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The Ramsay Way - Winter 2017

RAMSAY AUSTRALIA CEO MESSAGE Over the last few months, Ramsay Health Care has been rolling out the Speaking up for Patient Safety programme across all our hospitals in Western Australia and at Greenslopes Private Hospital. Over 6000 employees and doctors have received training in this programme. Modelled on a very successful programme initiated out of Vanderbilt University in the US, this Speaking Up for Safety Programme is designed to address – in a positive way - behaviours which may undermine a culture of safety in our hospitals, through peer-to-peer conversations and assertiveness training. I want to congratulate those hospitals who have already undertaken the training and taken significant steps towards rolling out this programme. We plan to make this a Ramsaywide initiative as it demonstrates our ongoing commitment to delivering outstanding healthcare and services to our patients. I look forward to the excellent results that it will bring in terms of improving patient safety across all our facilities. A nationwide survey of our patient experience in our hospitals has commenced and will run over the next three months. Ramsay Health Care has engaged Aon Hewitt to design and implement a customised patient experience survey that will give the organisation improved insights into how we deliver care to patients and how they perceive this care. The work follows the employee engagement survey conducted last year. Ramsay Health Care is committed to giving patients a voice. To ensure we deliver the best possible care, it is important for us to understand what is important to patients and their families. This survey to be conducted between June and August, will provide us with this information. It will analyse patient perceptions of our clinical effectiveness, how easy it is to access and use our services and what patient’s value when they use our facilities. Most importantly it will assess how well Ramsay is meeting and exceeding patient expectations. I am very much looking forward to the results, and any key learnings from them. I would like to congratulate the Clinical Governance team and those who have been involved in this process. There are a lot of other good initiatives going on across the group particularly in the innovation area. Highlighted in this edition of The Ramsay Way, is the new telemedicine initiative for our CAFAT patients, allowing doctors to videoconference with specialist teams in Noumea and view large and complex files in real time. I have recently visited Noumea and this initiative has been very well received. We also highlight the excellent work completed by Pindara Private Hospital and presented at the recent ICHOM Conference held in Australia. Pindara has led the way in collecting patient reported outcomes measures (PROMs) from patients who have undergone spinal surgery at that hospital. This is a very important initiative in demonstrating quality of life outcomes for our clinicians and patients and, with 12 month results starting to come through, we are now seeing some demonstrable results. Congratulations to the team at Pindara for your determination in getting this important research work going. Finally, we welcome Craig McNally as our new CEO from 2 July. Craig has worked with Ramsay for 29 years and is a doyen of The Ramsay Way culture and strategy. We are very much looking forward to working with Craig on our future agenda. Danny Sims CEO, Ramsay Australia 2 The Ramsay Way 2017 2017 | |02 02 Wollongong CEO ensures the blood supply never runs dry When it comes to donating blood, Wollongong Private CEO David Crowe knows first-hand that every drop counts. The father-of-two was given the devastating diagnosis of Aplastic Anaemia last year after noticing shortness of breath and bruising. “It came out of the blue pretty much with no other warning signs except breathlessness and noticing extensive bruising on the back of my legs after completing the tough bloke (running and obstacle course) challenge a few weeks before my diagnosis,” said David. “I went to the GP who sent me for a blood test and an hour later he called me and told me to drop everything and present to Wollongong Public Hospital because my platelets were dangerously low.” David was admitted through the Wollongong Public Emergency Department and was given the provisional diagnosis of Aplastic Anaemia. McNally takes the Reins as Rex Signs Off   Blood donors saved my life    David Crowe CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Wollongong Private Hospital         I was a relatively fit and healthy individual when my life changed forever last  year.  Out the blue and without any real warning or other signs and symptoms I  began to get short of breath and developed bruising.  I went to the GP and  explained these symptoms and he sent me for a blood test. Within an hour I  received a call from my GP telling me to drop everything and present to  Wollongong Public Hospital as my platelets were dangerously low.  I was admitted through the Emergency Department and was given the  provisional diagnosis of Aplastic Anaemia.  I knew that this was serious from my  nursing background but I probably didn’t appreciate how serious this was at the  time.  I had my first (of many) transfusion of platelets that night.  I was seen by a  Haematologist who said that I needed to have a bone marrow biopsy.  I had this  the next day and I was officially diagnosed.  I am fortunate to be from a large  family (8 siblings) and luckily one of my sisters was a 6 out of 6 genetic match.     I was booked in for a bone marrow transplant but I had approximately 6 weeks  until this was going to occur.  During this time (and post‐transplant) I had  countless whole blood and platelet transfusions and quite simply, I would not  have survived if it wasn’t for the generosity of people who donated blood.  I used  to regularly donate blood before I was diagnosed and I strongly encourage  anyone who is able to do so, to donate blood, because I can assure you from  personal experience it saves lives.    Ramsay Health Care’s new CEO and Managing Director Craig McNally officially commenced in the role on 3 July. He takes over from former head Chris Rex, who completed nine years in the role and 22 years with Ramsay Health Care. The Company is known for internal promotion and longevity of its key managers with only three CEOs serving in the role since the company floated 20 years ago – Pat Grier, Chris Rex and Craig McNally. The three have a sum total of 82 years of experience with Ramsay Health Care. As he assumed the post, Craig said it was a very “humbling and exciting” time for him. “I have worked at Ramsay Health Care for 29 years and have enjoyed coming to work every day, because this is an organisation that has a great culture and great people,” he said. “As a Company, we have achieved enormous success but we have never lost sight of what had made us: Doing the right thing - The Ramsay Way - and delivering excellent care to patients. As I take on the role of CEO, I am committed to ensuring that we stay true to this culture.” I knew that this was serious from my nursing background, but I didn’t appreciate just how serious this was at the time. He said during the last decade, Ramsay Health Care had enjoyed a period of rapid expansion and growth compared to any other time in its 50 year history. “With the growth in healthcare needs of a rapidly ageing and expanding population, I have no doubt that this expansion will continue. Whilst we face many emerging challenges, there are also many opportunities. We are in an industry that is moving rapidly in terms of technology and innovation as well as customer expectations. I want to ensure that we are well-placed to evolve with these opportunities.” He extended heartfelt thanks to outgoing CEO Chris Rex. “Chris has been an enormous influence on me and on this Company. In his time as CEO he grew the Company to be one of the largest and most admired healthcare companies in the world. He was a great leader with a huge amount of industry respect and I feel honoured to follow in his footsteps.” Only three CEOs have led Ramsay since it floated 20 years ago. Above: Recently retired CEO Chris Rex with former CEO Pat Grier. Insert: Ramsay's new CEO Craig McNally has been 29 years with Ramsay.


The Ramsay Way - Winter 2017
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