Projects    

 The NSW OTA constantly has peri operative  nursing projects underway and in May 2009 we created the new position of “Project Officer”.

 

Jenny Cubitt has been elected to this position and she will be coordinating and

advising the  team for each project.

 

Perioperative Nursing Workforce Project

 

NSW Health is sponsoring Professor Mary Chiarella to work on this project with  NSW OTA

representatives.

 

See Mary’s  powerpoint that she presented at the 2009 NSW OTA conference.

 

As you are aware, the goal of the PNWP is “for nurses in perioperative units in NSW to identify

opportunities and to change the way care is delivered – in order to make better use of available resources to provide optimal patient care”.

The project itself should achieve two outcomes:

A) Making better use of human resources to improve the way care is provided and

      thus to improve patient outcomes.

B)   Empowering perioperative nurses so that they are capable of independently improving

      their working environment.

 

The program commenced in November 2009, and 2 of the 4 Saturday workshops associated with it have already been successfully completed by 15 teams from Area Health Services across the state. The teams returned to their workplaces and gained ‘buy-in’ from their colleagues in the multidisciplinary

perioperative team; (and collectively) these ‘expanded’ teams have identified those aspects of their unit’s work practices that they wish to improve/modify and/or change; and gathered data to support their

proposed practice changes. A sample of several proposed ‘projects’/changes follow:

 

-One team, in response to their chronic shortage of suitably experienced staff to

  undertake on call duties for complex surgery (such as neurosurgery, cardiothoracic

  surgery) have created a skills and knowledge enhancement program for inexperienced

  Perioperative nurses.

-Another team is collecting data and initiating roster changes, in order to improve staffing in the

  postanaesthesia recovery unit (PARU) as well as to better utilise the current resources in this area.

-A third team is looking at ways to reduce (or eliminate) the number of late starts (and subsequent

over-runs) of their elective lists.

There are other, equally worthy ‘projects’/changes being undertaken.

 

The next step, currently underway, is for the teams to think about how/or to begin to implement some of their planned changes. The teams have 2 further workshops to attend, on 29th May and 4th September, when they will discuss their progress and the outcomes of their practice change(s).

To support the teams as they move into the implementation stage, the NSW OTA guidance team

members will commence site visits, so they can hear firsthand about each team’s progress.

Dr Lois Hamlin, Team Leader

NSW OTA PNWP project team

 

 

 Surgical Smoke Plume Project

At the 2009 OTA Conference 130 Smoke Plume questionnaires were completed by delegates.

 

The results showed that very few hospitals use smoke plume evacuation systems and others who do have evacuation equipment, have little support from either surgeons or staff (or both) to utilise these systems.

 

The aim of the Working Party is to raise peoples' awareness of the dangers of

surgical smoke plume and to lobby NSW Health  to mandate the use of smoke evacuators.

 

Jenny Cubitt is the OTA Executive Project Officer who will coordinate the working party. Archival  Officer, Eve Stones and Menna Davies will lead the project.

 

The Surgical Plume Working Party has been in touch with other State/Territory

Perioperative Association to ascertain to what extent they are using smoke evacuation units.

 

They have also been in contact with several companies who manufacture diathermy and plume

evacuation equipment to request the most recent literature on the subject and to view the latest equipment.

 

They hope to meet with the NSW Nurses Association OH&S Officer in the new year to discuss how they can assist us with the project.

A list of REFERENCES is available for those who are interested.

 

If you are interested in participating in this important workplace project please contact the OTA on info@nsw-ota.asn.au 

 

NSW OTA Quilt—a work in progress!!!

Pictured HERE are the main blocks done for the 50 years of OTA Quilt. Each zone has completed a

section to date, and now it is time to get it all put together!!!!

Three people from the 2010 conference have offered to help complete the quilt in time for next years conference.

Any offers from other quilters to help would be greatly appreciated, after all many hands make light work. 

If you would like to be involved in this project please contact Eve Stones via the NSW OTA Secretariat,  Michelle Berarducci on PHONE: (02) 97999835  or by EMAIL:  info@nsw-ota.asn.au

 

Road case and Instrument tub working party with SRACA

Tracy Kerle is representing NSW OTA on this very important project—update information from Tracy below, 25th April 2010

 

The project has now been going for 7 months and has achieved many of the objectives identified at the initial meeting.

Issues identified:

· Difficulties finding paperwork and or lack of pictures etc

· State of tubs and road cases when they arrive,

· Heavy instrument trays,

· Difficulty delivering to hospitals,

· Difficulty getting trays etc out of the tubs,

· Inability to stack them

· Moving tubs and road cases around

· Delivery times

· The logistics around the many moves required and the issues around lifting.

 

We have developed the policy guidelines and recommendations for the road cases and instrument tubs and the handling of these from the company-courier-hospital. We have been lucky to have the assistance from the University and they have completed studies on the processes at hospitals, couriers and companies .

 

They have also look at some of the companies tubs and road cases to assist in the design of prototypes for road cases, tubs lifters and workstations

At the last meeting we viewed the drafts plans of these and we have signed off on the building of the prototypes for testing. This will take 2 months to develop and the team will then investigate the

feasibility and appropriateness of these for their intended use and for the environment.

Once this occurs and we sign off on the recommendations, these will be placed on the website for

comment.

 

In regards to the instrument trays themselves, one of the companies are designing the trays to a weight of between 7-9kgs .Other companies have discussed this but have stated difficulties as these trays are developed overseas.

 

We have stated that we will be writing standards for new sets that are being developed and that these should be distributed to their main project development teams.

 

If you have any queries or suggestions etc please contact me on my email

takerle@nsccahs.health.nsw.gov.au

 

Competency/assessment tools project NEW July 2010

Click HERE for initial information