Background and aims Static
Our improvement project centred on the St Patrick’s Green residential facility in Kogarah, Southern Sydney, which has 96 beds and a spectrum of care from independent living to dementia care.
During the early project phases, we identified several challenges that were impacting on workload prioritisation, communication, staff wellbeing, and aspects of the client experience.
Key challenges included:
- Senior staff (such as Clinical Care Managers) were spending a large amount of time on administrative tasks and reactive training, reducing time available for residents.
- Staff and families often contacted senior leaders directly for all issues, even when others could assist, increasing workload.
- Frequent on-call responsibilities were contributing to fatigue and poor work-life balance. Nursing staff had inconsistent skill levels, creating additional pressure on senior staff.
- Staff had relatively few structured professional development opportunities available to them.
The aim of the Phase 4 project was to address these challenges by:
- Improving staff skills and confidence
- Reducing workload pressures on senior staff
- Supporting better work-life balance
- Creating clearer career pathways
- Improving communication with residents and families
To achieve this, three key solutions were implemented:
- Introduction of specialised “Champion” roles
- A call triage system to direct enquiries appropriately
- A regional on-call model to reduce the frequency of weekend on-call responsibilities