Published on 2 August 2021

As I am sure you will all know by now on 22 June the Minister for Health announced that Djerriwarrh Health Services would amalgamate with Western Health and on 1 July the amalgamation occurred. As a result Western Health now operate a number of additional sites at Bacchus Marsh, Melton and Caroline Springs.

I would like to personally extend a really warm welcome to all of our new colleagues – both staff and volunteers – that have joined the Western Health team at Bacchus Marsh, Melton and Caroline Springs. We are really looking forward to getting to know you all, and I thank the staff who have welcomed me and other Western Health colleagues in recent weeks as we’ve started to visit and get to know you and your sites. We look forward to meeting more of you when the COVID restrictions allow us to.

A transition of this size takes some time but I am sure that our shared desire to ensure better health for the west will help us unite as one organisation and provide the best possible care for our patients and our communities.

To keep you up to date on the transition, this newsletter will be issued regularly so you can keep up-to-date and hear from the leadership team 1-2 times a month.

Already in this first month of working together, we have come together to manage another COVID-19 outbreak in the state, and with it the impact this has on our workforce. The Bacchus Marsh Grammar exposure impacted some 3500 students and teachers, many of whom are connected to staff at our Bacchus Marsh site in particular. Thank  you for your enormous efforts and teamwork to ensure we could continue to provide best care to our patients and community at this challenging time with around twenty per cent of staff furloughed due to their connection to the school community.

As we continue to deal with outbreaks in our region, and the subsequent changes this brings to how we work and the personal challenges I know it brings for each of us, I want to thank you for your ongoing support of your colleagues, our patients and our community.

Take care and stay safe,

Russell Harrison

Chief Executive

 

Who's Who?

An operational structure has been put in place while we transition into Western Health. Currently, these roles have been filled by the following staff:

Sandy Schutte, General Manager Bacchus Marsh, Melton

Rohan Vaughan, Director of Nursing, Bacchus Marsh

Mandy Cullen, Acting Director of Nursing, Melton

Ruth Martin, Acting Director Community Services

Dr Ian Graham, Bacchus Marsh / Melton Chief Medical Officer

 

Welcome

Welcome Sandy Schutte

In this first edition we’d like to begin by introducing and welcoming Sandy Schutte to the interim role of General Manager Melton and Bacchus Marsh.

Sandy was previously the Direction of Education and Learning at Western Health prior to commencing this role on the 1st of July.

Sandy is a passionate leader with extensive operational experience leading large teams across multiple sites. Prior to joining Western Health in 2018, Sandy held the role of Director of Nursing at Austin Health. In this role Sandy had extensive clinical and operational experience managing an Austin Health Campus, overseeing the delivery of aged care, operating suites, subacute and mental health inpatient beds and extensive outpatient and community rehabilitation services.

With an interest in regional health service delivery, Sandy is focused on engaging and empowering all staff to support the delivery of exceptional patient care to the community.

 

What's New

Maxxia are now providing salary packaging rather than Advantage. You can contact Maxxia on 1300 123 123 or visit maxxia.com.au.

Two pay cycles have now occurred successfully.

The new Western Health signature with the inclusion statement is now active on our emails. This is a wonderful way of communicating our very powerful inclusive message that has already resonated with a lot of staff: your Culture | your Ability | your Identity | We welcome  you at Western Health.

A number of suggestions have already been received on how we can work together to provide the best care possible to the communities we serve. Thank you to everyone for putting forward your ideas and suggestions. Let’s keep this open communication going and see what we can achieve together.

Here are some of  your suggestions that have been implemented:

  • 12 renal chairs have now been replaced at Melton
  • Patient receiving dialysis at Melton are able to be provided sandwiches while receiving their treatment

 

What's Next

  • We are working on providing all staff with Western Health name tags and WH branded covers for their security passes.
  • A range of templates with Western Health branding in available on the Design Hub. 
  • You will find a letterhead, PowerPoint, Memo and Western Health Style Guide.
  • New signage will start to be installed across the sites at Bacchus Marsh, Melton and Caroline Springs within the next month, so patients can easily identify the services as now being part of the Western Health network.

A number of working groups are being established and details around these, including opportunities to be involved, will be shared in the next newsletter.

 

Services and Programs

All staff are encouraged to take full advantage of all the services and opportunities open to Western Health employees, including education and learning, management and leadership development, wellbeing services and much more.

Each edition, we will share services or programs available to you, starting with the positive workplace too, EMPOWIR.

EMPOWIR

Employee Positive Workplace issue resolution

(EMPOWIR) is an element of Western Health Positive Workplace Strategy.

Western Health has developed a strategy for sustaining a positive workplace across all sites. The strategy was established to strengthen and maintain a positive workplace environment where all employees and volunteers feel safe, are enabled to work to their full potential ensuring Western Health offers their patients the best possible care outcomes.

We aim to create the best environment for our employees, volunteers and our patients who count on us every day to provide compassionate and respectful care for them.

EMPOWIR is a tool that has been developed to enable every volunteer and employee to access advice to achieve an informal and ‘no blame’ resolution or outcome in the event they have been subject to, or have witnessed some type of inappropriate workplace behaviour or interaction.

Find out more about our Positive Workplace Strategy at  positiveworkplace.who.org.au

EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

The Employee Assistance Program, Converge, continues to be available for staff at Bacchus Marsh, Melton and Caroline Springs. Please do reach out for support at any time you need. During this time of transition, Converge can provide strategies and support across the spectrum of work-based and personal issues.

 

Did You Know?

Want to know more about all the sites at Bacchus Marsh, Melton and Caroline Springs? Click here for a short summary: https://www.djhs.org.au/about us

Western Health webpages will start to be updated with the Bacchus Marsh, Melton and Caroline Springs sites, but there is information available here on the sites at Sunshine, Footscray, Williamstown and Sunbury if you’d like to know more about the services provided.