Caboolture Hospital interface nurse navigator Jonnel Boco

Caboolture Hospital’s team of nurse navigators are using community partnerships to make a world of difference for patient’s navigating the public health system.

Since 2016 the navigation team, made of eight specialty roles, has helped numerous patients to avoid re-hospitalisations, re-presentations and re-admissions through ongoing partnerships with community services and proactive nursing support.

“Our roles aim to facilitate patients into appropriate community services such as the Transition Care program, inpatient rehabilitation, Brighton rehabilitation and other community services including GPs and NGOs,” hospital interface nurse navigator Jonnel Boco said.

“Sometimes we will find patients who don’t know when their appointments are and what services in the community they need to tap into.

“One patient I worked with was a frequent flyer to hospital with at least 25 presentations a year to the emergency department.

“Through the navigation pathway I was able to reduce these presentations to an average of six a year.”

Jonnel joined the team in 2019 and said an increase in demand for nurse navigators could be attributed to poor health literacy and the complex patients within the community.

He said growth in demand had forced the team to be flexible and think of new ways to help patients.

“We’re acutely aware of the expansion at Caboolture Hospital and are preparing ourselves to be more progressive for the eventual increase of the organisation’s needs and demands,” Jonnel said.

“One of our focusses looks at the fail to attend data of patients which is when we can start to intervene.

“We look at the patients to see if they have poor social support or are socially isolated, and whether poor health literacy is potentially contributing.

“Failed to attend appointments cost the health care system and have a compounding impact on the patient’s health, especially when they miss crucial appointments with specialists.

“The confusion the patient and their families go through can be overwhelming so it’s important we’re able to guide them through their health experiences.”