St Vincent's Health

Empowering Efficiency in Uniform Management at St Vincent's Health Australia

St Vincent’s Health Australia is the largest not-for-profit health and aged care provider in the nation, operating across Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria. Their services encompass public and private hospitals as well as aged care facilities, catering to a diverse range of healthcare needs.

Challenge

Deane Apparel, a longstanding supplier of uniforms to St Vincent’s, faced a challenge regarding the efficiency of managing staff details. Numerous requests were regularly submitted for creating new staff profiles, updating uniform allocations, and making amendments via Silk, Deane’s dedicated uniform ordering portal. This process proved to be time-consuming and inefficient for both organisations.

Solution

Tonita Berriman, Key Account Manager at Deane Apparel, proposed a solution to streamline these administrative tasks. The idea involved empowering specific staff members at each St Vincent’s care home or hospital with administrative access to Silk. Additionally, Deane offered tailored online training sessions to educate St Vincent’s personnel on utilising the self-service administration functions of Silk effectively.

Implementation

To ensure smooth implementation, Tonita conducted online training sessions in small groups. These sessions covered essential tasks such as setting up new staff profiles, adjusting uniform allocations, deactivating former staff profiles, shopping on behalf of staff and accessing order history through Silk.

Outcome

The implementation of administrative access and training sessions yielded significant benefits for St Vincent’s Health. Empowered with control over staff profiles and uniform management through Silk, the designated personnel expressed their enthusiasm for the newfound visibility and ease of operations. They appreciated the efficiency gains, particularly the ability to manage onboarding and offboarding seamlessly with just a few clicks. This initiative not only enhanced operational efficiency but also strengthened the partnership between St Vincent’s and Deane by demonstrating a commitment to improving service delivery through innovative solutions.

Conclusion

By collaborating closely and responding proactively to operational challenges, Deane Apparel and St Vincent’s achieved a notable enhancement in uniform management efficiency. The successful integration of Silk’s self-service capabilities not only streamlined administrative processes but also empowered St Vincent’s staff to focus more on delivering exceptional healthcare services. This case exemplifies the value of strategic partnerships and tailored solutions in driving operational excellence within the healthcare sector.