COMMUNICATIONS

Physio Project wins 2006 Quality & Innovation Awards

The Front Door Physio, a project which leads New Zealand in providing a full time physiotherapy service in an Emergency Department, has won the Supreme Award in the 2006 Canterbury District Health Board Quality and Innovation Awards.

A total of 13 projects were entered in the fourth annual Awards, which are administered by the CDHB Quality and Patient Safety Council. Winners of the Awards were announced at a special event held at the Hagley Netball Centre today (17 august 2006).

The Front Door Physio, a project from the CDHB’s Physiotherapy Department won the Systems Improvement Award, as well as the Supreme Award.

The project team comprised Katie Croft (physiotherapist), Janine Griffiths (clinical charge nurse Emergency Observation Area), John Kenny (project facilitator) and Jennie Law (audit report/analysis/data collation). The group looked at the pressure on medical and nursing staff in Christchurch Hospital’s Emergency Department and felt it might be decreased by a physiotherapist working in that setting.

The project was designed to assist the group of patients who wait in the Emergency Observation Area for physiotherapy assessment prior to discharge, contributing to the congestion and overcrowding which sometimes occurs in these areas.

The initiative was targeted at peak patient number times in the Emergency Department/EOA and aimed to provide efficient attention to patients’ clinical needs in an interdisciplinary team environment.

The situation was analysed by the project team in April 2005 and a pilot phase was designed and carried out from May until December. The pilot was then evaluated and the service implemented.

Having a physiotherapist located in the ED/EOA on a seven day eight-hours system has resulted in a reduced length of stay for patients, has reduced the number of admissions to the hospital, and has resulted in a more efficient referral process for patients requiring assessment and treatment.

Other successful projects in the Awards were:

The Introduction of a Contemporary Audit for General Surgical Practice at Christchurch Hospital was runner up in the Systems Improvement Award.
The Clinical/Diagnostic: Hospital and Specialist Service Award went to decreasing the physiotherapy outpatient waiting times—the implemention of a circuit training programme. This project was led by Allyson Calder, a physiotherapist with the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service, Burwood Hospital.
The runner up in the Hospital and Special Service Award was the Canterbury Driving Assessment Tool (CANDAT) increasing the safety and accuracy of driving assessment of people with brain disorders. This was a joint project between the Christchurch Neurotechnology Research Programme, Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering, Christchurch Hospital and the Driving and Vehicle Assessment Service (Department of Occupational Therapy, Burwood Hospital), Mental Health, Older Persons’ Health and Rehabilitation Services.
The winner of the Community Based Services Award was a joint project by the Nurse Maude Association, Rannerdale Veterans’ Home and hospital providers. Called Improving Patient Care—Clinical Indicators Benchmarking Project, it developed and benchmarked a range of clinical indicators for aged care hospital residents.
Two highly commended awards were given - one for the specialist led ‘Mirena’ insertion clinic—improving the technical skills of GPs in the community, and the other a nurse-led model in elective orthopaedic admission processes.

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Media Contact – Michele Hider, CDHB Communications Manager, Ph 364 4103

or 0275 314 796