AN innovative project that allows nurses at Moyne Health Services (MHS) to have a two-way hands-free conversation with residents has been named a finalist in a national awards program.
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The project has integrated Vocera technology with the Nursecall system at MHS’s Port Fairy campus to give staff members two-way wireless communication with residents from anywhere on the campus.
The project is a finalist in the Aged Care Information Technology (IT) Awards 2014, run by the Aged Care IT Council and Aged and Community Services Australia.
MHS corporate support services executive director Leigh Parker said the new system had transformed how staff worked and communicated with aged-care residents and acute-care patients.
Staff members wear a Vocera badge around their necks that allows instant communication with other staff and patients as well as the ability to answer phone calls and send emails.
Mr Parker said staff members used the communications system to find out patients’ needs as they walked to their rooms after a call for assistance had been logged.
This reduced patients’ anxiety by letting them know staff were on their way to help, he said.
“Residents absolutely love it and so do the staff — it has been an incredible improvement on the previous system,” Mr Parker said.
It has provided improved telecommunications services to residents of the Belfast House and Moyneyana House aged-care centres, including Wi-Fi and new phones with no line rental costs.
The awards will be presented at the 7th Annual Information Technology in Aged Care Conference in Hobart from July 22-23.
