Working in the Bilima Building
Single patient rooms and decentralised workstations
The below principles for our new ways of working were established through a collaborative process involving diverse stakeholders within Sydney Children's Hospital Network and external local health districts.
By considering the needs of patients, families, and healthcare staff, these principles aim to ensure a safe, patient-centered, and efficient care environment.
- Maintain patient safety by keeping curtains open at all times, except when clinical reasons require closing them.
- Encourage families to maintain a clean and comfortable room to ensure easy access for staff.
- Collaborate with families in the decisionmaking process and honour their values and beliefs.
- Keep the family regularly updated on any changes to the care plan, providing clear explanations and opportunities for questions, either directly at the bedside or in a suitable setting.
Close the door when providing care or discussing the patient's condition with other members of the care team.
However, it is important to balance the patient's need for privacy with the need for safety and observation.
With patients in separate rooms, it is essential to coordinate their care seamlessly.
This involves regular communication with other members of the care team, such as physicians, specialists, and other nurses, and careful consideration of patient allocation.
Decentralised workstations will allow nurses to be in closer proximity to the single patient rooms therefore allowing more time with the patients and families.
Nurses can closely observe patients and respond promptly to any changes in their condition.
The SPR and decentralised workstations model of care is still relatively new, and there is always room for improvement.
Be prepared to adapt your practices as new evidence emerges and as you learn more about what works best for your patients and each other.
Accessing a computer
There are several options for accessing computers in the Bilima Building to document patient notes and manage patient care, including:
- Clinical workrooms: provide a private environment equipped with several computers positioned away from patients and their families for documenting patient notes and performing other administrative tasks.
- Touchdown points: allow staff to access computers while maintaining visibility of patients, to facilitate real-time documentation and communication. These include fixed devices and mobile workstations.
- Staff stations: provide staff with convenient access to computers in proximity to patient care areas to enhance workflow.
Spaces for confidential conversations
Patient confidentiality is paramount in our daily interactions with patients, families, and staff. The Bilima Building will provide more private areas for staff to have confidential conversations.
Internet Access
The Bilima Building is designed to meet the current and future digital needs of our community. The ability to access the right information, from any location, on any device will be achieved by:
- Rolling out a robust WiFi infrastructure across the new building, aligning with the shift to a more mobile environment, while still supporting the use of two-way radios and paging systems.
- Strengthening cyber security and network security systems.
- Enabling 4G and 5G mobile coverage within the new building.
- Integrating a new alerts system, for task management and in the event of emergencies, to deliver notifications in faster timeframes.
- Drawing on digital learnings and insights from other hospitals to implement into our own.
Multi purpose rooms
Interview room
Purpose:
Quiet and confidential space away from patient bedside areas for private conversations. There is no technology installed in the interview rooms. Mobile devices can be bought in as required.
Who can access the space? SCH employees
Bookable or non-bookable? Non-bookable
Multi therapy room
Purpose:
Designed to facilitate assessments and interventions for patients away from the bedside.
Who can access the space?
- Health staff
- Patients/Parent/Carer
Bookable or non-bookable? Non-bookable and bookable times available
Playrooms
Purpose:
A patient and sibling space used for:
- Relaxation activities like yoga (including palliative care patients)
- Socialisation through play experiences
- Respite from clinical settings
- Satellite Starlight sessions and Hospital School activities.
No clinical care will be provided to patients in the playroom. Allied Health staff may observe a child in this space, and Child and Music Therapists can use the room with patients and siblings (without occupying the whole room if others would also like to use it).
Who can access the space? Patients and families
Bookable or non-bookable? For services like Starlight or the Hospital School to use the space, the Nurse Unit Manager (NUM) of the IPU is to be contacted.
Adolescent recreation room
Purpose:
A non-medical space where adolescent patients can relax, socialise, and take a break from the clinical environment to spend quality time with friends and family outside of the ward.
Who can access the space?
- Patients
- Parent/Carer
- Sibling
- Hospital School with a patient
Bookable or non-bookable? Non-bookable
