The awarding of exemplar practice is used to highlight examples of safe and good-quality practice in health services who are implementing the NSQHS Standards, to facilitate the sharing of information between organisations.
5.4 - Designing systems to deliver comprehensive care
5.5 and 5.6 - Collaboration and teamwork
5.13 - Developing a comprehensive care plan
Communicating for Safety
6.4 - Organisational processes to support effective communication
Accreditation outcome decision date:
20 May 2019
Summary
The Royal Children’s Hospital's Transition Support Service is responsible for managing the planned and purposeful transition of complex and vulnerable paediatric patients to adult care.
The Transition Support Service, which was established in 2010, ensures paediatric patients are transferred to adult hospitals and services in a coordinated, safe and consultative manner. The process often takes place over several years to maximise long-term health outcomes for patients. Connecting patients and their families to adult health services across Victoria, has helped to reduce the anxiety and stress associated with leaving long-standing paediatric care.
A healthcare transition plan is developed in consultation with patients, carers and clinicians to assist with increasing patient and family confidence in the transfer of care. Patients and families are provided with a copy of their healthcare record to ensure continuity of care following the transition into adult services. The program has transitioned an average of 2,000 patients per year this way.
The service currently co-leads more than 60 dedicated joint Royal Children’s Hospital and adult service transition clinics each year, with multiple medical and surgical specialties involved. Numerous partnerships and collaboration initiatives have been established with adult health services to support medically and developmentally complex patients.
The Transition Support Service provides regular consultation and support to paediatric and adult hospitals across Australia and internationally. The service is also working to increase capacity within the General Practice sector through shared care processes and the development of Health Pathways for use across Victoria. The program’s active research profile has allowed for further development in evidence-based transition support.
The program is part of a three year (2018-21) research study which will evaluate the impact of the program from the perspective of patients and carers as they transition from the Royal Children’s Hospital to adult services. Outcomes will be compared and benchmarked against international hospital data (from research partners in Helsinki). Continuous evaluation and improvement of the Transition Support Service occurs through regular feedback provided by patients, carers, Royal Children’s Hospital clinicians, GPs and health care providers in the community.
Contact details:
Evelyn Culnane
Manager, Transition Support Service
Email: Evelyn.Culnane@rch.org.au
The Royal Children’s Hospital's Transition Support Service team
From left to right – Jamie McCarthy (Transition Support Coordinator), Karen Hutchinson (Transition Support Worker), Evelyn Culnane (Transition Support Service Manager), Rebecca Peters (Transition Support Worker) and in absentia, Pamela Linden (Transition Innovation Officer) and Hayley Loftus (Transition Research Study Coordinator)
The Royal Children’s Hospital's Transition Support Service team
From left to right – Jamie McCarthy (Transition Support Coordinator), Karen Hutchinson (Transition Support Worker), Evelyn Culnane (Transition Support Service Manager), Rebecca Peters (Transition Support Worker) and in absentia, Pamela Linden (Transition Innovation Officer) and Hayley Loftus (Transition Research Study Coordinator)
Recognising exemplar practice in health service organisations
This strategy is intended to facilitate the identification and sharing of information on safe and good-quality practice between organisations managing similar issues. During the consultation on the review of the Australian Health Service Safety and Quality Accreditation (AHSSQA) Scheme, health service organisations asked that a mechanism be established to recognise exemplar practice.
Process for nominating exemplar practice identified at assessment
Accrediting agencies will be invited to nominate exemplar practice identified during a health service organisation’s assessment to the second edition of the NSQHS Standards. Accrediting agencies will be required to:
Notify the health service organisation of the intended submission
Obtain contact details of the responsible officer for the area of practice being recognised
Submit the following information to the Commission:
The name of the health service organisation
The name of the specific service area where the exemplar practice has been identified
A concise statement of the exemplar practice
Contact details for the relevant person(s) in the health service organisation.
The Commission will convene an expert panel to review submissions and contact the relevant health service organisation to invite them to provide further information. If the submission meets the criteria for exemplar practice, and with the health service organisation’s permission, the Commission will:
Upload a summary of the initiative on the Commission’s website
Include appropriate contact details for the exemplar organisation so that other health service organisations may review the information, and if appropriate contact them to discuss the initiative in more detail.
