Dear colleagues,

It seems we’ve hit another milestone in our Incident Controller messages – today is our 150^th message! Keep in mind, we’ve been at our response for a lot longer than 150 days. Shout out to everyone in our Metro North EOC – you truly are the dream team!

Over the last 24 hours we have recorded 1 new positive case of COVID-19, a return traveller from overseas who is in hotel quarantine.

Further updates today are:

• Updates out of the Metro North EOC
• Shout out to Telehealth and BEMS
• COVID-19 Vidcasts

Updates out of the Metro North EOC

As I said, we’ve been at this response for a while now in Metro North EOC with a team of mostly the same people the entire time. In order to create a sustainable MN EOC model we will be advertising some positions to be filled shortly. If you have an interest in joining our great team, keep an eye out for the expressions of interest on the EOI portal.

Shout Out to Telehealth and BEMS

If there is one thing we know for certain at the moment, it’s that our pandemic response is going to be a marathon, not a sprint and our response involves far more than our frontline clinicians.

Providing care to patients in negative pressure isolation rooms is complicated and communication between the in-room team and the outside had been a difficult job to solve. That was until Daniel Best and Matthew Page from Telehealth adapted a telehealth solution to the problem in the form of software that can be used on an iPad. Jeff Grogan from Building and Engineering Maintenance Services at RBWH jumped on board and manufactured a stand for the communication equipment to be mounted on – all within 24 hours! Well done team!! This really just goes to show how adaptable and innovative we really are here at Metro North!

COVID-19 Vidcasts

There will be a COVID-19 vidcast tomorrow at 11am with Jackie Hanson and myself. I really encourage everyone to join in and ask any COVID-19 or pandemic response questions you may have! Again, Jackie and I will host another vidcast on Friday. Keep an eye on your emails from Metro North Communications for the links.

This Thursday is RUOK? Day and there will be a special Self Care September vidcast featuring Chief Executive Shaun Drummond and Chief Wellbeing Officer, Bruce Sullivan. Tune in to learn how Metro North is supporting you, to support yourself, whilst you support others! Make sure you wear Y E L L O W and ask a colleague or loved one ‘are you OK?’.

No inspirational quote today but some happy news! I became a Grandmother at 12 midday today! Little Charlotte joins our family and is already so loved. This is my husband Ian and my first grandchild and while Gemma my stepdaughter is still in hospital, I can’t wait to meet baby Charlotte when they return home.

During COVID-19 there have been many deliveries and I am very aware that our neonatal nurseries and birthing services have been in overdrive. We tend to forget that while we are going through such a difficult time with COVID-19 there are many wonderful things happening including the safe delivery of thousands of babies in MNHHS.  I am the lucky Nanna of one of our 2020 MN babies. I guess I am now officially Nanna Alanna!!! While I obviously am very happy with my personal news, I want to say a huge thank you to all our birthing services and neonatal staff for continuing to deliver such high standards of care and family support during this pandemic. Your commitment and dedication have not gone unnoticed.

Remember Thursday is RUOK Day so don’t forget to wear yellow and check on your colleagues, not only on Thursday but every day!!   Look after yourselves, your loved ones and your colleagues and we will talk again tomorrow.

Kind regards,
Alanna Geary
Metro North Incident Commander

Metro North HHS – Overview of Cases*

*With effect 8 September 2020, 1000

**Metro North has three recorded deaths (one person a return traveller into NSW, who passed away in NSW)

*** These numbers reflect the cases being managed by Metro North.