Virtual models of care, contemporary issues in critical care and clinical redesign of nutrition services will be explored next week at a symposium designed to ignite innovation in health care.

Hosted by West Moreton Health (WMH), the Quality Improvement and Research Symposium brings together academics, researchers and consumers with a program of 14 staff research projects, highlighting transformation of the region’s clinical landscape, on the program.

Staff will showcase their findings through three-minute lightning sessions and 10-minute showcase presentations at the symposium.

Alongside staff research and quality improvement projects, the event’s key speakers will discuss how research and innovation at an individual and teams level can create change across the wider health system. Key speakers are:

• WMH Deputy Board Chair Sue Scheinpflug

• Health Translation Queensland Chief Executive Professor John Prins 

• Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research (QCMHR) Dr James Kesby

WMH Director of Research and Innovation Christopher Hicks said the symposium created a platform for staff to show how research was embedded across the health service.

In the last financial year, 115 research articles were published by staff with 26 new projects approved.

“My team supports clinicians in developing their research projects to start clinical trials, and we are already seeing the outcomes of this with increased project authorisation and commencement,” he said.

“Sharing the results of research and quality improvement projects conducted here ensures valuable insights and outcomes are translated into healthcare outcomes locally and across the state.”

WMH Chief Executive Hannah Bloch said the health service harnessed the expertise, knowledge and connections of staff and partners to achieve the vision of being a health service fully informed by excellence in research.

“When staff are the drivers of quality improvement and co-designed services it invites innovation and contemporary care to our compassionate healthcare delivery,” Ms Bloch said.

“Alongside clinically led projects, we have established a co-designed Consumer and Community Research Council to ensure that community insight is embedded in research from the early stages.”

The symposium allows staff to gain experience sharing the methods and outcomes of their research to advance their careers, network with industry peers, and highlight their published work on the stage.

The major sponsor for this event, and one of our research partners, is the University of Southern Queensland Centre for Health Research.

Quality Improvement and Research projects

The symposium showcases in the Innovative Models of Care session include:

• developing and testing a virtual care model to provide greater support to men in rural areas following surgery for prostate cancer (radical prostatectomy) to improve recovery care services

• identifying the advantages, barriers and limitations of telehealth services on outcomes for chemotherapy patients, including reduced hospital admissions

• exploring benefits of virtual care for patients with gastrointestinal cancer in oncology, including through a mobile app to enhance real-time monitoring and communication

• evaluating the delivery of dietetics care in the Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (diabetes in pregnancy) clinic with a focus on failure-to-attend rates for patients and their preferences for in-person or telehealth appointments

• evaluating opioid prescribing practices for surgical patients discharged from hospital

• examining the variability of weekend speech pathology services in health settings across the country to set the ground work for future research on equitable service provision

The symposium showcases in the Clinical Redesign and Implementation in Nutrition session include:

• a two-year clinical redesign project to better meet growing demand for acute dietetics services at Ipswich Hospital

• the implementation of a dietetic assistant to provide nutrition care for hospital inpatients, reduce the reduce rates of malnutrition across the hospital and enable more patients to receive supportive nutrition care during their admission

• establishing the new Preventative Integrated Care Service dietetic model of care

The symposium showcases in the Contemporary Issues in Critical Care session include:

• evaluating the safety, feasibility and patient acceptability of an electronic device to facilitate inspiratory muscle training with participants in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation 

• advancing respiratory physiotherapy interventions through the use of Ventilator Hyperinflation in ICU

• improving neck of femur (hip) fracture patient outcomes through increased physiotherapy on the Orthopaedic ward at Ipswich Hospital

• establishing a skilled multidisciplinary team to implement conscious proning for non-intubated COVID-19 patients

• enhancing the understanding of allied health professionals’ involvement and expanded scope of practice in the COVID-19 vaccination response

The symposium will be held on 18 October 2023 at the Ipswich Hospital Auditorium, Level 9 Tower Block