DeliverEASE – making emergency management easier at NBMLHD
Date published: 01 Sep 2025
Author: Celia Pozzecco
When Astrid Temlett, Health Emergency Management Coordinator at NBMLHD, was asked if she knew of a way to streamline the packing and maintenance of LHD Disaster Medical Kits across Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District (NBMLHD), she had an idea – DeliverEASE!
'It was really obvious to me,” said Astrid, a former emergency nurse who had recently joined NBMLHD’s Emergency Management Unit after supporting the DeliverEASE rollout at Nepean Hospital.
‘I just knew we could apply DeliverEASE principles and improve the situation.'
What is a LHD Disaster Medical Response Kit?
LHD Disaster Medical Response Kits contain items necessary to support the provision of care at mass casualty and emergency events, and to enhance resources if an incident overwhelms first responders’ resources.
Previously, hospitals were required to always have multiple kits pre-packed and ready to go. However, a change in NSW Health policy gave LHDs flexibility to determine the best way to manage the kits locally.
Following a review by NBMLHD emergency and critical care staff, it was deemed that pre-packed kits were no longer fit for purpose, because:
- the kits were rarely used
- this resulted in high levels of expired stock
- and clinical staff had to regularly review and re-stock the kits, which was time-consuming.
That’s where DeliverEASE steps in
Alison Comerford, NBMLHD’s District Manager – Health Emergency Management, wanted a new method whereby staff could quickly and easily pack the kits on an as-needs basis.
First, Alison created a virtual list of the hundreds of items packed in the 3 categories of LHD Disaster Medical Response Kits:
- Basic bag – contains 140 items
- Critical care bag – contains 250 items
- Resupply bag – contains 219 items
Next, Astrid applied her DeliverEASE experience to the process: DeliverEASE is HealthShare NSW’s award-winning medical consumables stock management framework that has rolled out across more than 1,400 clinical areas, including 61 at NBMLHD.
The core elements of DeliverEASE are:
- best-practice stock management processes and principles
- new digital tools and dashboards for easy ordering and data visibility
- consistently organised hospital storerooms with colour-coded item categories
- refreshed staff roles and responsibilities.
Astrid, who, like Alison, has worked in nursing at NBMLHD for 20 years, saw the potential to apply DeliverEASE colour-coding and HIMF* [Health Item Master File] number allocations to the virtual list. This means, whenever a bag needs to be packed, anybody can print the virtual list, go to any storeroom, locate the colour-coded items, and pack the bags.
Staff can also rely on DeliverEASE technology and dashboards to locate stock across a ward, hospital and district - or any substitute item – and fill the bags. Each item’s HIMF number can be used to automatically re-order stock to ensure the maximum quantity is always available on the shelf.
A simple idea with a big impact
Following the Emergency Management Team’s adoption of DeliverEASE processes and principles:
- It now takes one staff member minutes to pack a kit, compared to the 30 minutes it took previously.
- Kits are prepared on an as-needs basis – this has reduced stock wastage, and nurses are not required to review stored bags.
- Stress levels have reduced: ‘It has taken what was once quite a daunting process and broken it down into a really simple thing that anyone can do – you don’t have to be a nurse or a doctor to locate the items and pack the bag,’ said Astrid. ‘The task can be delegated to admin staff, so clinical staff are available to deliver the care they need to.
‘I’m such a champion of DeliverEASE because I can really see the benefits of it,’ said Astrid.
*What is a HIMF? All items in the NSW Health catalogue are assigned a 6-digit identifier code called a Health Item Master File – or HIMF. The HIMF is for internal NSW Health use only and supports health entities in the procurement process.
Main image caption: NBMLHD's Astrid Temlett (L) and Alison Comerford with LHD Disaster Medical Response Kits
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