Adj Assoc Prof Jackie Hanson, Chief Executive
Today is Sorry Day, acknowledging the trauma, resilience and strength of Stolen Generation Survivors and their families. It is a day of reflection and sadness.
Tomorrow is the start of National Reconciliation Week. The dates for Reconciliation Week (27 May to 3 June) remain the same each year, spanning two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey – the successful 1967 referendum and the landmark High Court Mabo decision.
National Reconciliation Week is a time for each of us to learn, share and talk about history, culture, achievement, and losses. This year’s theme is Be a Voice for Generations. I urge us all to be that voice everyday where we live, where we work, and where we play.
Through our Metro North health equity journey, we aim to create a just, equitable and reconciled community and country. One which values Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ past, their history, their culture, and their future. Our next steps in the reconciliation journey include support for the Voice to Parliament, treaty making and truth telling.
I look forward to attending a number of events next week across Metro North. Here are some of the activities you might like to attend in your local area:
Friday 26 May
- 10am, Redcliffe Hospital – National Sorry Day Yarning Circle, in the Healing Garden
- 10am, TPCH – Flag Raising Ceremony, main entrance, Rode Road
- 11.30am–12.30pm, TPCH – Sorry Day Yarning Circle in the Healing Garden
- 11.30am-12pm, Caboolture Hospital – Sorry Day event at the main entrance, followed by sausage sizzle & hand art activity for National Reconciliation Week.
Monday 29 May
- 9am, RBWH – Create a sea of hands, grassed area outside the Education Centre
- 11.30am-1.30pm, TPCH – Information stall, Café of The Common Good including staff facilitating Reconciliation artwork (daily until 2 June).
Tuesday 30 May
- 9am, Redcliffe Hospital – Raising of the flags for Reconciliation Week
Thursday 1 June
- 10am, TPCH – Virtual Yarning Circle with Co-Chairs of RAP Working Group
- Kilcoy Hospital National Reconciliation Week morning tea & hand art activity
- 12.30-4pm, Community and Oral Health – Reconciliation Shield barefoot bowls, Brighton Wellness Hub
Friday 2 June
- 10am, Redcliffe Hospital – Mabo Day Yarning Circle, in the Healing Garden
Here is what Reconciliation week means to Uncle Geoff Binge:
“Personally, reconciliation means that many of us (not all of us) are prepared to, and finally go to the table for conversation.
I ask each year, is this another avenue to confirm our personal commitments? I say personal because everything we do at work or play will impact on my life, my family, and my community.
This is an enormous and positive step to be confident with each other at an equal level, to be willing to own our ‘passed goods and bads’ and really consider what others are thinking and interpret those thoughts in the way they have been passed over.
In turn, this will allow me to see the attempt we put together at reconciling our differences, and maybe that interpretation and understanding of where the thoughts and wishes come from, will allow us to get on and, work together.”
Have Your Say
A big thank you goes out to the more than 3000 Metro North staff who have provided feedback in the Have Your Say survey so far. The Have Your Say survey is a wonderful opportunity for me and the broader leadership team to hear your feedback and ideas on making Metro North a truly great place. The survey is open to 9 June – I encourage all of you to have your say.
Accreditation
I would like to advise that Metro North Health will proceed with Short Notice Accreditation as Directorates. We are emerging from three years of pandemic response and are just settling into a new business as usual.
As described previously, each directorate will receive short notice advice of the assessment visit, so we all need to be in a constant state of preparedness.
Kind regards,
Jackie.