Kindness Works Here Week – Monday 11th to Friday 15th November

Every day, healthcare staff and patients deal with the tough realities of illness, mortality, and human vulnerability, which can take a significant toll on their mental and physical wellbeing.

This year the Hush Foundation is calling for Australians to celebrate and elevate kindness throughout the healthcare systems to save the lives of those experiencing the heavy mental load of the sector.

Research highlights a critical need for greater kindness:

• Violence against healthcare workers is getting more frequent and more severe.
• Over 50% of healthcare workers report experiencing burnout.
• Female doctors have a suicide rate 76% higher than the general population.
• The healthcare and social assistance industries have seen the highest number of serious claims for work-related mental health conditions over the past five years (Safe Work Australia, 2022).
• Each year, more people die from medical errors than from car accidents or breast cancer.  Up to 70% of medical errors are linked to poor communication, often worsened by stress, burnout, and incivility.

To combat these concerning statistics, the Hush Foundation has created Kindness Works Here Week from Monday 11 to Friday 15 November where Aussies can celebrate and support their local healthcare services by becoming a Kindness Champion.

“Kindness is a simple but extremely effective cure in sustaining and empowering the healthcare sector. Fostering a sense of community is proven to enhance the performance and wellbeing of healthcare staff, with reduced errors and improved patient safety and experience - saving lives. When kindness is at work, everyone thrives!”, says Professor Catherine ‘Dr Cathy’ Crock AM - Founder and Chair, Hush Foundation.

The Hush Foundation, best known for its pioneering use of music and the arts as tools for change in healthcare, has been leading a more positive vision for the sector for 25 years.  Anyone can become a Kindness Champion – whether you work in the health or care industries or receive care from them.

Those interested in being involved in #KindnessWorksHere Week from 11 – 15 November can:

1.     Plan your own kindness celebrations – the team has celebration kits, signage and gifts to help.

2.     Join the Hush Foundation’s daily presentations and workshops online.

3.     Join the Great Kindness Bake Off – Raise awareness and funds while nourishing others.

4.     All of the above!

To register to become a Kindness Champion or Kindness Works Here team or organisation, please visit hush.org.au/kindnessworkshere.

The 2024 Kindness Works Here Events are as follows:

Monday 11 November

Structural Kindness: Working Smarter Not Harder – 12.30pm – 1.30pm

Healthcare leadership in support of structural and organisational kindness.

Join some of Australia’s leading minds in human factors work design, organisational resilience and health leadership for a courageous and radical re-imagining of leadership in healthcare which supports:

·       Recruitment and retention of staff

·       Staff engagement and well-being

·       Sustainability and safety of healthcare

Tuesday 12 November

The Knowledge Gene – 12.30pm – 1.30pm AEST

The groundbreaking new discovery linking evolutionary biology, indigenous knowledge systems, neurodiversity, the arts and learning, and why it matters for healthcare.

Researcher and author Dr Lynne Kelly and Dr Richard Mayes discuss the implications of a uniquely human supergene.

·       Profound implications for healthcare

·       Understanding the prodigious memories of Indigenous people

·       Why humans are the only species to make art

·       Insights into the earliest music and storytelling

·       Cognitive strengths of neurodivergent people.

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Wednesday 13 November

What Matters to You? – 8.30am – 9.30am AEST

What matters to you and why should it matter to healthcare?

When Professor Maureen Bisognano urged her audience to “find out what matters to your patients”, she inspired an international movement. Hear first-hand as Maureen and Karen Turner discuss the impact this simple invitation has had around the world.

·       Action steps we can all take

·       Embedding person-centred change

·       Person-centred conversations amongst colleagues

·       Examples of the program in action in Australasia

·       Starting What Matters in your organisation

Arts in Health – Health in Arts – 12.30pm – 2.30pm AEST

Writing, music, story-telling and Haiku - in celebration of World Kindness Day.

Join us for a conversation with our panel about the powerful connection between medical science, healthcare, creativity and the arts.  Hear the stories of kindness in healthcare collected in the Hush Kindness Anthology #2 with readings, conversation and a Haiku workshop. Learn about and be inspired by:

·       Arts as therapy

·       A socially engaged approach to health and wellbeing

·       Winning entries to the Hush Kindness in Health Writing Prize 2024

·       Haiku workshop Health Humanities expert, writer and poet, Dr Michael Leach (PhD)

Thursday 14 November

Reciprocal Respect – 12.30pm – 1.30pm AEST

The pitfalls of bias and power of partnership.

What is the impact of unconscious bias, power and hierarchy in healthcare? Understanding factors such as age, ethnicity, and diversity leads to more effective relationships with patients and amongst staff.

Friday 15 November

The Patient Patient – 12.30pm – 1.30pm AEST

Disaster recovery expert Louise Scott didn’t expect to be having to turn her professional skills to her own health journey. Louise shares her recent journey through an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, with great vulnerability, clarity and bravery, and is then joined by her doctor, Stephen, as they share what it is like to be ‘human’ on both sides of the bed.

·       Effective communication

·       The acts of kindness and care that mattered most

·       Accessing care as a rural patient.  

For more information and the full program please visit https://www.hush.org.au/gathering-of-kindness-online

Tickets are available at https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1288443

Kindness Works Here is proudly led and managed by the Hush Foundation and is supported by the Phil Taylor Foundation, Margaret Laurence House, Lyone Foundation, the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators and the Rotary Club of Melbourne.

About the Hush Foundation

The Hush Foundation was established in 2000 by highly awarded and renowned physician, Professor Catherine Crock AM, in response to her work with children undergoing painful medical procedures at The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne.

Working to improve pain relief for these young patients, Dr. Crock sought to reduce the stress and anxiety felt by patients, families and staff, and has done so through introducing the arts and embedding kindness into healthcare.  In 2016 the organisation turned its attention to culture change in healthcare environments, noting that workforce wellbeing and retention were serious issues with significant implications for patient safety and experience.  Over the last 23 years, Hush has produced 21 albums and commissioned new music from over 40 of Australia’s leading composers, songwriters, musicians and orchestras. The Hush album ‘Collective Wisdom’ was nominated for an AIR Award in 2019 for Best Independent Classical Album, and ‘A Piece of Quiet’ was nominated for an ARIA Award in 2017.

Hush’s education, training and events for culture change have garnered international attention and acclaim from renowned healthcare improvement leaders.  The Foundation has also produced three theatrical plays, a children’s Treasure Book, two Kindness Anthologies, numerous concerts and the annual Gathering of Kindness event series  - all aimed at improving the healthcare environment for every Australian – patients and workers alike.

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