Launched 4 years ago, the Queensland Health’s Nurse Navigator program was created for patients with complex care needs and designed as an improved model of care.
The Nurse Navigators are Advanced Practice Nurses and Midwives that help patients with care coordination and care planning.
A Nurse Navigator has the system knowledge and access, clinical skills and time to understand each person’s needs and to partner with them to develop a plan of care that addresses their health needs and respects and values their time and circumstances.
In this segment we hear from Adjunct Professor Shelly Nowlan, Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer for Queensland Health on the inception, evolution and where the program has reached after 4 years, with 400 Nurse Navigators across Queensland.
We also spoke with 2 Nurse Navigators, Nikia Goldsmith, a Complex Chronic Disease Nurse Navigator from Metro North Hospital and Health Service and Shona Fitzpatrick, a General Paediatrics – Rural and Remote Nurse Navigator from Children’s Health Queensland. Shona took us to see one of patients, 3.5 year old Zayden Chen and speak with his mother, Adele. Zayden has a rare genetic condition called GABRB2, with just 18 cases in the world. Shona has helped the family navigate through the health system and for a single medical professional to have a full holistic understanding of Zayden’s needs.
Thanks to our media partners Australian Healthcare & Hospitals Association and Australian College of Nursing
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Health-Tech Connections
Challenges in health care delivery have compounded, with clinical staff being exposed to the Omicron COVID variant. Reduced staffing has brought on its challenges to most already-strained state health care systems and the people working in them.
However, over the past 2 years of the pandemic, technology has played an increasing role on the front end for patients and consumers at home and clinicians in the medical setting. Much more is planned in technology that will deliver efficiency, reduce risk and make available new models of care. This has the potential to touch the working lives of all stakeholders and
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Health equity
For 30 years the Humpty Dumpty Foundation has worked to help bridge the gap that often exists between available resources and actual needs through the donation of paediatric medical equipment. Humpty, like many other charitable initiatives, began with a humble goal. Its Founder and Executive Chairman, Paul Francis OAM, together with Patron Ray Martin AM, set out to raise some money to paint the walls of the Children’s Ward at Royal North Shore Hospital.
To date more than 440 hospitals and health services have shared in over $85 million of essential and lifesaving medical equipment for sick and injured paediatric patients.
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Redefining diversity in clinical trials
Ensuring inclusion, diversity, equity and patient input in the development of novel drugs and medical devices has become well accepted in health care. However appropriate implementation of these elements has been a challenge for many. Only by implementing these conscious inputs can patient outcomes be improved and health disparities in marginalised groups be addressed.
Australian Health Journal spoke to Gillian Mason, Consumer and Community Involvement Lead at Hunter Medical Research Institute in Newcastle, NSW on this topic discussed at the recent ARCS Conference in Sydney.
