At our Quarterly Staff Recognition Awards held in May, Alison Bannan won the Innovation Award for the ‘Wound Clinic War on Waste’ campaign she started in 2018.

She was nominated by Eryn Mcnamara, who explained that once the audit of clinical waste started, it was determined that a lot of rubbish being put in these bins was not clinical waste.

“With the help of her colleagues, Alison has campaigned for new clinical waste bins and has provided signage and education to staff about what belongs in what bins,” Eryn said.

Alison has been working at Northern Hospital for 10 years. She spent eight years in the wound clinic, and two years at the chronic wound service at Broadmeadows Hospital. In her role as a clinical nurse specialist, she cares for patients with acute wounds requiring specialist care.

For her, winning the award means acknowledgement of the effort she put into the wound clinic’s ‘war against waste’ project.

“I am proud to say, collectively, we have reduced our clinical waste by 50%, reducing carbon emissions and cost for the hospital,” she said.

Alison’s efforts to win the war on waste won’t end any time soon.

“In the future, I aim to continue working in wound management, providing evidence-based practice to patients. I am also interested to continue to explore the recycling and reuse of products and equipment use in wound clinic,” she said.

Her colleagues notice the difference Alison’s work is making.

“Her initiatives have dramatically decreased the amount of clinical waste we are producing in wound clinic. Alison does a fantastic job lobbying for waste reduction in not only wound clinic, but hospital wide,” Eryn added.

Alison enjoys her role at Northern Health, describing it as a “very busy hospital, providing health care for many patients from the northern suburbs with a rapidly expanding  growth corridor.”

Featured Image: Michael McLennan from BankVic with Alison Bannan