Dear colleagues,

I hope your weekend is going well! We are lucky to have beautiful weather today for Mother’s Day and I hope you are enjoying making the most of it. Overnight, Queensland recorded 2 new cases. The state’s current total of active COVID-19 cases is 20 – even with this small increase we should all be proud at how well we have flattened the curve.   Today saw some of our restrictions lifted and I had a lovely Mother’s Day lunch with my sons and their partners. It was a nice end to the weekend.

Just a few reminders today:

• Flu vaccination reminder
• Wellbeing – be kind to yourself

Flu vaccination reminder

I would like to reiterate the importance of rolling up your sleeves for this year’s flu vaccination. It’s important for the health of each of us individually and as a workforce – we’re in this together.

I know many of you have already received the vaccination, thank you for taking the time to getting this done. If you are unsure where you can access our staff flu vaccination program, please speak with your line manager. As we make our way into flu season it is imperative, we are prepared in every way we can be.  COVID 19 has been such a focus for us in the past few months however the flu can be just as nasty so please ensure that you have the vaccination and protect not only yourself and our patients, but also your loved ones.

For those who are over 65 the available vaccine is Fluad Quad. There was an error in my Friday communication update, my sincere apologies.  Fortunately, one of our very impressive Nurse Practitioners in MN picked up my mistake so I now include the correct drug name.  Additionally, the vaccine for our slightly older population is almost the same as the under 65 vaccine but contains an adjuvant to boost immunity.

We strongly recommend flu vaccination for our workforce and remember it comes at no cost to you as a Metro North staff member.

Wellbeing – be kind to yourself

Wellbeing is about balance in all aspects of life – it encompasses the health of you physically, mentally, socially and emotionally. During the last few months, I feel that many of us would have taken a backwards step in our own wellbeing as we grew to spend more time and energy focussed on the outbreak of COVID-19 and how it had quite dramatically affected our lives so quickly.

We can’t control the news headlines or our cancelled holidays, (I myself should be in Canada right now!), but we can control how we choose to react to them, and how we act because of them. Restrictions on social gatherings for me completely changed our Wednesday family dinner night! I delivered meals to my sons and stepdaughter living out of home and raced home to set up a Zoom meeting so we could still socialise and dine together virtually!

It is the little things that help us to stay well and content – if you are feeling lonely, stressed or anxious, please know that there are people around ready and willing to listen, help and support you during this time. I would like to remind you of the Staff Wellbeing Page and our employee assistance program Benestar which you can access free of charge.

It can sometimes be easier to supress our negative emotions and soldier on, but I strongly encourage you to explore support options available to you. You never know what is out there until you have a look!

We will all get through this time if we stand side by side and face challenges as a team – just as George and Bear and doing! As we enter a new week tomorrow, please make it your mission to check up on yourself, your colleagues, your patients and your families. We are all in this together!  Start that conversation…you never know where it may lead.

I am going to hand over the Incident Commander reins to Liz Rushbrook from tomorrow for a few days.  I look forward to communicating with you later in the week.

As always, thank you for your tireless work in our response to COVID-19 and for every day that you work so diligently in Metro North.  I am a firm believer that we work in an amazing HHS and it is through your commitment, compassion and high performance that we can provide excellent care to the patients that require it.  Whatever you do, whether it be as an administrator, operational staff member, allied health professional, nurse, midwife or doctor.  Thank you. Remember, you are a most valued member of a large and wonderful team.

Kind regards,
Alanna Geary
Metro North Health Incident Controller

Metro North HHS – Overview of Cases*

*With effect 1000 10 May 2020

**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