With almost 12 months having passed since Prince of Wales Hospital (PoWH) services began moving into the Acute Services Building (ASB), the positive impact of comprehensive planning is being acknowledged and celebrated. Multi-disciplinary teams have worked alongside each ward in the ASB to develop a model of care document. Models of care outline how a service will ensure the delivery of person-centred care. Through developing their model of care, the Haematology and Medical Oncology team was able to determine how they were going to work in their new ward. The team developed their new ways of working such as when and where ward meetings would occur, and how all staff members would work across the two staff stations and clinical workroom. The model of care helped plan the team’s move into the new ward, supported by existing external relationships in the community, which helped identify the complementary services that needed to be informed of the move. Superuser for the Haematology Medical Oncology ward, Karly Bevan said “having our model of care documented ensured we were ready as a team to amalgamate and relocate our services into the ASB. "
The team continues to update the model of care based on lessons learned in the new ward.
The PoWH Comprehensive Epilepsy Service provides inpatient and outpatient care to local and remote NSW patients experiencing seizures or blackouts. Previously located on Parkes 8, the service moved to a purpose-built space on Level 8 of the ASB in March 2023. The transfer of state-of-the-art equipment and installation of a new video electroencephalogram (VEEG) system meant high-level consultation with various IT teams. After several months of working with IT on the installation of cameras and recording systems, and moving years of data onto new servers, PoWH was the first hospital in Australia to install and use the new VEEG system, which records continuous video data of epilepsy patients undergoing surgical or diagnostic assessments, facilitating specialised identification of the causes of their seizures or blackouts. The team’s ability to have dedicated beds to monitor booked VEEG admissions has simplified the planning of patient admissions and allows streamlined booking of all the tests required during the admission. The new technology also enables patients to make a single trip to PoWH. Patients have embraced the move to the new building, delighted to have access to comprehensive patient-centred care, as well as ensuite bathrooms. Mr Frangikos Kochinos, who travelled from outside Sydney with his brother who required the assistance of the service, said he could not be happier with the support provided, scoring the service a “100 out of 100.” Published March 2024