SmartChain and DeliverEASE are making a difference
Date published: 20 Jun 2023
Author: Celia Pozzecco
NSW Health’s Deputy Secretary, Financial Services and Asset Management, and Chief Financial Officer, Alfa D’Amato, recently visited Nepean Hospital to see firsthand how some of NSW Health’s Procurement Reform initiatives are progressing.
Alfa was joined by HealthShare NSW’s Procurement and Supply Chain Transformation team and eHealth NSW’s Corporate Applications team.
Nepean Hospital is participating in two procurement reform projects – the DeliverEASE program, which is transforming medical consumables storerooms and stock management across NSW hospitals; and the Supply Chain Traceability solution pilot.
Supply Chain Traceability is a total solution for departments required to track items to patients, such as theatres, cardiac catheterisation labs and medical imaging. The pilot commenced on March 6 at Nepean Hospital – the first site to use the new Supply Chain Traceability solution – and will conclude June/July.
Nepean staff who have been involved in the pilot were invited to attend the site visit meeting and speak with Alfa and members from eHealth NSW and the Transformation team who have been instrumental in building both the Traceability solution and DeliverEASE ICT tools including the Inventory Visibility Dashboard.
Also in attendance were Nepean Hospital’s Deputy General Manager, Michelle Azizi, and NBMLHD A/Manager Contracts & Procurement, Leanne Waters.
The visit concluded with a hospital tour and a check-in with staff members who manage medical consumables storerooms, which have recently been reorganised with assistance from the award-winning DeliverEASE team.
“To have the opportunity to listen to user feedback and to ask questions is invaluable,” said Alfa.
“We are on a journey and we are at the beginning, but we are making significant progress and I’m very happy to see that our solutions are making a difference for staff and eventually, it will make it even better for the patient.”
Miguel Imperial, incoming Nurse Educator, Endoscopy, showed Alfa around the ward’s storerooms.
“I think DeliverEASE is very efficient,” said Miguel. “The storerooms are also really well labelled and logically organised, so staff can easily find what they’re looking for.”
Miguel said the new DeliverEASE ordering system, which uses the StaffLink Requisitions and Receiving (STARR) mobile app, means stock is now delivered within days, rather than taking weeks due to required staff approvals. It is also saving money because system prompts alert users if items are already on backorder, reducing the risk of over ordering.
L-R Shehryar Khan, SmartChain Solution Lead, eHealth NSW; Alex Araujo, Executive Director, Procurement & Supply Chain, HealthShare NSW; Lizafe Muriel, Clinical Support Officer, Nepean Hospital; Ryah Jehn, Director Corporate Applications, eHealth NSW; Jenny Pead, Supply Chain Traceability Project Lead, HealthShare NSW; Nicole Jafari, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Nepean Hospital; Cameron Jaworski, Clinical Nurse Educator, Nepean Hospital; Alfa D'Amato, Deputy Secretary & Chief Financial Officer, NSW Health; Michael Gendy, Chief Procurement Officer, NSW Health.
Caption: Main image - Alfa D'Amato (L), NSW Health Deputy Secretary, Financial Services and Asset Management, and Chief Financial Officer, toured one of Nepean Hospital's newly organised storerooms with Tyson Tuamtong (R), DeliverEASE Operations & Process Manager.
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