Jim McGowan AM, Board Chair
Have Your Say
The Board met on 29 August 2023 with a major focus being the Have Your Say staff engagement survey. The Board was provided with a report of the major themes and findings of the survey by Ms Jacqui Parle, Principal of BPA, together with the themes from the “messages in a bottle”.
By now, I hope that you would have had an opportunity to hear and discuss the findings in relation to your workplace. However, the survey and results are only the beginning of the process. It is the learnings from the report and the actions, where appropriate, which are undertaken within each work unit that are the most important next step.
The Board also had the opportunity to discuss the survey results and a range of other matters with each Directorate’s Executive Director.
End of Year Arrangements
The Board approved the financial statements, which include a small surplus of $2.5 million in a budget of $3.98 billion. In the current economic and health services context, that is an outstanding achievement. Congratulations to the Executive Leadership Team for their stewardship and to all of you for your dedicated service.
The Annual Report was also approved, and it is again a credit to all that Metro North achieved most of its clinical performance KPIs.
Reports
As well as the regular reports, the Board also received a report of the activities of the RBWH Foundation from the Chair Susan Buckley and CEO Simone Garske. Associate Professor Glen Kennedy and Professor Peter Hopkins presented the Clinical Services Report including the performance of the Heart and Lung Clinical Stream.
da Vinci Xi Robot
From retained earnings from previous years, the Board approved the purchase of an additional robot to support the Metro North Robotic Surgery Program. The robot will replace one which has been on a temporary lease.
Board Chairs’ Forum
I attended the Board Chairs’ Forum on Wednesday 30 August. The Forum was addressed by the Minister, the Honourable Shannon Fentiman and the acting Director-General, Michael Walsh. The Minister encouraged HHSs to be more proactive in pushing out their many positive stories to the local media. She wanted us to be more proactive in advising her about issues rather than reacting to media reports. Minister Fentiman encouraged the HHSs / clinicians to explore local initiatives such as extending the scope of practice for our clinicians.
The Director-General detailed his 7 priorities for the Boards. They were:
- Safety – keeping people safe
- Sustainability – optimising resources
- Performance – exceeding expectations
- Governance – strong, clear and inclusive
- Strategy – visionary, holistic and achievable
- Connection – engaging and open
- Collaboration – partnering across the system.
A couple of quotes to consider.
“It’s not about being perfect. It’s not about where you get yourself in the end. There’s power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice.” From Michelle Obama’s memoir, “Becoming” (Michelle Obama. Born 1964 Chicago; lawyer and First Lady during Barack Obama’s Presidency)
“The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change [“their”] future by merely changing [“their”] attitude.” (Oprah Winfrey. Born 1954 in Mississippi; talk show host, author and actor)
Regards,
Jim.