DeliverEASE-Lite has landed in Dubbo – and more solutions are on their way!
Date published: 27 Apr 2023
Author: Celia Pozzecco
The DeliverEASE team has arrived in the Western NSW city of Dubbo, to pilot DeliverEASE-Lite – a new ‘light touch’ version of the successful stock management framework that is transforming medical consumables storerooms across NSW Local Health Districts (LHDs).
DeliverEASE-Lite is an out-of-the-box solution that ensures all hospitals – no matter how small or isolated – can take advantage of the DeliverEASE best-practice framework, which improves inventory visibility and management controls to deliver increased availability of stock, and cost savings.
The local team will then take the reins and roll out DeliverEASE at 40 locations across Western NSW LHD’s (WNSWLHD) vast area of 247,000 square kilometres. Backup support will be provided remotely by the Sydney-based DeliverEASE team.
Bonita Jameson and Gabrielle Nicholls are heading up the WNSWLHD local program and will be rolling out the DeliverEASE project across the LHD.
“We’re all looking forward to this, and the fact that we’ve got our own local team is going to be really helpful,” said Gabrielle.
“DeliverEASE started at metro sites and it’s usually not feasible to send those teams all the way out here. Whereas, within our LHD, we have that ability, and we know the sites and the local teams, and we have connections with people to be able to make the introductions.”
Collaborative approach
The two DeliverEASE teams – local and metro – spent the first week engaged in understanding Dubbo Base Hospital’s local requirements, cleaning up ordering lists to remove unnecessary and unused items, and removing old and expired stock from storerooms.
Next, storeroom layouts will be re-designed, items labelled and barcoded, and minimum and maximum stock levels assessed.
Training will include: DeliverEASE processes and principles, how to use DeliverEASE dashboards for stock visibility and tracking of KPIs, and how to use the StaffLink Requisitions and Receiving (STARR) app for ordering at the shelf.
“This system will provide a lot of efficiency with our ordering, as well as standardisation around our ordering lists,” said Gabrielle.
Addressing the challenge of distance
According to Louise Coldwell, DeliverEASE Quality Assurance Manager, the DeliverEASE system will address many supply chain challenges that regional and remote LHDs face due to their geographical isolation and large service area.
“DeliverEASE helps address these challenges because the hospitals will be getting more visibility and understanding of their usage, so they are better equipped to order what they need, when they need it.
“Because the storerooms are organised, they can see stock physically on the shelf, and with the dashboards, they can see stock virtually.
“Staff will have visibility over the whole district which is especially great for smaller rural sites – if they run out of stock and they can’t get a delivery truck out there, they can look on the dashboard and if it’s urgent, they can get stock from another facility.”
More solutions are on the way to WNSWLHD
DeliverEASE is just one of the projects that forms NSW Health’s broader Procurement Reform initiative to address procurement and supply challenges in public health.
SmartChain is another project. Co-led by HealthShare NSW and eHealth NSW, the SmartChain project will deliver new integrated digital solutions to create a single, end-to-end procurement and supply chain system for NSW Health.
The first SmartChain solution to be delivered is the Supply Chain Traceability solution. Supply Chain Traceability is a total solution for departments required to track items to patients, such as theatres and cardiac catheter labs. The solution covers: tracking items, more efficient ordering, reduction in data entry; it stops duplication of receipting; enables stock management of selected items which includes stock on hand and oversight of transactions, enhanced reporting, and dashboards.
Currently, Traceability is being rolled out across Nepean Blue Mountains LHD, and is scheduled to roll out across WNSWLHD in the second half of the year.
Gabrielle, who will also be the local WNSWLHD lead for Traceability, said she is looking forward to implementing solutions that deliver efficiencies for the district, but she also acknowledges that change can be difficult.
“The implementation of change is always a challenge because we are putting in a system that is process focused, but change happens at the people level,” said Gabrielle.
Have you seen our short video that explains the SmartChain project in a hospital context? Watch it on YouTube.
For six weeks, the DeliverEASE team will be on the ground in Western NSW LHD (WNSLHD), mentoring a locally recruited DeliverEASE team and working alongside each other to implement DeliverEASE at Dubbo Base Hospital and Orange Health Service.
Main image caption: Dubbo’s DeliverEASE team - Back row L-R: Bonita Jameson, Gabrielle Nicholls, Samantha Murphy, Jodie Spittles. Front row L-R - Jody Trickey, Keren Davies. For six weeks, the DeliverEASE team will be on the ground in Western NSW LHD (WNSLHD), mentoring a locally recruited DeliverEASE team and working alongside each other to implement DeliverEASE at Dubbo Base Hospital and Orange Health Service.
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