Excellence Symposium

East Metropolitan Health Service's (EMHS) annual Excellence Symposium provides an opportunity to celebrate a selection of services and initiatives that strive to deliver on our vision – Healthy people, amazing care; Koorda moort, moorditj kwabadak – and reflect our value of excellence.

Each year, EMHS sites and services are invited to submit Expressions of Interest, with a small number selected to develop a video which is presented and discussed at the symposium. The presentations are supported by an inspirational key-note speaker, who shares what excellence has meant to them in their personal and professional journey.

Excellence Symposium 2022 

MC and Director of Allied Health AKG Danielle Kilmurray, EMHS CE Liz MacLeod and members of the Animal Therapy Team with keynote speaker Dr Craig Challen SC OAMEMHS’ 2022 Excellence Symposium on Wednesday had it all – laughter, tears, and importantly, repeated examples of brilliance across the organisation.

While Australian of the Year 2019, Dr Craig Challen, was the guest speaker and left the audience in awe as he relayed his role in the diving rescue team which saved 13 people from the flooded Tham Luang cave in Thailand in 2018, the five EMHS projects showcased at the event, held their own when it came displaying “excellence”.
 
In opening the symposium, EMHS Chief Executive Liz MacLeod said it was an event she looked forward to each year, as it provided an ideal opportunity to see and hear about the wonderful work underway across the health service.
 
“The symposium has proven each year to be a positive and inspirational event, showcasing our staff striving to deliver on our vision – healthy people, amazing care, Koorda moort, moorditj kwabadak – and demonstrating excellence in their fields,” she said.
 
“As you are aware, excellence is a key value across the organisation – and, I’m very proud to say that we have an abundance of excellence occurring across our service.
 
“As the Board, executive and I read the 28 Expressions of Interest submissions for today – there was no hiding the fact that we all felt very privileged to be part of EMHS and the great work being done.”
 
Liz said that she hoped the presentations would inspire and encourage other teams across the organisation to share what they did at future symposiums.
 
Craig firmly set the theme for the day, as he relayed to the audience – both in person and via Teams – how he and dive partner, anaesthetist Dr Richard Harris, worked together and in collaboration with locals to rescue 12 young soccer players and their coach from the flooded Thai cave.
 
It was a race against time before more rainwater flooded the caves , which would make it impossible to reach them for at least five months, at which point they’d certainly perish.
 
He explained how he initially thought the rescue would be too difficult to accomplish but  he then changed this thinking and played a leading role in the successful mission.
 
Craig, Richard and a small group of experienced divers worked 10 to 12 hours a day in extremely dangerous conditions, repeatedly risking their lives as the children were swum, one by one, through the dark and narrow flooded caves, after they were administered doses of anaesthesia to help calm them through the underwater journey.
 
In alignment with EMHS’s Excellence value, he explained how teamwork was a key factor to the successful mission.
 
Amongst those both in awe and intrigued with what they heard was Anaesthetist Dr Clare Fellingham, who with Program Manager Jo Whitley outlined in their video presentation at the symposium how they worked hard to ensure EMHS set the standard for the provision of Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) in a tertiary healthcare setting in WA.
 
There were few dry eyes in the room when a VAD patient’s family spoke of their story of having a family member with a life-limiting illness. Despite the sadness of the illness being diagnosed, the family highlighted the outstanding care and compassion shown by the EMHS VAD Team in carrying out the wishes of the patient.
 
It was left to the Animal Assisted Therapy dogs used across Bentley and Royal Perth hospitals, to bring a smile to all in the room.
 
The Occupational Therapy team outlined how the initiative was showing tangible benefits to a patient’s outcome.
 
The Armadale ICU Follow-Up Clinic and RPH’s Geriatric Assessment Team were other examples of excellence showcased on the day.

You can read about all 28 EOI submissions in our special commemorative booklet.

 

EMHS staff with guest presenter John Worsfold (centre)The third annual EMHS Excellence Symposium proved a great success with staff to hear of the wonderful work being undertaken across our health service.

As EMHS Chief Executive Liz MacLeod said when officially opening the Symposium – we have an abundance of ‘excellence’ occurring right across the service.

"The Excellence Symposium provides an opportunity to turn our gaze within our organisation – to see and hear about the wonderful work underway across our health service by our staff delivering amazing care or demonstrating excellence in their fields," she said.

"Our vision is – Healthy people, amazing care; Koorda moort, moorditj kwabadak – and the examples on show today, clearly illustrate what we are striving to achieve."

Liz said that on behalf of the board and executive, she was so proud to have read through 28 Expressions of Interest from teams across EMHS who were keen to showcase their work at the event.

The projects under the spotlight for their excellence in delivering amazing care were:

Photo – EMHS staff with guest presenter John Worsfold (centre).

Last Updated: 04/11/2022