Stroke Rehabilitation Ward in Bankstown Lidcombe Hospital Sydney, Australia - Case Study Example

Stroke Rehabilitation Ward in Bankstown Lindcombe Hospital in Sydney, Australia Student’s Name Institution Stroke Rehabilitation Ward in Bankstown Lindcombe Hospital in Sydney, Australia Bankstown-Lindcombe Hospital is a public principle referral group A1B hospital, located in Bankstown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and is affiliated to the University of Sydney, the University of NSW, and University of Western Sydney. Bankstown-Lindcombe Hospital constitutes a component of the South Western Sydney Local Health District. The hospital has a bed capacity of 433 and other modern, purpose-built facilities, and provides numerous health care services, ranging from general medical and surgical services to rehabilitation. As regards its rehabilitation wing, the hospital works closely with the patients and their families to ensure that they get quality and effective rehabilitation services through its well developed systems, processes, and infrastructure. The aim of this paper is to highlight the systems, processes, and infrastructure improvements that have been made by Bankstown-Lindcombe Hospital in its stroke rehabilitation ward. Bankstown Lindcombe Hospital has adopted a number of systems to help it improve the safety and efficiency of its stroke rehabilitation ward. Firstly, the hospital uses Management Information Systems (MISs) to manage most of its major aspects, including medical, financial, administrative, and service processing functions to ensure that its stroke rehabilitation ward remains under surveillance throughout. The MIS tool is a massive integration of other systems used to support the hospital’s information requirements comprising the patients’ financial and clinical details (Jim, 2008). The stroke rehabilitation ward of Bankstown Lindcombe Hospital relies on a hi-tech MIS system to undertake most of its operations, including diagnosis, education, and general management to improve the rehabilitation services it provides to patients with stroke or those recovering from the disease (Fisher & Monahan, 2008). The main objective why Bankstown Lindcombe Hospital uses an advanced MIS system in its stroke rehabilitation ward is to attain the best possible administration support, patient care and service delivery outcomes by availing and receiving data in timely manner through the application of networked electronic data processing. The system helps the hospital to effectively manage patients’ data, including their health history, through correct data storage, fast data access, and reliable and secure usage: all these improvements have reduced the costs initially incurred as a result of manual data management (Jim, 2008). Secondly, Bankstown Lindcombe Hospital uses an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system to manage important information and details of its patients. The EHR system allows hospitals and other organisations to digitally keep, access, and make changes and necessary updates in their records using computers and other electronic devices. The system, which mostly involves handling of patients’ records electronically, is crucial for hospitals and the patients alike, as it saves them time and resources (Blumenthal & Tavenner, 2010). The hospital particularly uses the EHR system to improve the care it provides to patients in its stroke rehabilitation ward. The system helps in improving health care delivery, as it ensures easier, safer, and faster access to health care through efficient sharing of records, such as the patient’s conditions, medical history, and prescribed drugs. The system is at times considered a lifesaver at ward level, especially when an emergency occurs; in such a time, quick access and sharing of records are needed to facilitate the decision-making process (Ludwick & Doucette, 2009). Apart from the EHR system, Bankstown Lindcombe Hospital has adopted and improved various patient monitoring systems of the services provided to enhance patient care in the inpatient and outpatient wings, which include respiratory therapy, conscious sedation, emergency medical services, sleep, and stroke rehabilitation. Patient monitoring is important in the delivery of health care in intensive care units, emergency rooms, and wards where rehabilitation is done. The system helps the hospital to keep a general watch over all patients within and out of the hospital premises to ensure that each of them is safe (Mataric, Eriksson, Feil-Seifer, & Winstein, 2007). In the stroke rehabilitation ward, the hospital uses patient monitoring systems to check the progress of stroke patients. The system, for instance, is used to monitor any possibility of a patient in this ward developing a life threatening condition that may interfere with the rehabilitation process. The system can also be used to monitory any cases of unstable physiological regulatory systems resulting from drug overdose or any cause that can derail the rehabilitation and recovery process (Varshney, 2007). Lastly, the hospital has installed CCTVs and IP Cameras to enhance the security in the ward and around the hospital. Bankstown Lindcombe Hospital has many visitors, including friends and family who come to see their ailing relatives. With all these people coming into and leaving the hospital, it can be easy for criminals to get into the hospital; for that reason, the hospital needs to insure the safety of its patients and staff. The CCTV systems help the hospital to monitor people who come into and leave its premises (Desai, 2009). By relying on these CCTVs, the hospital security personnel can easily identify people with questionable character and arrest them before they carry out any criminal acts in the ward. This security monitoring systems has helped the hospital enhance the safety of its staff and patients; in so doing, the system has improved the quality of health care delivered at the stroke rehabilitation ward (Huey, 2010). The hospital has also adopted a number of processes to ensure the safety and efficiency of its stroke rehabilitation ward. Firstly, the hospital ensures its employees demonstrate a high sense of professionalism in all their undertakings within its premises, including the stroke rehabilitation ward. The nurses and caregivers working at the stroke rehabilitation ward work in union with relatives to address the patient’s individualised goals; this helps the entire team to achieve the best and fastest recovery for each stroke patient (Mechanic, 2008). The inpatient treatment team that the hospital assigns to the ward comprises a rehabilitation physician, rehabilitation nurse, internal medicine physician, physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech pathologist, and a psychologist. In some cases, the team also comprises a case manager, whose duty is to converse with the patients’ families to help them access community resources, such as vocational rehabilitation and legal services (Relman, 2007). The team as explained is comprehensive and includes very efficient rehabilitation experts, who offer the best treatment services to the patients recovering from stroke in the ward. Secondly, the hospital believes in the provision of quality services by ensuring the treatment and medicines given at the stroke rehabilitation ward and all the other units meet international standards. The hospital has adopted a full continuum of lifetime care in the stroke rehabilitation ward to cater for the patients with the illness. The services, which include inpatient, outpatient, day treatment, full support group, and community re-entry, are provided to patients to help them recover faster. The comprehensiveness and quality of the rehabilitation process ensure that each patient receives the most appropriate care based on his or her state of injury and individual needs (Carod-Artal & Egido, 2009). When stroke survivors are brought to Bankstown Lindcombe Hospital, they are immediately taken to the rehabilitation ward to commence treatment as soon as possible. While in the ward, the survivors are accorded the best care and assistance by the hospital’s stroke rehabilitation team of experts. The experts continue to provide their services and make necessary follow ups even after the survivors are released from the ward to ensure the recovery process is not in any way interrupted after they are discharged. Consequently, the same quality of the services provided at the ward is maintained even after the patients are discharged (Langhorne, Bernhardt, & Kwakkel, 2011). Thirdly, the hospital ensures that the necessary facilities and equipment are available in the stroke rehabilitation ward at all times so that the treatment processes does not stop after it has started. The hospital ensures availability of equipment such as that used for movement induced therapy to facilitate the quick recovery of the stroke survivors brought to the hospital (Dowla & Chan, 2010). The movement intervention, which mostly comprises intensive physical and occupational therapy, is the mechanism that this ward relies on to train the undamaged parts of the brain of the stroke survivors to take over from the injured sections. For instance, the rehabilitation experts in the ward train the survivors to walk using a harness system, which safely aids in the suspension of patients above a treadmill (Conroy, DeJong, & Horn, 2009). Ensuring availability of the required equipment makes the stroke rehabilitation ward efficient and dependable. Apart from ensuring availability of the needed equipment in the ward, the hospital also arranges for educational programs and support groups for stroke patients and survivors in its rehabilitation ward. The hospital recognises the importance of education and support for the patients and their families (Cameron & Gignac, 2008). For that reason, the hospital avails video tapes, books, and articles about stroke in its library for use by the patients and their families. The rehabilitation ward support group also offers emotional support to the stroke survivors, their families and friends. In ensuring the availability of education and support groups for stroke survivors, the hospital promotes quick recovery and minimises chances of a second stroke hitting the survivors (Kendall et al., 2007). The hospital has also improved the necessary infrastructures in its premises, including the stroke rehabilitation ward, to ensure the safety and efficiency of the ward and other units. Firstly, the hospital has enough medical equipment, such as digital radiology units, laboratories, and other special facilities to speed up the recovery of patients admitted in the rehabilitation ward (Needham & Korupolu, 2010). The ward is furnished with equipment such as the Deluxe Hand Exerciser, Rainbos Putty, Pedal Exerciser, and Exercise Balls, which help the patients to exercise the various body parts that get damaged as a result of stroke. The ward is also furnished with Gripware Dishes, Adult Bibs, and SureFit Food Guards that help in training the patients to eat on their own. These facilities are vital in the stroke rehabilitation process since they help the survivors get back to moving on their own even after a stroke attack (Bernhardt, Dewey, Thrift, Collier, & Donnan, 2008). Secondly, the hospital has constructed the stroke rehabilitation ward in a modern way to enhance convenience in terms of quick exit in case of fire and emergencies and patient movement in and around the facility. The ward has numerous large doors and lowly fixed windows that aid in the evacuation of patients in case of an emergency. The ward is also fixed with safety equipment, such as an electronic Wanderguard Locating system, tailored to minimise risks of injury during recovery of impulsive and confused patients (Leys, Ringelstein, Kaste, & Hacke, 2007). Other facilities that are common in the rehabilitation ward are the Smart Balance Master and Balance Master, which have computerised platforms that the ward’s rehabilitation team uses to assess and treat mobility and balance difficulties. These modern facilities are important and help in speeding up the rehabilitation and recovery of the stroke patients who are brought to the hospital for treatment (Langhorne, Villiers, & Pandian, 2012). Thirdly, the hospital has increased the size and capacity of its stroke rehabilitation ward to enhance the safety of the patients in it, facilitate the rehabilitation process, and speed up their recovery. It is a medical requirement for a stroke rehabilitation ward to be large enough to ensure that patients in it have enough space to exercise (Norris, Allotey, & Berrett, 2011). The facilities in the ward should also be arranged well to prevent injuries that may arise when a patient tries to move around on their own. In addition, the ward should be well lit throughout to ensure that patients do not injure themselves because of darkness or poor lighting systems (Walker, 2007). The stroke rehabilitation ward in Bankstown Lindcombe Hospital is not only spacious, but also well ventilated, well lit, and the facilities in it are arranged well to ensure that the rehabilitation of the patients is not jeopardised by any avoidable injuries or congestion. Fourthly, the hospital has built its stroke rehabilitation ward with various intensive inpatient care facilities, which are important for speeding up the recovery of the stroke patients. The hospital has halls in which conferences, discussions and therapies about stoke are held on a regular basis (Blum & Korner-Bitensky, 2008). Patients, their families and friends normally attend such conferences and participate in therapy sessions conducted by the hospital’s stroke rehabilitation team and case manager. The facilities and the halls are very important, as they act as the venues for the events, allowing patients and their families to learn more about stroke (Kalra, 2009). Lastly, the hospital has built outpatient units, which are part of the stroke rehabilitation ward, to help decongest it. The outpatient facilities also offer access to the stroke rehabilitation team for the patients who are discharged from the ward. The patients are expected to visit the facility 3 days a week to continue with their rehabilitation program (Walker, 2007). In conclusion, a stroke rehabilitation ward is an important unit in every hospital that has it. Bankstown Lindcombe Hospital, situated in Bankstown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, is one of such medical facilities with a hi-tech stroke rehabilitation ward. The hospital has adopted and improved various systems, processes, and infrastructures to ensure the safety and efficiency of its stroke rehabilitation ward. Some of the systems recently adopted or improved by the hospital include CCTVs, Management Information Systems, Electronic Health Records, and patient monitoring systems, which are vital for the enhancement of safety and quality of the stroke rehabilitation services. Some of the processes adopted by the hospital include quality services and enhanced staff professionalism, dedication, and commitment. The hospital has also adopted infrastructures, such as valuable medical equipment, and modern and spacious wards, to enhance and speed up the rehabilitation and recovery of stroke patients. References Bernhardt, J., Dewey, H., Thrift, A., Collier, J., Donnan, G. (2008). 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Stroke rehabilitation: Evidence-based or evidence-tinged? Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 39(3), 193-197. Read More