Care Companions support
patients at Whakatāne Hospital
BOPDHB’S COMMUNITY DENTAL HEALTH VEHICLES HAVE A NEW LOOK
Whakatāne Hospital ‘Care Companions’ holding
just some of the resources used to support and
ease the anxiety of patients with dementia.
Frail older patients within Whakatāne
Hospital’s Medical and Surgical wards
are being supported by a team of Care
Companions – an initiative aimed at
improving the quality and safety of care.
Medical Ward Clinical Nurse Manager
Viv Robertson says, “Being admitted to hospital
can be a frightening and disorientating
experience, especially for people who have
cognitive diffi culties such as dementia or an
intellectual disability.
“For older adults, being acutely unwell can
lead to delirium, they may feel disorientated,
confused or anxious. We also may have patients
who may need additional care to maintain their
own safety due to mental illness or psychosis.”
Viv says traditionally, we’ve kept a closer eye
on these patients at the bedside. We’d assign a
staff to “safety watch’ to reduce the risk of them
having a fall or harming themselves in some
other way.
The Care Companion initiative is more
focused on the individual patient’s needs. Care
Companions are encouraged to get to know the
Sara Owens with a selection of fi dget mitts she
knits and supplies to the hospital.
patient and try to meet their normal daily routine
as best as they can in a hospital setting.
“We have a trolley of resources on hand for
diversional therapy to support our patients who
feel scared, disorientated or anxious in hospital.”
Among the resources are what staff call ‘fi dget
mitts’. Particularly useful for patients with
dementia, the colourful knitted hand mitts
provide something patients can hold and
‘twiddle’ with helping to ease their anxiety and
promote calmness.
“We are very grateful for the fi dget mitts
which were kindly knitted by Sara Owens,
Audrey Taylor and members of the Kawerau
community, they’re very popular with our
patients and staff .”
The Care Companion initiative has been
underway at the hospital since October and so
far feedback from patients and their families so
far has been positive.
Oral Health Promoter Hatea Ruru, Dental
Therapists Patty Dunseath and Linda Osborne
with Dental Assistant Janine Strawbridge.
Aimed at increasing public awareness, the fl eet of
dental cars has been branded with health promotion
messages in both Te Reo Māori and English.
“It makes sense for our dental messages to be bilingual
to increase awareness and better connect with whānau
in our communities,” says BOPDHB Community
Health 4 Kids Manager Martin Steinmann.
Last year Community Health 4 Kids branded its
B4 School Check service (Well Child Tamariki Ora
programme) and immunisation fl eet cars, with
pleasing results.
“The cars really stand out; they give the B4 School
Checks programme more visibility in the community
and help spread the word on the street.”
It’s hoped the newly branded dental cars will
have the same impact.
For the latest information about where the
mobile dental clinics will be near you visit:
https://www.bopdhb.govt.nz/services/oral-health-
dental-services/oral-health-clinics-in-schools/
5 STEPS TO PROTECT
YOUR CHILD’S SMILE
• Brush teeth twice a day
• Use fl uoride toothpaste
• Have regular dental check-ups
• Lift the lip every month to check
for signs of tooth decay (holes)
• Choose healthy foods and drinks.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
0800 TALKTEETH (0800 825 583)
Cardiologist hails team eff ort
in challenging but rewarding Pacifi c trip
Challenging but rewarding’ is how
a senior cardiologist describes his
recent volunteer trip to Fiji.
COMMUNITY CARE COORDINATION - LET’S TALK
Bay of Plenty’s Community Care
Coordination Centre (CCC), the single
place for people to access district nursing
care, information and support has plans to
expand and needs your input.
CCC was set up as a 12 – month pilot last year
as part of a new future-focussed approach to
community nursing aiming to provide patients
and their family/ whānau with health services
which are well-coordinated, simple to navigate
and delivered closer to home. During the pilot
it’s been the single place for district nursing
referral management and a community based
falls prevention programme.
The CCC is now expanding to off er
coordination for a selected range of community
health care services starting with DHB teams;
organising community health services that a
person may need through one single contact to
achieve joined up, eff ective and timely care.
COMMUNITY CARE COORDINATION IS:
• One place to contact to fi nd out about
community health services in the
Bay of Plenty.
• Organised community care services set up
and coordinated from one place, in a way
that suits your needs.
• More time for your health professionals to
focus on what is important to you.
LET’S TALK
As we develop this service we want to hear
from you. Tell us what’s most important to you.
What does good coordination look like to you?
What does it provide?
We would be grateful if you could take
fi ve minutes to fi ll out an online survey to
understand your needs for this service. Please
follow the link below or type it into your
browser to access the survey. Your feedback
will be treated confi dentially.
SURVEY LINK:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7KSPMTH
QR CODE:
For more information contact Bay of Plenty
Community Care Coordination on 0800 267
222 or email [email protected] or visit
www.healthpoint.co.nz/public/other/bay-of-
plenty-community-care-coordination/
For the past 15 years a group of clinicians,
including several from the BOPDHB, has been
volunteering its time to provide lifesaving
medical treatment in the Pacifi c Islands as part
of the Pacifi c Island Pacing Service (PIPS).
Cardiologist Jonathan Tisch was a member
of the most recent trip last month.
“Professionally and personally I get a lot out
of it and I know the whole team does,” says
Jonathan. “It’s very much a team eff ort. The
operating conditions are challenging and the
patients are very sick so you learn a lot. It
exposes you to diff erent situations and
medical conditions.
“By the same token it’s personally very
rewarding, as you’re helping people who
otherwise would not be helped. These people
have no other options, there is no other pacing
service anywhere near them and they’re always
incredibly grateful.”
The team provides critical services such as
inserting pacemakers and ICD (Implantable
Cardioverter Defi brillator) which aren’t provided
by the local health service. Twice a year the trip
is made to Fiji for a week or ten-day visit to see
as many patients as possible. The cost of the trip
is covered either by Friends of Fiji or donations
from individuals and Rotary.
“We are the pacemaker service for the Pacifi c
essentially,” says Jonathan. “There’s no local
service. That’s why we’ve increased it to twice a
year, because the more pacemakers you put in the
more follow-up you’ve got. This trip we saw 87
patients and operated on 14.”
The team comprises a cardiologist, two or
three experienced cardiac physiologists and a
senior cardiac cath lab nurse. This team works
alongside a local Fijian team of senior doctors,
nurses and a radiographer. BOPDHB Team
Leader and Senior Pacemaker Technologist
Sheryl Tait also volunteered her time and
expertise on this trip.
“We make a goal of trying to train the local
cardiologists and nurses. Every time we go there
The Pacifi c Island Pacing Service team at
Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva
including BOPDHB Cardiologist Dr Jonathan
Tisch (centre back), and Cardiac Physiologist
Sheryl Tait (front centre left).
the local team is getting better and better. Our
aim is to make ourselves redundant, for them to
be self-suffi cient,” says Jonathan.
The New Zealand team arrived in Nadi on a
Sunday afternoon, travelled across to Suva,
operated for fi ve days, and then fl ew out on the
following Saturday.
“We saw some fantastic cases. One guy was
brought in who was getting CPR at the time.
If he’d come in the day before or the week
after we arrived he would’ve died. So there
are lives saved, it’s not only about lifestyle
improvement. It’s why you get into medicine,
it’s very gratifying.
“I’m very grateful to my colleagues for donating
their time, the various charities that support us
with airfares and other costs, and the device
companies which donate the gear. Pacemaker
manufacturers Medtronic have been particularly
good in this regard for a long time. And we’re
grateful for the support of the DHB in allowing
us the time off .”
PIPS is driven by BOPDHB Consultant
Cardiologist Dr Dean Boddington who has
operated in Fiji and other islands multiple times.
A number of other BOPDHB staff helped out in
various capacities on previous trips. The next
trip to Fiji is scheduled for September, when the
pacemaker team will accompany another which
performs open heart operations.