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Hello NurseWatch Family, Community and New Clients,
Welcome to NurseWatch Healthcare. I hope this finds you and your loved ones safe and in good health. Please take a couple of minutes to read our COVID-19 information announcement.
Our purpose at NurseWatch is to care for people and allow them to be their best. It is that simple, and it is the centre of everything we do. With the recent unsettling times, NurseWatch looks into the future and towards COVID-19 (coronavirus) management and recovery.
NurseWatch wants to help you experience the joy of our holistic health care with a stronger presence on safety and wellbeing. We have taken comprehensive measures to implement guidelines as directed by the Australian Government Department of Health Guidelines.
If you are a new client we respectfully request you to follow our 5 step process:
1. Download the COVid-19 App
The Australian Government has released an app to help in contact tracing people who may have been exposed to COVID-19. The COVIDSafe app helps find close contacts of COVID-19 cases by utilising your smartphone’s Bluetooth capabilities to determine whether you have been in close physical contact with someone who has tested positive to COVID-19. COVIDSafe is completely voluntary.
2. Read and understand the Public Health Order, ‘What you Must Do Under New Coronavirus Rules’, dated 6 July 2020: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/diseases/Documents/easy-read-pho-directions.pdf
3. If you feel unwell, please click on the symptom checker tool link below and follow the prompts:
• https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/symptom-checker/tool
4. The latest Australian Government Information: As socially responsible citizens, it is important that we keep abreast of the daily updates of each respective state. The link below provides current updates.
5. Referrals: All new clients require a referral from a registered medical practitioner being a general practitioner and/or medical specialist.
*Please note: Unfortunately, as of 18 December 2020 NurseWatch will not be accepting new clients from the Northern Beaches to Mosman Area, Sydney, due to the COVID-19 situation. We will regularly update our service capability as the situation improves.
NURSEWATCH HEALTHCARE RESOURCES
All resources supplied are available in different languages, however, are defaulted to English. Please follow prompts on website to preferred language
To assist you please refer to government links below:
• Older Persons COVID-19 Support Line Phone 1800 171 866 open 8.30 am - 6.00pm weekdays (AEST) free of charge. Supported by COTA, Dementia Australia, National Seniors Australia, OPAN and the Australian Government Department of Health https://www.facebook.com/opanaus/videos/704485933707079/
• General Information: https://www.health.gov.au/resources/collections/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-resources
• Advice for people who are at greater risk: risk: https://www.health.gov.au/resources/collections/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-resources
• Understanding COVID-19: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtN-goy9VOY&feature=youtu.be
• Understanding the difference between a Pandemic, Epidemic-endemic and an Outbreak: https://intermountainhealthcare.org/blogs/topics/live-well/2020/04/whats-the-difference-between-a-pandemic-an-epidemic-endemic-and-an-outbreak/
• WHO (World Health Organisation) Information: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019 & https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters
EXISTING CLIENTS:
For our existing clients, your Health Concierge Clinician has been in touch to discuss your personalised healthcare journey through COVID-19, with NurseWatch practice of policy and procedure recommendations guided by the Australian Government.
As each of our client’s healthcare journey is individual, please find below information and resources.
YOUR WELLBEING:
Throughout the COVID-19 recovery phase and beyond, NurseWatch will continue to provide and manage your individual care needs, safety and wellbeing. Your holistic healthcare will continue to be provided through our premium services and LiveitUp® Model of Care.
If you require further information regarding our COVID-19 approach, please refer to Beyond Blue website and ’10 Ways to Look After Yourself’. An excellent resource.
• Beyond Blue Telephone: 1800 512 348
NURSEWATCH HEALTHCARE COMMUNITY:
For our LGBTI Community:
• https://www.acon.org.au/what-we-are-here-for/covid19/
Positive Life NSW – Getting practical about COVID-19 and HIV:https://www.positivelife.org.au/latest-news/covid19-resources.html
• Or phone (02) 9206 2000 or 1800 063 060 for confidential counselling
ACON/naphwa/ashm/afao: Making sense of COVID-19 – LGBTIQ and HIV communities:https://www.acon.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/AFAO-NAPWHA-ASHM-Fact-Sheet-COVID-19-9-March-2020_ACON.pdf
For our Trans and gender diverse people:
TransHub – Australia’s first digital information/resource platform for trans and gender diverse people in NSW, their families, and health providers. Created by trans people, for trans people. This is their COVID-19 specific information: https://www.transhub.org.au/covid19
For our Cognitive Impairment Community:
• https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/our-work/cognitive-impairment/cognitive-impairment-and-covid-19
Dementia :
Dementia Australia – Coronavirus – tips for people living with dementia: https://www.dementia.org.au/sites/default/files/helpsheets/DA_COVID19_Helpsheet_04_PLWD-v2.pdf
For our Community languages/CALD community:
https://www.sbs.com.au/language/coronavirus
Disability : Disability Information Helpline: 1800 643 787
Council for Intellectual Disability – Easy-read coronavirus information:https://cid.org.au/covid-19/
Australian Department of Health – information for family, carers and health workers supporting people with disability during the COVID-19 pandemic:https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert/advice-for-people-at-risk-of-coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-people-with-disability
The Growing Space – COVID-19 hub: www.thegrowingspace.com.au/covid19/
For our Carers:
CarerHelp – COVID-19 information and resources for carers: factsheets and infographics with practical information, pointers, and resources. The resources discuss how to care for a person at home and hospital, as well as arranging funerals and managing grief. Pointers on using telehealth to consult with a health professional, and selecting trustworthy online information are also presented:https://www.carerhelp.com.au/tabid/6001/Default.aspx
For our Families:
Health Consumers NSW have developed a guide to support families when visiting their loved one.
Wearing Masks:
Wear a mask if it is hard to maintain 1.5 metres of physical distance from others. Also wear a mask if you have symptoms and are seeking medical advice, or if you are in isolation in the same room as another person.
Video produced by the Australian Department of Health
https://publish.viostream.com/play/bfxgwognhhfmnn
https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/face-masks?mc_cid=76d9c3ba0a&mc_eid=%5bUNIQID%5d
Mask Wearing Fact Sheet:
Masks are increasingly being recommended within Australia as well as globally. In some areas they are now mandatory. But it is important to understand why many of us with trauma histories may be triggered when we are asked to wear a mask, or even when we see them. An excellent resource.
https://www.blueknot.org.au/Resources/Fact-Sheets/face-masks-and-complex-trauma
INFORMATION FOR SPECIFIC HEALTH CONDITIONS:
Cancer
Cancer Council NSW – Cancer and COVID-19 hub:https://www.cancercouncil.com.au/get-support/covid-19/
Bowel Cancer Australia – COVID-19 & Bowel Cancer:https://www.bowelcanceraustralia.org/media-centre/covid-19-bowel-cancer
American Prostate Cancer Foundation: https://www.pcf.org/covid-19/
Kidney health
Kidney Health Australia – COVID-19 and dialysis, transplants etc:https://kidney.org.au/about-us/news/coronavirus-covid-19
Palliative Care:
COVID-19 Resources for Carers; Information for anyone caring for a person at end of life during COVID-19 pandemic – factsheets:https://www.carerhelp.com.au/tabid/6001/Default.aspx
Heart disease
Australian Heart Foundation – COVID-19 and heart disease, all you need to know:https://campaigns.heartfoundation.org.au/covid-19/
Australian Heart Research Institute – COVID-19 and heart health:www.hri.org.au/health/your-health/lifestyle/covid-19-and-heart-health
Smoking
iCanQuit – COVID-19 and smoking FAQ:www.icanquit.com.au/reasons-to-quit/covid-19-and-tobacco-smoking-faq
IF YOU ARE THINKING OF REMOVING YOUR LOVED ONE FROM THEIR PRESENT HOME IN A RESIDENTIAL AGED CARE FACILITY
We are happy to assist. Although we highly recommend you listen to OPAN Older Person's Advocacy Network webinair before making your final decision in consultation with your loved one.
If you would like to review the slides, please click on the link below
https://opan.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/OPAN-C19-W14-Graphics-190820.-HiRespdf.pdf
We understand that COVID-19 has created uncertainty in aged care and that you may think it appropriate to take your loved one out of their aged care home. If you or someone you know needs assistance or is considering this, call OPAN on 1800 700 600.
NURSEWATCH HEALTHCARE CUSTOMER ENQUIRIES:
• NurseWatch Healthcare front, middle and back office staff are working in ways that support social distancing. https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2020/03/coronavirus-covid-19-information-on-social-distancing.pdf. Due to the change in our working environment, we respectfully request that you are patient with your inquiries. If there is an emergency, please phone 000.
• NurseWatch Healthcare staff are working in ways to keep ourselves, colleagues, community, and clients safe. Our staff are 100% compliant with ISO 9001:2016 regulatory requirements.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me on +61448 885 201.
On behalf of our NurseWatch Healthcare family thank you for your support.
Kind regards
Kate Spurway, CEO
YOU'RE ALWAYS WELCOME AT NURSEWATCH HEALTHCARE
Need to book more than once? Not a problem, you can add the same package multiple times.
Once you complete the booking form simply click add Multi Care and add as many packages as you require at different or sequential times.
Source: Kate Spurway presenting at Ageing with Pride, the 4th National LGBT&I Ageing & Aged Care Conference in Melbourne in Oct 2019
Living a healthy and happy life that brings you joy is as much a gift as is dying well. Naturally we focus on living and don’t associate living with our final days. However, Kate Spurway, founder of NurseWatch wants to challenge our thinking for good so that we can embrace the concept of dying well and, by doing so, help others to do the same.
Kate believes the lead up to our last breath is just as important to ourselves and our loved ones as living our best life from the day we are born, and she wants us all to reimagine palliative care whenever it is an option so that is a privilege and a celebration of life.
Kate’s credentials
A proud career and “bread and butter” nurse for over 30 years who has dedicated her life to offering the best care possible to everyone she cares for at every stage of their life, Kate Spurway has seen a lot of life and death in hospitals, nursing homes and private homes. She is frequently asked to present at and submit abstracts at conferences in Australia and around the world on the subject of helping a person to die well. Despite losing her own mother suddenly in a car crash without the warning and precious acceptance time that quality palliative care offers, Kate’s commitment to offering the best end of life experience that is based as much as possible on the choice of the person and with respect to their cultural and religious wishes has never waivered.
No hesitation to share learnings for best care
A member of Public Health Palliative Care International (PHPCI) and Palliative Care NSW with whom she also sat on the Committee in 2010, Kate proactively shares her broad palliative care knowledge with the healthcare sector, her clients and her own team of Compassionaires at NurseWatch. One of NurseWatch’s registered nurses, Efi Madentzoglou will be completing the highly respected Program of Experience in the Palliative Approach (PEPA) at Sydney’s Prince Of Wales Hospital as part of the new graduate Transition To Practice Program funded by the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA). This is the first time a primary health care service has received this level of funding and Kate is very proud of that as it allows NurseWatch to continue to offer the best quality of care for the best health outcomes.
Kate’s own PEPA placement took her to Walgett in country NSW ten years ago where she learned about rural palliative care nursing from Jane Keir, who had received an Order of Australia for her services to the community and dedication to rural nursing just two years earlier. Over hundreds of kilometres from Lighting Ridge to Goodooga to Collarenebri in indigenous communities and regional hospitals, Jane taught Kate about the importance of giving everyone the opportunity to die with dignity their way, regardless of where they lived and how they identified.
“I once nursed a beautiful indigenous lady in regional Northern NSW who wanted to die outside in the trees with her cowboy hat on her head, with Slim Dusty playing in the background and her people around her. We simply wheeled her outside amongst the trees in her hospital bed and she died the way she chose to, surrounded by the people she called her tribe. I think dying well is a social and cultural experience and a privilege to be part of.”
2019 presentations and abstracts
Last year, Kate presented at three conferences on the subject of dying well and had a further two abstract posters accepted.
August 2019: 13th Asia Pacific Hospice Conference, Indonesia
Abstract poster presentation accepted: Diversity and inclusive palliative care in the home
September 2019, Palliative Care Workshop, NSW Nurses & Midwives Association, Gymea, NSW
The presentation: Dying Well. Death is social and cultural, the last great adventure. It’s everybody’s business.
Key learnings: We need to normalise death as a normal part of life, that can be done well at home
October 2019: APNS Home Care Providers HR & Meeting Client Demand Forum and Annual General Meeting, Melbourne, VIC
The presentation: Delivering palliative care in-home
The emerging role of in-home care providers delivering palliative care. What is important to know? How can you develop your workforce to be able to deliver best-practice support for dying at home?
Key learnings: The importance of quality clinical care to facilitate dying as you choose in your own home.
October 2019: Ageing with Pride, 4th National LGBT&I Ageing & Aged Care Conference, Melbourne, VIC
The presentation: Dying Well within the wellness care social model – A cultural and social perspective
Key learnings: Inclusive care is something we all need facilitate for best health outcomes. Person-centred care is compassionate, considers everything from the person’s point of view and is respectful.
From keynote speaker, Ita Buttrose: “Ageing with attitude” is the only way to grow older.
October 2019: 6th Public Health Palliative Care International Conference, Leura, NSW
Abstract poster presentation accepted: Diversity and Inclusive Palliative & Hospice Care Practice within the Home Care Environment
This year
Kate will continue to be a passionate voice for the best end of life possible for everyone because she knows it’s possible from a clinical perspective.
If you would like to see her present at the Palliative Care Workshop for the NSW Nurses & Midwives Association on 23 March from 9am – 4:30pm in Springwood, NSW, register here.
Contact Kate for support and advisory services
Don’t hesitate to contact Kate directly to discuss palliative care and the art of dying well for your family on 0417 276 572 or email kate@nursewatch.com.au.
If you would like Kate to present at one of your events, email kate@nursewatch.com.au.
To stay in touch with the latest insights from Kate Spurway and NurseWatch, feel free to connect with Kate Spurway on LinkedIn here, follow NurseWatch on Facebook here or follow NurseWatch on Instagram here.
You’re always welcome at www.nursewatch.com.au.