The Division of Surgery (DOS) Clinical Review Team is celebrating a year of milestones after tackling PA Hospital's largest long wait list and earning themselves the title of International Nurses Day Interprofessional Team of the Year Award 2025.
Nurse Manager Hermina Pamittan, Clinical Nurse Melissa Mackenzie, and Administrative Officer Christina Nobre joined forces to launch the project in September 2024.
4,757 referrals across DOS outpatients awaited the team, with new referrals flowing in daily.
“We were determined to bring that number right down,” said Hermina.
United by a shared passion for patient-centred care, the team launched a thorough data review. They confirmed all patient referral information, consolidated duplicate referrals, and identified opportunities to create a timelier appointment scheduling model.
“As a team, we are so passionate about what we do, we care about our patients, and we work well together,” Hermina said.
Simultaneously, the team also led education and training opportunities with peers across outpatient surgical services, empowering more staff to deliver efficient and effective care pathways to those who need it most.
“We want to reduce wait times on the DOS Outpatient waitlist and ensure patients are seen at the most appropriate facility for their referral, with the correct service, and within a clinically appropriate timeframe,” said Mel.
“We also assisted with transferring patients to more accessible facilities, and escalated cases to medical staff and care coordination where necessary, in line with the Specialist Outpatient Services Implementation Standard,” she explained.
In just nine months, their efforts achieved a remarkable result, reducing the waitlist to 2,900 by mid-June.
With a wealth of experience and a diversity of skills between them, the team have both fast-tracked care for countless current and future patients, while boosting clinical efficiency and processes.
“Christina’s dedication to providing at-the-elbow education and training to the DOS Outpatients Department Administration teams has been invaluable,” Hermina said.
Their dedicated work ethic and mutual understanding have been central to the team's success, while boosting patient throughput across the unit.
“We can read each other’s minds, and we’re always putting our ideas together,” said Hermina.
“We call Melissa our FBI, because she’s terrific at investigating. Christina is the analyst, our CIA,” said Hermina, who is recognised for her excellent leadership and dubbed the team ‘happy pill’.
Looking forward, the trio have their sights set on a new goal: reducing the long wait list to net zero.
“It’s a shared goal. We like a challenge, and we want to get that number down to zero. We want everyone to be treated within the recommended timeframe,” said Mel.
Congratulations to the team on a remarkable effort and thank you for your ongoing commitment to the PAH community.