Damascus Celebrates New Services and Client Milestones

InFocus Issue 21, January 2021

The operation of Damascus Health Services in 2020 was completely interrupted by COVID, but an innovative, rapid response to maintain client care resulted in new online services and made the annual Celebration Day ceremony extra special this year.

When the COVID pandemic started impacting Australians in 2020, Damascus Health Acting Service Manager Linda Washburn and later Service Manager, Nicole Yates, had to lead the team to completely change their operation and processes due to the tight restrictions required around patient and staff movements. 

The 44-bed unit provides mental health and addiction services for inpatients and day patients. During normal operations, it has a constant stream of nursing, cleaning, allied health, physiotherapy and other staff in addition to patients throughout its rooms. 

Ms Yates said the unit operates across three floors, so they had to initially cease Day Patient Services under the lockdown restrictions. 

“If one part was affected by COVID we could have potentially risked exposing many other people who interact with this community,” she said.

This meant that under the initial restrictions, day patients couldn’t come in and inpatients couldn’t exit, and all staff interactions had to be constantly monitored, causing multiple layers of concern. Ms Yates said this first stage of change was managed extremely well by Ms Washburn.                     

“When we were able to have some flexibility, the restricted number of people per square metre meant that the in-person group sessions and services were greatly reduced, and anyone over 70 years of age was deemed at too great a risk to come in. 

“What we also saw during the lockdown period was an increased fear from our patients of going to the GP due to their worry about being potentially exposed to sickness and COVID, which resulted in them coming into us at the hospital very unwell and far worse off than if they had maintained their normal, external routine including their regular scripts and exercise.

“The general confusion around what to do and how to manage during this pandemic initially caused a lot of angst amongst patients, which took a long time to recede; others found wearing masks difficult due to previous traumas; and social distancing proved a challenge to many as we had not had to implement it previously.”

Ms Yates said the stress was high for staff around stoppages and changes to hours, which were negotiated by Healthscope with the State Government to protect staff. She said the reduction of casual staff for a period, constantly changing regulations and new procedures for patient screening and interaction, were difficult to navigate and time consumptive.

“So much change at once was difficult for both patients and staff, because every aspect of our operation was assessed and altered, but the wonderful thing to emerge to better help patients has been our online sessions. 

“Sessions were initially delivered daily by Zoom and instead of a five hour, in-person session in the unit, we offered three hours online. We did have to navigate confidentiality issues around other people who may be in their homes with our patients to protect the identity of all involved, plus check privacy and consent in new ways, and rely on patient information for assessments from nurses, but those processes were ironed out quickly. 

“We discovered that for patients who couldn’t come in as often, the online sessions offered support every day, especially those in regional areas. We now offer one online session for patients per week, and while most patients prefer face to face sessions, the online sessions work well for regional patients and for people who may feel unwell and need support as they don’t have to enter the clinic and compromise the health of others.”

Ms Yates said Damascus would consider adding more sessions to the program if the demand grows, especially with regional patients. 

“Our staff really came together during a very stressful time to deliver our services and ensure that the empathy and understanding that Damascus Health Services is known for, continued to be strong. 

“The team is driven by the patients because everyone wants to see them succeed. This was especially powerful to see on November 18 when we held our 24th annual Celebration Day in the unit, despite the social distancing limitations that were still in place.”

Started by Damascus psychologist Marina Birmingham in 1997 as a way for patients to celebrate their sobriety, previous patients who want to continue being engaged on their journey with the unit are invited back each year to share their milestones with current patients.

“We often have 80 to 100 guests who celebrate achievements of one, five, ten and many more years of sobriety with presentations and a light lunch. Although numbers were fewer this year based on COVID restrictions, the stories were just as powerful. 

“One former patient celebrated 25 years of sobriety this year, which was so moving and powerful. All of the staff including Marina, who was MC, and Brisbane Private Hospital CEO Claire Gauci, were so thrilled to support and celebrate everyone in attendance.

“2020 has been a very testing year for Damascus Health Services, but we have been very proud of our ability to continue and adapt our patient care in the face of huge challenges, and we look forward to offering our programs and treatment in 2021.”
 

Our Damascus patients participated in creating these wonderful images.