Mid North Coast - Clinical Exchange Program for Staff who work with Children and Infants

The project aims to:

To improve continuity of care for babies born at John Hunter Hospital and who return home through Manning Base Hospital, Port Macquarie Base Hospital or Coffs Harbour Hospital maternity or paediatric units.
To enhance clinical care of infants and children cared for by MNCAHS staff either in hospitals or as ambulatory patients.
To improve the standard of client/patient care within MNCAHS Child and Family Health services and Paediatric units by supporting and promoting professional development.
To develop a networking relationship for Child Health nursing and allied health staff between MNCAHS and other Health Services.
To improve retention of regional health service staff through facilitation of child and family health and paediatric staff professional development.
For placement participants to provide education sessions on current child and family health and paediatric topics to MNCAHS staff.
To develop a mentoring program for staff who have been seconded to the tertiary referral hospitals.

The project was progressed in the following ways:

A request for expressions of interest was sent out
Posters were developed and displayed across the former MNCAHS.
15 applications were received from nurses at Manning Base Hospital, Wauchope District Hospital, Port Macquarie Base Hospital, Kempsey District Hospital and Coffs Harbour Health Campus. Selection was based upon ensuring that Hospitals and staff previously not involved in the placement program were given the opportunity to participate. There was to be a Paediatric focus for the placement. 10 were successful. 9 went to JHH, and were placed in Emergency, Oncology, Medical and Surgical Paediatric Units for periods ranging from 2-5 days, with 8 being 4/5 days. 1 placement involved a 3 day visit to Tamworth and Armidale Hospitals to observe and consult regarding the implementation of the Paediatric Clinical Practice Guidelines.
Longer placements achieved greater efficiencies with administration time and provided more learning time for staff.
Liaison occurred with Rhonda Winskill, Paediatric Outreach CNC, to ensure that each participant was given a placement suitable to their learning needs and objectives.

Outcomes of the project were:

Staff felt reassured to know that their practises were aligned with the Tertiary services
The 9 participants at JHH were able to establish networks with their colleagues there