North Metropolitan Health Service wins big at 2023 WA Health Excellence Awards

North Metropolitan Health Service (NMHS) won four awards at the 2023 WA Health Excellence Award, including the NMHS HEART team; Department of Renal Medicine and Transplantation, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (SCGH) and Dr David Speers, Consultant Pathologist and Infectious Diseases Physician, SCGH.

As well as winning the Excellence in Safety and Quality Award, the HEART team were joint winners of the prestigious Director General Award.

The Director General Award is chosen by the Department of Health’s Director General, Dr David Russell-Weisz amongst all the nominations, highlighting the HEART team’s remarkable success.

The HEART Program (the Hospital Emergency Access Response Team) was established in 2022 to develop initiatives to support ambulance ramping and provision of timely, safe and quality patient care. It is a whole of hospital initiative and a testament to the collaborative work of staff at Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group and their commitment to patient flow and active discharging and implementing new models of care in the Emergency Department.

Designed to focus on the five key themes of: care outside the hospital, Emergency Department initiatives, patient flow optimisation, discharge and innovative approaches to care.

Since its implementation in July 2022, the HEART Program has resulted in a 41% reduction in ramping hours with significant additional gains occurring in other emergency access and patient flow measures.

HEART Project Director, Holly Landers, said ambulance ramping is a symptom of a whole of hospital problem.

"One of the keys to our success is that we have focussed on patient flow through the whole hospital, from the front door to the back door, and not just focussed our efforts within the Emergency Department," she said.

In partnership with the Department of Nephrology and Transplantation at Royal Perth Hospital, the Department of Renal Medicine and Transplantation at SCGH was awarded the Excellence in Rural and Remote Health Care Award for their multidisciplinary approach to addressing disparity in access to kidney transplantation for Aboriginal Australians.

Kidney transplantation remains the treatment of choice for patients with kidney failure, resulting in improved life expectancy, quality of life and productivity. However, Aboriginal Australians have significantly lower rates of kidney transplantation with a lower proportionate percentage of Aboriginal Australians on the transplant waitlist as well.

Through an analysis of the multitude of complex and inter-related socio-economic, institutional and health care provider factors that contribute to the disparity, the Department of Renal Medicine and Transplantation was able to increase awareness of kidney transplantations in the Kimberley as well as increase the number of eligible patients commencing work up for kidney transplants.

This was achieved through streamlining the work-up process, conducting assessments on country, improving communication, and building a trusting relationship with the patients.

Dr David Speers was awarded the Minister for Health Award, recognising his immense contribution to the WA health system and his significant achievements over the course of his career.

Working as both an Infectious Diseases Physician at SCGH and as the Head of the Department of Microbiology for PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA, Dr Speers has had a substantial impact on the WA health system.

At SCGH, Dr Speers has been involved in inpatient consults, infection prevention, and antibiotic prescription advice that has directly resulted in improved patient care.

Dr Speers collaborates with different healthcare teams, offering his guidance and support. An exceptional leader, Dr Speers is always the first to acknowledge the hard work and commitment of those he works alongside. His ability to inspire, innovate and bring about meaningful change throughout his career has led to this phenomenal recognition.

It is wonderful to see the amazing work of the HEART team, Department of Renal Medicine and Dr David Speers, alongside our seven other finalists recognised on WA Health’s night of nights.