Page 2833 - Week 08 - Thursday, 24 August 2006
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being finalised and full implementation commencing 1 September 2006. Approximately $466,000 has been spent.
(k) Care Package – returning mental health clients, ($613k). Funds have not been used for this specific purpose, as the need did not arise. Instead, funding has been used to service like clients, providing the secure care environment needed for patients with high security needs and under custodial orders. Three staff have been transferred to the Psychiatric Services Unit to provide additional support to nursing staff. Five staff remain at Brian Hennessey Rehabilitation Centre which currently has seven forensic mental health consumers in residence. $426K was spent on this initiative to the end of November 2005. The funds were then returned to ACT Health. The funding has been reinstated in 2006-2007 ($623K). As the need for care packages has not yet arisen, the money has been spent similarly to last year. To the end of July 2006, $28K had been spent on this initiative.
(l) Picture Archival Communication System, ($2 500k) – Procurement of Computed Radiography (CR) equipment for TCH and Calvary has been completed. The tender process was completed in July 2006. The preferred vendor has been selected and contract negotiation commenced. Any delays in contract negotiation for the RIS-PACS will resulted in a delay to the implementation. The system is expected to go live in July 2007. To date, $297k has been spent on this initiative.
(2) At present in the ACT there is no reliable way of measuring the number of falls in the community. Until this data is available comparing financial year reports are meaningless.
Given an ageing population we will not see a reduction in falls but a levelling off of falls rates that will be an indication that the programs are successful.
ACT Health are applying evidence-based practice, through the pre and post Community Outreach Assessment Program (COAP) and the Falls & Balance Clinic, which has been shown in research trials to reduce falls significantly by 20 - 60 %. The COAP and Falls & Balance Clinic records indicate that their patients experience a reduction in falls of 40 - 60% within a 6 to 12 month follow up period. An even higher reduction in the rate of falls is achieved in the patient who has experienced multiple falls prior to attending the clinics.
Population Health Unit is undertaking a task of improving falls rate data collection by investigating the use of ambulance falls data and improving the collecting of falls data in Emergency Departments.
(3) Seventeen Registered Nurses have accessed the Refresher program at Calvary Healthcare and The Canberra Hospital. Of these eight Registered Nurses have completed the program and secured positions and nine Registered Nurses are currently undertaking the program
In addition, the first refresher midwife completed in June 2006 and has secured a position; a further three are currently in the program.
Currently, three nurses are undertaking the 2006 Re-entry program for registered nurses.
(4) The Pathology Registrar was appointed in January 2006.
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