Tuesday, 20 June 2023

New Helix Hub brings ideas to practice

HEI Innovation Program Manager Sharon Hodby and Acting Executive Director Clinical Services Dr Glen Kennedy

Bringing game-changing ideas to life is often easier said than done. The new Metro North Helix Hub will guide change enthusiasts from idea inception to completion, with access to tools and resources, education, and expert advice.

The Helix Hub, also known as Healthcare Excellence through Leading Innovation & Collaboration, was led by Metro North Health Excellence and Innovation (HEI) with extensive consultation with clinicians, educators, researchers, healthcare executives, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members, and key stakeholders who identified the barriers to bringing innovative ideas to fruition.

HEI Innovation Program Manager Sharon Hodby said Metro North staff reported they lacked the skills and confidence to lead changes in the workplace.

“Developing the Helix Hub has been a complex journey, with more than 150 people involved. HELIX Hub provides a much-needed multifaceted initiative, for support, collaboration, shared learnings and connection,” Sharon said.

“We needed a way to provide visibility of all the good ideas. We recognised there were lots of good ideas about how to improve efficiency, equity and effectiveness of our services, but there was no easy way to bring them to light.”

In addition to the HELIX Ideas Gateway, an ideas submission portal, the Helix Hub provides a journey map for those embarking on improvement initiatives to step them through the process of turning a good idea into real change. It guides people through the phases of implementing evidence-based change, from idea to delivery and sustainability.

“Many projects don’t make it from pilot to day-to-day practice. That’s not because they aren’t great ideas, but because those next steps can be very tricky if you don’t have the knowledge and support to do it,” Sharon said.

“There’s an evidence practice gap between implementation science and practical implementation on the ground. One of the themes that emerged from our consultation was access to support to implement projects.

“The Helix Hub is the place to go for access to support and resources, bringing together existing and new education and training to fill identified gaps and build capacity across our organisation.”

The Helix Hub is part of Metro North’s MN32 vision and incorporates health equity principles to embed them into clinical practice.