Archived August 20 2008 - may contain information of historical interest (some links may not work)

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Ten Hospitals Receive Transitioning Care Awards

Ten hospitals from both metropolitan and rural Victoria were recently presented with awards for their achievements in transitioning patients from hospital back to the community.

The awards were presented by Patricia Faulkner, Secretary of the Department of Human Services, at the recent Achieving and Sustaining Practice Change conference in Melbourne. The conference was hosted by the Department of Human Services and showcased a range of health service, state, national and international innovations.

The awards are a culmination of the work done by hospitals through the Effective Discharge Strategy, a five-year strategy that commenced in 1998-99. Throughout the term of the strategy the Government has spent $42 million on initiatives aimed improving discharge practices in Victoria’s hospitals, with over $37 million cash-flowed directly to hospitals. The awards reflect the hospitals’ performance in the 2002 audit for the Effective Discharge Strategy Indicators and the discharge and follow-up index of the Victorian Patient Satisfaction Monitor annual surveys.

St Vincent’s Health and Wodonga Regional Health Service each received the award for outstanding performance by a metropolitan and a rural hospital, respectively. The awards acknowledge these hospitals’ commitment to developing and sustaining effective discharge initiatives across their entire health services, including both their acute and sub acute patients.

A further eight hospitals were judged the best in their particular hospital category and received awards for excellent performance in transitioning patients from hospital back to the community. Awards were presented to:

Ms Faulkner congratulated all ten winners of the awards and said “the hospitals receiving awards tonight have clearly demonstrated their commitment to good transition practices and high quality patient care”.

When presenting the awards Ms Faulkner said that “a recent review of the Strategy by the Department of Human Services indicated that the strategy has resulted in significant changes in discharge practice and policy. It has facilitated improved relationships between staff within hospitals; between hospitals; and between hospitals and community providers. Most of all the strategy is seen to have resulted in a improvements in patient care and management with respect to their return back to their homes or other health service organisations”.

The Effective Discharge Strategy has encouraged hospitals within metropolitan and rural health services to combine their resources and skills to develop and implement discharge systems. Improved transition planning is now embedded in the practice of Victorian public hospitals and the aims of the strategy will continue to be supported through the more recent Departmental programs and initiatives such as the Hospital Admission Risk Program (HARP), Patient Flow Breakthrough Collaborative and Primary Care Partnerships.

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