Clinical practice
& duty of care
Earbus Foundation’s core values are to be Open and Honest, Loyal and Supportive and Brilliant. These values form the cornerstone of our culture, supporting clinical governance that is critical to continuous quality and safety improvement.
Our practice environments across the state are open, inclusive, and encouraging of education, professional development, research, sharing of ideas and excellence of clinical practices.
Ours is a culture where continuous analysis, cooperative development and inter-professional respect allow successes to be celebrated. Mistakes are treated as opportunities for learning and improvement.
Clinical governance is an approach to continuous quality and safety improvement, for which all staff share responsibility and accountability. The welfare of our clients is the primary objective of all outreach work with a focus on achieving positive outcomes.
Clinical Governance – GP and Audiometry Nurse working together to deliver high quality primary care
Our Patron, Ear Nose and Throat Surgeon Professor Harvey Coates AO, is the lead author of the highly regarded Aboriginal Ear Health Manual and this, along with the OM Guidelines and region-specific ear health Protocols, form the key references for our clinical work.
Since 2014 Earbus Foundation has held Annual Clinical Roundtables as a forum for reviewing clinical practice, outcomes, research and issues. These forums include Ear, Nose and Throat specialists, Paedatric Audiologists, General Practitioners, Nurse Practitioners and Registered Nurses who review clinical protocols, medications and Earbus procedures for Outreach trips. This process is overseen by the Earbus Director, Clinical Services to ensure that changes are implemented in a timely way.
Throughout the year, ENT Specialists who work in partnership with Earbus continue to provide training modules for clinical upskilling and also provide clinical leadership for nurses, nurse practitioners, General Practitioners and Audiologists. All our clinicians maintain professional registration and comply with all requirements relating to their professional registration. This core group of consultant clinicians are committed to ensuring the best level of care is provided in community. These clinicians ensure that the Aboriginal Medical Services, Royal Flying Doctor Services and other Health Care providers who partner with Earbus are up to date with clinical outcomes for children seen by the team.
Duty of care – Earbus Foundation staff work closely with parents, carers, children and communities to ensure an optimal outcome for the children receiving ear health services. All clinicians and Outreach staff have a current Working with Children Check, Police Clearance and Cultural Awareness Training. All staff attend formal Cultural training twice a year with informal learning taking place as a result of our Aboriginal staff’s willingness to share their journey with the wider team.