‘Thrive’ initiative success at Murdoch

3 Nov 2023

Murdoch’s Thrive Councils are elected groups of caregivers from patient-facing areas across the hospital, including nursing, patient care assistants, and administration, who are responsible for implementing initiatives to improve patient safety and quality from a patient and caregiver perspective.

A recent initiative that has been rolled out by the St Rose Thrive Ward Council is ‘Answer the Call’. The goal of the project is to further reduce call bell wait times in the area, and in effect, improve patient satisfaction and support patient safety.

As part of the initiative, all St John of God Hospital Murdoch caregivers who visit St Rose ward are empowered to, if able, answer call bells when passing a ward room. The caregiver will respond to the bell and help the patient if they are able to and if it is in their scope of practice (e.g. opening blinds), or find a St Rose caregiver to help the patient with their request.

Since it’s commencement in September, St Rose Thrive Council Chair Person Raechelle Cherry said the project has been embraced by all caregivers on the ward with positive outcomes already beginning to emerge.

“Our Thrive Council’s ‘Answer the Call’ project has been embraced by our St Rose team, with caregivers answering bells for each other promptly, and there is more of an awareness about the length of time bells have been ringing,” she said.

“We have also noticed that Allied Health, Pastoral Care and Catering caregivers have been answering call bells for us also. We really appreciate the support in this project, and so far our call bell wait times have already reduced.”

In addition to the 28 initiatives that have been successfully implemented, the 14 Thrive Councils comprised of 78 members across Surgical and Medical wards, plus Day Procedure Unit, Surgicentre, Cancer Centre, and Hospice, have a further 63 initiatives currently in development.

Acting Director Organisation Development and Improvement Cate Thomas said the Thrive Councils are facilitating real, positive change in their departments.

“The Thrive Councils empower caregivers to use their knowledge and experience to make decisions and implement changes which affect them and their patients experience positively, on a daily basis,” she said.

The councils are provided rostered, paid time to meet as a group to focus on the areas of patient safety and quality, patient experience, and caregiver wellbeing.

We look forward to continuing to improve the experience and safety for patients and caregivers alike in the years to come.