Inside Story is factual crimes told by the Homicide Detectives that investigated the cases from the crime to the conclusion. They are informative, interesting and will keep the audience on the edge of their seats.

Please see this flyer for more information and an application form - _ Blue Ribbon Inside Story 

Skin on skin contact is the best way for parents and their baby to bond according to Kate Stokes, Frankston Hospital’s Special Care Nursery Acting Nurse Unit Manager.

The bonding technique, known as Kangaroo Care, encourages skin on skin contact between baby and parent. Bonding in this way creates a sharing of natural closeness and has an array of benefits for both baby and parent.

“We encourage both parents to actively bond through Kangaroo Care with their new baby, not just mums,” said Ms Stokes.

“Bonding between dads and their newborns is essential to the baby’s development and also helps dads feel more involved with the birth and care of their child.

“The benefits of Kangaroo Care for babies can include longer periods of alertness, less crying and less chance of colic. It can also improve weight gain, body temperature and stabilises the heart rate and breathing.

“The benefits for mums include increased lactation and shorter hospital stays. Both parents experience a boost in parental confidence and a reduction in feelings of separation from their baby,” said Ms Stokes.

Kangaroo Care is the latest topic to be covered by a specialised information board developed by the Special Care Nursery team that encourages parents to learn about new information and techniques that will help them bond and care for their newborns.

“We will be featuring all different topics that can help new parents,’ said Ms Stokes.

“We want to be able to give them peace of mind about looking after and bonding with their new baby once they go home,” said Ms Stokes.

The soon to be launched ‘stop before the op’ program will provide every Peninsula Health elective surgery patient with information on the negative effects smoking has on surgery recovery. It also provides referral resources to Quitline and Peninsula Health Quit services.

Peninsula Health is now the only Victorian health service to systematically advise patients with information of this kind as well as provide support and referral services.

‘Stop before the op’ was first piloted in 2011 by Dr Ashley Webb, a specialist anaesthetist at Frankston Hospital. The study identified the need for a comprehensive system to advise smokers on the elective surgery waiting list of the health risks of smoking before surgery and providing them with quit resources.

“When we under took the study on our own patients we also looked at what the other Victorian public health care providers were doing,” said Dr Webb.

“Not one of them had active systems in place to assist every smoking elective surgery patient to quit,” said Dr Webb.

The initial pilot program delivered quit help packs to 650 patients which resulted in 12 per cent seeking referrals to Quitline. From this success, Dr Webb has now received the funding to launch the project as a fully-fledged Peninsula wide initiative that should see the number of smokers on the elective surgery list decrease significantly.

“Quitting smoking four or more weeks before surgery can have an amazing effect on a patient’s recovery,” said Dr Webb.

“By giving up smoking, patients reduce their risk of problems during and after their surgery. They are much less likely to develop potentially severe wound infections and their recovery time is likely to be significantly reduced,” said Dr Webb.

Approximately 6,000 elective surgery waiting list patients will receive the ‘stop before the op’ quitting resources per year.

“We provide patients with a brochure outlining the benefits that quitting smoking can have on their recovery from surgery, as well as a Quitline referral form and reply paid envelope so that they can start their smoke-free life soon as possible,” said Dr Webb.

“We also encourage smokers to arrange a face-to-face meeting with one of our Peninsula Health Quit Educators available through the ‘Quit Smoking Support Services’ offered by our Community Health services, ” said Dr Webb.

Encouraging patients to quit before their surgery will also have a positive impact on the patient flow at Frankston and Rosebud Hospitals.

“On average patients who don’t smoke spend less time in hospital following their surgery,” said Dr Webb. “This will mean better patient flow on our surgery wards and more beds available.”

In this issue:

• Nurse Practitioners - the changing face of nursing in Australia
• Multi-storey car park for Frankston Hospital
• Adolescent violence - a growing problem across Victoria
• New lease on life for aged patients
• Donations and efforts of some of our partners and Auxiliary groups

For a copy visit your local Peninsula Health site or contact Public Relations on 9788 1285.

People attending Peninsula Proud on 28 April will be able to:

• Hear about the latest developments in legislative and equal opportunity rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (GLBTIQ) people
• Pick up information about the health and wellbeing services provided by Peninsula Health and other organisations
• Ask questions of an expert speakers panel
• Win great door prizes.

Guest presenters include:

• Beth Wilson – Health Services Commissioner
• Karen Toohey – Acting Commissioner Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission
• Shane Boyd – People Living with HIV/AIDS Victoria
• Nelly Thomas – comedian, author and health ambassador

“Peninsula Proud is an initiative of Peninsula Health’s GLBTIQ Community Advisory Group,” says Simon Ruth, Director of Complex Services in Peninsula Health Community Health.

“The advisory group works with the health service and with local GPs and healthcare professionals to provide more sensitive healthcare for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people.

“The event on 28 April is a first for this region, and has already attracted a lot of interest from people who attended Melbourne’s Midsumma Festival in January.”

Lunch can be purchased at Hickinbotham’s before the event, and a local drumming group ‘Chiwara Ensemble’ will entertain people before the event starts. Transport assistance may be available on request by phoning 5971 9174.

Peninsula Proud is supported by Peninsula Health, Mornington Peninsula Shire, Frankston City Council, Peninsula GP Network, Women’s Health in the South East, and Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service.

What: Peninsula Proud: a GLBTIQ health and wellbeing community event

When: Saturday 28 April 2012, 1.30pm – 5pm

Where: Hickinbotham Winery, 194 Nepean Highway, Dromana (Melways 160 K2)

Cost: Free. Lunch can be purchased before the event. See www.hickinbotham.biz

Enquiries: 5971 9174 or lbruce@phcn.vic.gov.au 

The Peninsula Country Golf Club enjoys a reputation as one of the premier private golf clubs in Australia, with two golf courses ranked in Australia’s top 30.

The cost of this day of fun is $150 per player which includes green fees, breakfast and BBQ lunch for morning tee off and green fees, BBQ lunch and tasting plate for afternoon tee off.

There will also be prizes, trophies, nearest the pin & longest drives competitions & other novelty prizes.

If you score a hole in one on the nominated Par 3 you will win a Honda Accord Euro valued at $42,000.

Why not put together a foursome of friends and fellow golfers? We hope you will join us for what is sure to be a great day of golfing.

If you would like to participate, please fill out the entry form and email it to awaller@phcn.vic.gov.au or fax to (03) 9788 1283.

Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) patients have a pace-maker-like device inserted close to their hearts to provide instant electric shocks that revert the heart’s rhythm to a consistent and regular pace.

Until now, these patients have had to travel to metropolitan hospitals to participate in forums and support groups.

Victoria Rotar, Cardiac Technologist at the Frankston Hospital, has been instrumental in developing the support group.

“We find that patients are hungry for information about their conditions. They find it helpful to voice their concerns and relay their experiences in an environment where they are supported by others who are in similar situations to them,” said Miss Rotar.

The idea to establish this close-to-home service came after Miss attended the Royal Melbourne Hospital’s ICD support group earlier this year.

“Large institutions have run these services for several years, and we thought that it would be fantastic to do something similar at a local level for our patients,” she said.

The psychological and emotional components of adjusting to life after an ICD implant has seen a great number of patients battle stints of depression and anxiety.

“Younger patients battle the psycho-social demons of how live their lives to the fullest capacity whilst adapting to their conditions. Older people begin to feel isolated when they are not provided with the information they seek,” said Miss Rotar.

“This support group will be able to give these patients the information and guidance they seek whilst providing them with an environment to either share their experiences or hear about those of others.”

Peninsula Health’s inaugural ICD Patient Support Group will be held on the 15th February 2012 from 6-8pm at the Frankston Hospital’s Academic Centre.

The night will comprise presentations from Dr Geoff Toogood Peninsula Health’s Director of Cardiology, cardiac specialists, psychologists and representatives from defibrillator companies. Patients will also be able to ask questions and speak of their own experiences.

For more information, please contact Victoria Rotar on 03) 9784 7998

The rocking horse has been donated by the Woodworkers Southern Peninsula Inc. of Rosebud and is valued at $2,500.

It will be raffled by the Frankston Hospital Pink Ladies, to raise funds for a piece of equipment, which will assist in treating children in the Frankston Hospital Emergency Department.

Dr Helen Hewitt, Director of Emergency Medicine said, “With these funds we are now able to buy a paediatric oximeter for Frankston Emergency Department.

The new equipment will help us measure the oxygen saturation and pulse rate of children when they enter the emergency department. The whole process becomes less invasive and quicker for children, who are often scared and overwhelmed,.” said Dr Hewitt.

The amount of time and effort put into cutting, sanding, gluing and painting this rocking horse shows in every detail from the embroidered leather saddle to the beautiful long mane.

“The horse is the result of about 50 hours of loving labour by the Woodworkers.”. Mr John Bayliss, President of the Woodworkers of Rosebud said.

“The hardest part was the carving of the horse, to make sure all surfaces were smooth.”

“There are eight woodworkers in the club, we work hard to make and donate about 800 toys each year, which we distribute to local community and organisations.

“We are very community conscious; most of us have family and grandchildren who live on the Mornington Peninsula. We wanted to give something back to Frankston Hospital,” he said

If you would like to give this stunning horse a home, raffle tickets can be purchased for $2 from the Frankston Hospital Pink Ladies kiosk in the Frankston Hospital foyer.

Join us on Saturday 28 April in the relaxed atmosphere of Hickinbothams Winery at Dromana for Peninsula Proud: a health and wellbeing community event for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people. Friends, family and all are welcome.

Guest presenters include Beth Wilson (Health Services Commissioner), Karen Toohey (Acting Commissioner, Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission), Shane Boyd (People Living with HIV/AIDS Victoria), and Nelly Thomas, comedian and health ambassador.

For more information please click on the link above.

The Easy English guide and poster have been produced by Scope for the Department of Health, and can be used for patients or clients who have difficulty reading or understanding information.

The guide and poster use a mix of easy to read sentences and picture communication symbols.

If your ward or service needs hard copies of either of these publications, please contact Jenni Dickson or Louise Andrew in the Quality Department.