Jane Hancock, Acting Chief Executive
Ceremony with Elders and community members
We have had an excellent National Reconciliation Week across Metro North. Unfortunately, I am not yet able to be in two places at once, so I wasn’t able to attend all the events, but I am very pleased I was able to attend some of the events, including the Caboolture Hospital event on Monday morning.
Today Acting Chief Operating Officer Louise Oriti represented me at the Bribie Island Satellite Hospital Yarning Table, bringing together members of the community to ensure we create a culturally safe and welcoming service.
Stolen Wages acknowledgement
On Wednesday, a momentous and historic occasion took place at Redcliffe Hospital where we as an organisation formally acknowledged the history of using stolen wages of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders to build the hospital.
This was a culturally significant event and an important moment for Metro North Health and our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Traditional Owners, Elders, Community and staff. Metro North Health is one of the first Hospital and Health Services within the state to formally acknowledge the use of stolen wages and have a permanent apology plaque placed at the front of the hospital.
I acknowledge the direct impact the stolen wages have had on many Metro North Health Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and community members, and I am honoured to have taken part in the unveiling of this plaque at Redcliffe Hospital, an important permanent reminder of this history.
Thank you to the staff members and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders and community members who joined us at this special event. While we can’t re-write this painful history, we can now walk alongside each other in healing and reconciliation.
HOPE clinic Margate
Yesterday I attended the official opening of the Heart Outreach Program for Health Equity (HOPE) clinic at Margate. The HOPE clinic is a cardiac outreach clinic run by The Prince Charles Hospital in partnership with the Institute of Urban Indigenous Health, providing specialist care closer to home.
Patients referred to the service are seen by a specialist cardiac team consisting of a cardiologist, sonographer, and a cardiac scientist. Access to specialist cardiologists and cardiac investigations services can include telehealth if required, with all cardiac investigations supported by an onsite nurse.
The clinic commenced operations in February and has so far seen more than 80 patients.
Waiting for What Survey
Bed management is one of the biggest challenges we face each day and delayed discharge or transfer of a patient can have a significant flow on effect. Metro North will undertake the Waiting for What Survey next week to identify the reasons for delay and how we can work together to address them.
The survey will be conducted across our inpatient services, with some exceptions, on Thursday, Friday and Sunday next week. The survey will be conducted twice daily, three times on Thursday, to give us an idea of what’s happening and how we can address issues. Analysis of the survey results will be used to inform our bed management plans.
Metro North Research Excellence Awards
Metro North is home to hundreds of researchers, including current and future global leaders in healthcare and research. I am always amazed at what our researchers are capable of, often in addition to clinical and other duties. For example, in 2023 alone there were at least 1383 research articles published by Metro North researchers.
The Metro North Research Excellence Awards is our annual opportunity to bring the research community together and celebrate their achievements. This year we are also holding the inaugural Metro North Research Summit. Both events will be held on Thursday 5 September.
Nominations are now open for the Research Excellence Awards. Whether you’re an early career researcher, well established, or somewhere in between, I encourage you to nominate for the awards and share your accomplishments. Nominations close Friday 26 June at 5pm.
In the meantime, you can read about some of the excellent work happening across Metro North in the annual Research Snapshot.
Supporting staff after incidents
In response to feedback in the Have Your Say survey and the staff occupational violence forum last year where staff asked for more support particularly around wellbeing, and after some critical incidents taking place across Metro North services last year, we have developed a Post Critical Incident Staff Support Guideline.
The guideline provides a framework to ensure a consistent approach to staff support across Metro North, minimising the harm from exposure to significant events such as serious workplace accidents, exposure to a tragic or grief-inducing incident, or occupational violence, physical threat or assault.
Watch this video for an explanation of the guide.
Warm regards,
Jane.