Pegasus Health's new Director of Nursing
Michael McIlhone
New Director of Nursing Michael McIlhone brings with him a bird’s eye view of the Canterbury health system that will serve him well in providing strategic nursing leadership at Pegasus Health.
Michael joined the organisation in November 2014, after several nursing leadership roles in Canterbury and overseas. His most recent positions have been Nursing Director, Women’s and Children’s Health Division of the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) and then Project Specialist, North Canterbury Hubs, also with CDHB. In his last position, he was responsible for engaging with North Canterbury General Practices to develop a sustainable model of health care and supporting infrastructure for the community.
CEO Vince Barry said at the time of Michael’s appointment that his understanding of clinical issues across the entire health system and his passion and commitment to nurse leadership made him a clear fit for the nursing director role. “His experiences provide us with a great opportunity to play an even stronger role in developing an integrated nursing response to the challenges ahead of the health system in Canterbury,” he said.
Michael takes up the nursing director role from Shelley Frost who had held the position since it was created in 2002. As well as building on the work that Shelley has done, Michael is looking at new ways the Director of Nursing can support primary care nurses. “The role is now full time, rather than three days a week, which allows for more time to provide professional leadership and address strategic issues,” he says.
Spending time in General Practice is a priority for Michael. “I am aiming to visit at least one General Practice each month, to meet the nurses and rest of the team. People seem to really appreciate it. I always say I’m coming to spend some time rather than to just visit, so that I really get to listen and talk to people. I am finding that many of the challenges and stresses that nurses face are similar, whether it be in General Practice or in other areas of the health system.”
He says one of the biggest challenges currently facing primary care nurses is the increased focus on caring for patients closer to their homes and in the community.
“To accommodate the increasing number and complexity of patients, nurses are recognising the need to work towards the top of their scope of practice and General Practices are assessing what skills are needed in their teams to meet changing models of care.” He says that while it has its challenges, he believes providing health care closer to home, using all aspects of primary health care, is the way forward. “Nurses are a key part in making this model work,” he says.
As well as supporting Pegasus members, Michael is responsible for the professional leadership of any nurse working for Pegasus Health. “We have many experienced nurses working as nurses in the organisation and a wider group who are nurses but using their knowledge in other areas,” he says.
To help keep everyone up-to-speed professionally a team-wide update is held every four to six weeks. Michael is also encouraging any primary care nurse with a professional practice issue to contact him if they “have hit a brick wall” in trying to solve it.
As part of his new role, Michael has recognised the toll that the earthquakes have taken on all health professionals.
“It’s a strange thing but the aftermath of the quakes hasn’t finished yet. It’s believed that everyone who continued working through the quakes and is still working, has lost 150 days of wellness – time they would have spent relaxing or taking care of themselves if they were unwell,” he says. “People are finding they don’t have the same physical drive and neglecting themselves compounds the issue. If we need to spend longer hours at work to temporarily get through a heavy workload, it’s important that we compensate for it."
Michael will be working hard at maintaining his own energy levels in the next year. “Primary care nursing is a very exciting career at the moment and I see my role as helping to maintain that sense of excitement and provide leadership that will support nurses to work in new ways. Pegasus Health is very well placed to influence the future of nursing here and around the country. It’s a fantastic time to be in this role.”