Metro South Health recently celebrated the Innovation Sprint Series Showcase, a program where frontline teams explored, identified and implemented initiatives to improve access to care for our patients.

This Series focussed on solution design in high-demand areas including emergency departments, gastroenterology, specialist outpatients and elective surgery.

More than 30 initiatives commenced across Metro South, ranging from improving communication across clinical units to optimising theatre management and developing educational models to upskill staff.

The showcase provided teams the opportunity to creatively share their accomplishments and insights gained from their initiatives, including demonstrated improvement, sustainability, innovation, and collaboration. The winners of the showcase were acknowledged by Metro South Health Board Chair Janine Walker, Chief Executive Noelle Cridland and Chief Operating Officer Paula Foley.

The winners in the four Metro South Health service domains were:

• Emergency Department – Bayside Health Service: ‘Escalation Pathway: Accountable actions and timely discharges’
• Gastrointestinal and Endoscopy – Logan and Bayside collaborative: ‘The Dietician First Gastroenterology Sprint’
• Specialist Outpatients – QEII Jubilee Hospital: ‘Confirm or Try Again’
• Elective Surgery – PAH Hospital Pharmacy: ‘Pre-admission Clinic Review by Pharmacist’
• Spirit Award – QEII Hospital: ‘QEII Together to Improve ED Patient Care’.

Ms Foley said Metro South Health was proud to support improvement and innovation across the health service.

“Encouraging our frontline staff to generate ideas about how to best meet healthcare needs of our community has identified remarkable solutions that will result in improved access to care.

“The Sprint Series has fostered a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration, enabling healthcare teams to identify challenges, adapt to changing needs, and drive innovation in clinical practices with the support of the Clinical Improvement Unit at Metro South.’