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ACMD Challenge Seminar - Delirium

Delirium: Searching for Solutions

About this Event

Delirium is a clinical condition that involves acute disturbance in a person’s consciousness, attention and cognition

Delirium can result in confused thinking, disorientation and hallucinations. It usually comes on fast, within hours, or a few days, and may leave lasting consequences. It can affect people of all age but older adults are particularly at risk, especially when unwell and in hospital.

Our fifth ACMD Challenge Seminar is focusing on delirium and will highlight current challenges for patients presenting to health services who are experiencing delirium but may go undiagnosed. It will also explore ways to help those who develop delirium during their hospital stay, as well as considering ways to prevent delirium.

Across Australia, over 22,700 cases of hospital-acquired delirium are reported every year. However, there is no consistent process to define if a patient is experiencing delirium on presentation.

There is evidence that suggests if delirium is effectively managed in a timely way, other complications such as falls and pressure injuries are reduced.

This seminar will be followed by a Challenge Workshop at a later date, where the focus will be to identify pathways for medtech solutions that could be used to support the prevention, early detection and management of delirium.

ACMD Challenge Seminar Speakers

Dr James Mahon, a Consultant Geriatrician at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne
Antonella Ursini & Fiona Batey, Behavioural Nurse Consultants, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne
Professor Andrew Teodorczuk, President, Delirium Association President, Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist and Director of Clinical Training, The Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane
Penny Casey, Nurse and Research Fellow, Deakin University
Dr Eamonn Eeles, Consultant Physician and Geriatrician, The Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane

Date: Tuesday, 18 June 2024

Time: 1:00pm –2:00pm

Location: Zoom

“Delirium costs the health system billions. It increases the risk of dementia. It tears families apart. We can find better ways to detect, treat and prevent delirium”

Dr James Mahon

Challenge Seminar Speakers

Professor Andrew Teodorczuk

Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist and Director of Clinical Training

Andrew Teodorczuk practices as a Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist and is the Director of Clinical Training at The Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He is also an Adjunct Professor at UQ and QUT. Since 2023 he is the President of the Australasian Delirium Association. His research expertise is in educational approaches to best delirium practice. He has a keen interest in interprofessional education, work-based learning and wellbeing. Andrew Teodorczuk has a well-established track record with over 100 peer reviewed publications. He has received numerous awards in recognition of his teaching and research including the Principal Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA).

Dr James Mahon

Consultant Geriatrician

James Mahon trained as Geriatrician, General Physician and Stroke Physician in Ireland and has a doctoral degree in osteoporosis from Trinity College Dublin and an MBA from the Australian Catholic University. He has worked as a Consultant Geriatrician in St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne since 2020 and is a Clinical Senior Lecturer with the University of Melbourne. He chairs the hospital’s Cognition Matters Committee and has special interests in dementia-friendly design, improvement of delirium care, and elimination of restrictive interventions. He passionately believes that medtech has a vital role to play in the fight against delirium and the harm it causes.

Antonella Ursini

Behaviour Management Clinical Nurse Consultant

Specialist nurse in pursuit of improving outcomes and championing the delivery of ‘best care’ for hospitalised patients who are living with Dementia and or experiencing symptoms associated with delirium. Background in Emergency Nursing; Master of Public Health (in progress); Policy & Procedure development; Education and Learning design and delivery. Project Officer for SVHM engagement in various solution-finding activities for the prevention, identification and management of Delirium in the acute hospital environment, including: Resource design and implementation; Point Prevalent Surveys; participation in SCV/IHI Delirium Collaborative; participant in small (3 clinician) focus group including external stakeholder engagement for the development of a Delirium App. Committed to the evolution of hospital care which is responsive to the changing needs of the patient and the changing face of technology within the healthcare system…. and on busy days at work, avoiding my own delirium.

Fiona Batey

Behaviour Management Clinical Nurse Consultant

23 years experience in General Medicine Nursing and Aged care. Policy author – Specialling model of care for SCOVID/COVID patients. Key interests and experience in dementia and delirium management – aiming to improve the early diagnosis and implementation of non-pharmacological interventions to enhance an early recovery.

Penny Casey

Nurse and Research Fellow

Penny has been a Research Fellow since 2022, prior to which she was a Clinical Nurse Educator- Delirium for health professionals at Eastern Health for 7 years. Her primary research focus is improving delirium detection, prevention and management in adults in acute, subacute and residential aged care settings to enhance safety and quality of care. Currently, Penny is a CI on the study ‘Driving quality in delirium care through a patient-centred monitoring system in palliative care’ [Ideas Grant APP 2010701]. In recent years, Penny has been a leading investigator on health service-wide (Eastern Health) and Victoria-wide (Safer Care Victoria) point prevalence surveys to detect delirium. Beyond her professional role, Penny has 20 years’ experience as carer for a family member who experienced delirium repeatedly and suffered serious consequences from its non-diagnosis- a lived experience that continues to motivate her research efforts.

Dr Eamonn Eeles

Consultant Physician and Geriatrician

Eamonn Eeles is a geriatrician and physician at The Prince Charles hospital, Brisbane. He is undertaking a PhD with University of Queensland in Delirium. Eamonn has both founded and co-founded a number of innovations in relation to delirium from screening, diagnostics, conceptualization and therapeutics with an emphasis on digital solutions. Eamonn is also an aspiring writer and walker of dogs.

Acknowledgements

For this ACMD Challenge Seminar and Workshop the ACMD acknowledges the support of Safer Care Victoria and the Australian Medtech Manufacturing Centre.

This Victorian Government partnership brings together health and industry stakeholders from across the ecosystem to co-design solutions to frontline healthcare challenges, and grow clinician-led innovation that stimulates local manufacturing, and industry innovation.

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