for site establishment work which commenced on 1 July 2024 and will continue until mid-2025, which includes impacts to traffic and pedestrian access due to the closure of the Thomas Street entry, parking and the bus stop location.

This notice is to advise of additional impacts which will take place from Wednesday 17 July until mid-2025:
🔘 Extension of the fenced work zone to enable service investigations and diversions.
🔘 Closure of both rows in the western carpark (previously only southern row impacted).
🔘 Closure of an additional section of the internal Hospital Road to vehicles and pedestrians. Access to three disabled car parks and the smokers’ hut will remain.
🔘 Closure of pedestrian access to the Oncology Unit, Renal Unit and Pathology – please access via front or rear main entries to hospital.
🔘 Temporary removal of the needle exchange facility adjacent to the Sub-Acute Rehabilitation Unit (SARU) – please use the facility provided outside of the Emergency Department at the rear of the hospital.
🔘 A temporary fence will be erected in the northwest corner of the site to allow service connections from 17 July – 19 July 2024 only, with impacts as follows:
o The Recovery Centre roller door will be blocked during this time.
o Pedestrian access to the Safe Haven Café will be via the upper Northern footpath – please follow signs.

Please see map for more details or visit: bit.ly/3QUqB1O

For your safety, please follow instructions at all times. Thank you for your patience while we complete this important redevelopment for the Broken Hill community.

For more information, please call the project team on 02 8838 8889 or email [email protected]

CONTRIBUTIONS OF PALLIATIVE CARE VOLUNTEERS INTERVIEWS

To highlight the remarkable contribution of palliative care volunteers during National Palliative Care Week the Far West LHD created a series of short interviews about the palliative care volunteer service from a variety of perspectives – those of the volunteer coordinator, volunteers and carers.

They show the impact volunteers have through their compassion, care and dedication for palliative patients and their families.

You can listen to the interviews here:

Contributions of palliative care volunteers in Far West LHD Audio: Highlighting the remarkable contributions of palliative care volunteers in Far West LHD. June 2024 The Palliative Care Team at the Broken Hill Cancer ...

Have you had diarrhoea or felt a bit queasy lately? It might be viral gastroenteritis (gastro) 🚽

But What the Health is it? Swipe through to find out.

Unwell and not sure where to go? You can call healthdirect anytime day or night on 1800 022 222 and get the help you need. healthdirect is free and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A registered nurse will answer your call, ask some questions and connect you with the right place for care.

If it’s life-threatening, call Triple Zero (000) or go to an Emergency Department.

For more information, visit: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/.../viral-gastroenteritis.aspx

We were pleased to attend the Coomealla High School Careers Expo on Wednesday 12 June.

Our staff connected with the students by providing guidance and informing and educating youth and staff within the school of services and career pathways within the FWLHD.

Four potential SBAT students and four potential students for 2025 Scholarships were identified.

Do you have a health related question that you'd like featured on the Far West of Centre Podcast? Are you curious about something?

Submit your question anonymously using the link or QR code below and stay tuned to see if your question is answered: https://forms.office.com/r/TXRmkeQWEJ

BROKEN HILL HEALTH SERVICE REDEVELOPMENT: EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT UPGRADE WORKS

Health Infrastructure is building a new Acute Mental Health Inpatient Unit and refurbishing the Emergency Department at Broken Hill Hospital to better meet the health needs of the Broken Hill community now and into the future.

Work will commence on Stage 1 of the Emergency Department upgrade on Tuesday 13 August which impacts the Ambulance Bay and access to some areas, including Day Surgery. This will work will take approximately three weeks.
 Please follow alternative route signage to access Day Surgery and any other areas impacted.
 There will be some noisy works as excavator work and saw-cutting of the asphalt in the work zone is undertaken. Water will be used to suppress dust. Some vibration can be expected.
 The project team is working closely with NSW Ambulance and ED staff to ensure there are as minimal impacts to the provision of ambulance services due to this work as possible.
 Fire egress routes will be maintained.

For your safety, please follow instructions at all times. Thank you for your patience while we complete this important redevelopment for the Broken Hill community.

For more information about the Redevelopment, please call the project team on 02 8838 8889 or email [email protected]

WENTWORTH HEALTH SERVICE REDEVELOPMENT | The $30 million Wentworth Health Service Redevelopment has reached a significant milestone, with the final concrete pour forming the footprint and foundation of the new hospital now complete.
FWLHD Manager of Remote Health Services Denise McCallum, Wentworth Health Service Manager Tim O’Neill, and hospital staff joined the builders to celebrate the milestone with a cake cutting ceremony earlier this month.
More than 40 trucks delivered approximately 340 cubic metres of concrete for the new hospital’s foundation, which once built will include a contemporary 19-bed Inpatient Unit, Urgent Care Centre and community health services.

With the completion of the concrete slab, the building structure is now starting to take shape with the installation of frames and other structural elements.

The current hospital remains fully operational as the main works progress and every effort is being made to minimise disruption to staff, patients and visitors.

More information about the Wentworth Healtjh Service Redevelopment can be found www.wentworthredevelopment.health.nsw.gov.au

Wentworth Health Service Redevelopment Concrete Pour Timelapse video can be seen at https://youtu.be/SsRgZn-Sxp8

Wentworth Health Service Redevelopment Concrete Pour Timelapse – full version The $30 million Wentworth Health Service Redevelopment has reached a significant milestone, with the new building’s concrete slab poured.

Got some veggies in the fridge? Try this low-cost simple roast veggie pasta! You can roast any vegetables including capsicum, cauliflower and carrots. 🥕😋🍝

For more budget friendly healthy recipe ideas, visit: www.healthyliving.nsw.gov.au/healthyrecipes

A pressure injury, also referred to as a pressure sore or bed sore, is an injury to the skin caused by unrelieved pressure or shear and may occur when you are unable to move regularly due to illness, injury or surgery.

To help prevent pressure injuries during a hospital stay:

1. Check your skin or ensure the nursing staff check your skin regularly.

Look for warning signs of pressure injuries such as:
• Redness / skin discolouration
• Tenderness, pain or itching in affected areas
• Blistering
• Broken skin

2. Talk to your nurse about pressure injury prevention.
3. Read the Pressure Injury Prevention Information for Patients and Families brochure, linked below
4. Move frequently to relieve pressure- reposition yourself or ask your carer/ nurse to assist you to change position. You can also ask them to regularly remind you to change position.
5. Eat a healthy diet and drink fluids regularly unless you are on a fluid restriction.

To find out more visit:https://www.cec.health.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/259288/Pressure-Injury-Prevention-Information-for-Patients-and-Families-English.pdf

The next time you see a health professional, you might be asked to fill in a patient-reported measures survey.

The information you share will help your healthcare team understand what’s important to you, so they can provide care that meets your needs.

This video explains patient-reported measures:

Understanding patient reported measures An introduction to patient-reported outcome and experience measures.

PARKINSON'S SYMPOSIUM TODAY

People living with Parkinson’s Disease and their carers are invited to the Far West Local Health District Parkinson’s Symposium at Thyme on Argent in Broken Hill, today 22 August 2024 from 3:00pm to 4.30pm.

Attend to learn more about Parkinson’s symptoms and management and the services available for support.

Guest speakers will include a neurologist, exercise physiologist, occupational therapist, dietitian, speech pathologist and pharmacist.

At the Symposium, we are also seeking feedback on a new Movement Disorder Program at the Broken Hill Health Service, and what individuals living with a movement disorder would like the service to look like and how we can make any improvements.

Want your own health coach to help you reach your health goals?

Our Aboriginal health coaches can help you set health goals that matter to you and stay on track.

Sign up online, ask your health professional for a referral, or call 1300 806 258 access free health coaching.

Learn more 👉 gethealthynsw.com.au

Recall: Screwball Peanut Butter Whiskey Flavoured Liqueur 750ml and 50ml
Product information:
Pernod Ricard Winemakers Pty Ltd is conducting a recall of Screwball Peanut Butter Whiskey Flavoured Liqueur 750ml and 50ml. This recall only applies to those products that do not declare the allergen listed below (sesame). The products have been available for sale nationally at Dan Murphy’s, BWS, independent liquor retailers including IGA, and on-premise outlets.
DETAILS BELOW:

Recall: Screwball Peanut Butter Whiskey Flavoured Liqueur 750ml and 50ml

Product information:

Pernod Ricard Winemakers Pty Ltd is conducting a recall of Screwball Peanut Butter Whiskey Flavoured Liqueur 750ml and 50ml. This recall only applies to those products that do not declare the allergen listed below (sesame). The products have been available for sale nationally at Dan Murphy’s, BWS, independent liquor retailers including IGA, and on-premise outlets.

Date markings: All batches are affected.

Problem: The recall is due to the presence of an undeclared allergen (sesame).

Food safety hazard: Any consumers who have a sesame allergy or intolerance may have a reaction if the product is consumed.

What to do: Consumers who have a sesame allergy or intolerance should not consume this product. Consumers should return the product(s) to the place of purchase for a full refund. Any consumers concerned about their health should seek medical advice.

For further information please contact:
Pernod Ricard Winemakers Pty Ltd
1300 363 153
https://www.pernod-ricard.com/en/locations/australia

See: foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/news/recalls/screwball-peanut-butter-whiskey-flavoured-liqueur-750ml-and-50ml

Are you a clinician or carer in NSW? We want to know more about how your patients travel to access healthcare.

Share the Transport for Health Community Survey with them or their carers and you’ll be helping to improve this important service for your patients.

Find out more here: https://www.haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/transport-health

The coaches at the Get Healthy Service can help you set health goals that matter to you and stay on track!

Sign up online, ask your health professional for a referral, or call 1300 806 258 to access free health coaching.

Learn more 👉 gethealthynsw.com.au

Today on the podcast we are speaking with James Wells, Exercise Physiologist, and Stephanie Wylie, Dietitian, about the difference between a surgery approach and conservative management pathway when managing osteoarthritis.

In Season 4 of the Far West of Centre podcast we are meeting with James Wells, our Exercise Physiologist in the Osteoarthritis Team at the Broken Hill Hospital and Integrated Care Team. He will talk to us about various topics about life with Osteoarthritis.

New episodes every Monday!

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Amazon Music, RadioPublic, iHeartRadio and Overcast today! Simply search 'Far West of Centre' on your chosen platform.

SKIN CANCER SCREENING BROKEN HILL

Registration for free Skin Cancer screenings organised by Lions Club of Broken Hill will be held at Westside Plaza, Broken Hill from 10am-3pm on Tuesday 20 August and Wednesday 21 August.

Regular skin cancer screenings are essential for detecting and treating the disease early.

It's recommended to conduct self-exams and seek professional screenings, especially if there's a family history of skin cancer or if you notice any changes in moles or skin lesions.

People living with Parkinson’s Disease and their carers are invited to the Far West Local Health District Parkinson’s Symposium at Thyme on Argent in Broken Hill on 22 August 2024 from 3:00pm to 4.30pm.

Attend to learn more about Parkinson’s symptoms and management and the services available for support.

Guest speakers will include a neurologist, exercise physiologist, occupational therapist, dietitian, speech pathologist and pharmacist.

At the Symposium, we are also seeking feedback on a new Movement Disorder Program at the Broken Hill Health Service, and what individuals living with a movement disorder would like the service to look like and how we can make any improvements.

The lookout is on for Lead Artists to be part of the Broken Hill Health Service Redevelopment. This project is being led by West Darling Arts and the Broken Hill City Art Gallery in partnership with FWLHD and Health Infrastructure.

Expressions of Interest (EOI) are now open at the West Darling Arts or Broken Hill City Art Gallery websites.

This is an incredible opportunity for local artists to contribute their talent to the new Acute Mental Health Inpatient Unit and the upgraded Emergency Department at Broken Hill Hospital.

West Darling Arts and Broken Hill City Art Gallery are available to help support artists get their EOI together.

Applications close on Sunday, 18 August 2024.

How do you travel to healthcare appointments? We want to hear from you!

Share your experience by completing the Transport for Health Community Survey and you’ll be helping to improve this important service for yourself and your community.

Complete the survey today or share with a loved one or their carer: https://www.haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/transport-health

BROKEN HILL HEALTH SERVICE KIOSK VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Join the award-winning team!

Broken Hill Health Service is currently seeking individuals from the local community who are interested in volunteering at the Broken Hill Health Service Kiosk.

Volunteer roles at the kiosk include:

- Customer Service:
- Assisting customers
- Handling cash transactions

- Kitchenhand:
- Cooking
- Food preparation
- Barista duties

- Hotel Services:
- Cleaning
- Operating the dishwasher

Kiosk volunteers will receive support, guidance, and the opportunity to engage in social activities.

For enquiries or to apply to become a volunteer at the Broken Hill Health Service Kiosk, please contact Melanie Chynoweth, Manager of Consumer Experience, Community Engagement, and Integration, at (08) 8080 1121 or via email at [email protected]