On behalf of the Sisters of Charity and staff of St Vincent's Private Hospital, I warmly welcome you to our hospital. For over 100 years we have excelled in the delivery of quality patient care. Working in partnership with our patients and their families we take a holistic approach to healthcare and create a healing environment that is second to none.
As an Australian leader in the provision of private healthcare services we have a clear vision for the future. Throughout 2009/2010 we undertook a number of new initiatives to shape our future.
Redevelopment
The first stage of the campus clinical planning process began. Clinical service planners were on site in April when doctors were interviewed and specialist workshops held. The final report has now been received and this will feed into the clinical service plan being developed as part of the hospital redevelopment program.
Corporate Governance
A new national governance structure for the health services owned by the Sisters of Charity Health Australia took effect from 1 October 2010. Changes are as follows:
- A single, fiduciary board with accountability for governance of the entire organisation.
- Community advisory boards will be established in each region.
- The Group General Manager and executive teams remain, with the CEO reporting to the national CEO.
Clinical Governance
Clinical governance emphasises the importance of governing clinical safety and quality with the same rigor as applied to corporate governance. It provides the system whereby clinicians and managers are accountable for the quality of patient care and involves a partnership between clinicians, managers and patients. Clinical governance includes concepts such as quality and safety and continuous improvement.
St Vincent’s Health Australia Limited Group Model By-Laws Version 4: 29 October 2012 mandate the Accreditation, Credentialing, Re-accreditation and process for defining and amending the Scope of Clinical Practice for Medical Practitioners and Dental Practitioners providing services to patients at the Facility. The purpose of this process is to assess the training, experience, competence, judgement, professional capabilities and knowledge, fitness and character of a Medical Practitioner or Dental Practitioner who holds Accreditation or seeks Accreditation at a Facility.
Private Mental Health
The St Vincent’s Private Hospital Young Adult Mental Health Service – USPACE is the first private facility in Australia to provide an early intervention hospital based state-wide service specifically for young people aged 16 to 30 with early psychosis or mood disorders. This population has been recognised as the most in need of appropriate, age specific mental health care. All patients admitted to the St Vincent’s Private Mental Health Program will be young people between 16-30 years and have a mental health problem as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV TR).
The service operates in a 20 bed purpose built inpatient unit. In addition to the inpatient unit, there are also diagnosis specific Day Programs and an Outreach service. Outpatient Consultation suites will allow for the provision of Tele-psychiatry services to rural and remote areas.
Integrated Interventional Catheter Labs
St Vincent's Private Hospital has commenced discussions with St Vincent's Hospital regarding the prospect of assisting them with the management model for cardiac interventional services across the Darlinghurst campus, with a view to establishing an integrated service.
Magnet Accreditation
In 2011, St Vincent’s Private Hospital received Magnet designation from the American Nursing Credentialing Centre (ANCC) becoming the first private hospital in Australia and the second private hospital outside the USA to achieve this distinction.
St Vincent's Private Hospital Fundraising
A new position of Executive Officer for the "Friends of St Vincent's Private Hospital" has been established. This enables us to move forward with this project following the winding up of the Ladies Committee at the end of 2009. This will become the private hospitals fundraising arm.
Notre Dame University
The training program for medical students at St Vincent's Private Hospital commenced in early February.
The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards Report Organisational Wide Survey – 2011
The Australian Council on Health Care Standards (ACHS) accreditation is the ‘gold standard’ for healthcare, It measures the effectiveness and outcomes of health services delivery and assures stakeholders that St Vincent’s Private Hospital has undertaken a rigorous process of external peer review to meet world-class standards for patient care. Just as the Magnet recognition program acknowledges high quality healthcare facilities and assures patients of exemplary care, nursing excellence and innovative nursing practices.
In the Clinical function which covers the patient experience across access, appropriateness, effectiveness, safety and consumer focus, each of these criteria were rated Extensive Achievement (EA). Outstanding Achievement (OA) was awarded for the collaborative work of the clinical dietician, the food services manager and members of the nursing staff for their work on the Nutritional Needs Standard .
In the Support function, the management of healthcare incidents was rated EA and among the Human Resource standards, two criteria were rated as Outstanding Achievement (OA)
In the Corporate function, once again the WHS Team and the staff in all areas of the hospital were rewarded for their excellent work in Safety management systems for which they again rated as Outstanding Achievement (OA)
In standard 3.1 the organisation provides quality, safe health care and services through strategic and operational planning and development, the surveyors made the following comments:
“The most significant strategy undertaken and achieved is being awarded Magnet status for nursing care earlier in 2011. St Vincent’s Private Hospital is the first private hospital in Australia to achieve Magnet recognition and only the third in Australia. On the basis of this the survey team recommends an OA."
Sports Medicine Clinic
The Sports Medicine Clinic was opened and is now in operation on level four.
Benchmark Injury Management Audit (BIMA)
St Vincent's Private Hospital underwent this internationally recognised audit in late October and achieved an outstanding result of 89.5 percent - the highest score in Australia. This score gives St Vincent's Private and Mater Hospitals eligibility for certification by the International Disability Management Standards Council (IDMSC) for a three-year period.
As we continue to grow our services and our reputation as a leader in the provision of private healthcare our focus for the coming year will be:
- Hospital redevelopment - we will look at implementation of clinical services plan, site identification, design and build.
- Integrated interventional catheter labs.
- Mental health services.
- Magnet Accreditation - preparation for the American Nurses Credentialing Center's visit in November 2010 and notification of outcome from the American Nurses Credentialing Center in early 2011. This will be followed by a bi-annual report 2013 and re-application in 2015.
- Length of stay management.
We look to the future with bright and optimistic plans and strive to uphold the vision and principles of our founders, the Sisters of Charity, and the unique tradition of nursing care they have pursued here since 1851.
Robert Cusack
Executive Director St Vincent's Private and Mater Hospitals
