Bernard Curran, Metro North Board Chair
Commitment to Health Equity
It was fitting that our first official gathering for myself as Chair and some of our new Board members was an introduction to our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members at the Health Equity Community event on April 17. It was a privilege to be so generously welcomed and to participate in discussions to support the co-design of Metro North’s Health Equity Strategy actions to be implemented across our hospitals and facilities. While a few new faces will be around the Board table, our commitment to Health Equity is as strong as ever, as is our commitment to listen to the communities we serve. A special thank you to Sherry Holzapfel, Executive Director Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health, and her team for the work they are leading and for hosting this important event for our community and staff.
First Board meeting
The Board met on April 30 at the Clinical Skills Development Service (CSDS), Herston, for our first official Board meeting since the Board changes were announced by the Minister for Health in late March.
The Board received an update on our digital transformation which has significant projects including the rollout of ieMR and the introduction of IWFM (Integrated Workforce Management) to improve our rostering capability. At the same time as we undertake these projects, we noted our cyber security capability and programs and the part we all play in protecting our patients, staff, and the organisation’s data from cyber threats.
We received an update on the increased demand for mental healthcare in our hospitals and also in our community services. It was pleasing to hear that Metro North received a share of funding from the new Mental Health Levy introduced by the Government. This will go to support our services including increasing acute mental health bed capacity, supporting infrastructure for community mental health, alcohol and other drugs services, bolstering core services, and improving the safety and quality of services through projects identified by the HHS.
We also received an update from Health Excellence and Innovation Team. They have made impressive progress in a short period to increase capacity building and support for innovation, improvement, and implementation of new models of care, clinician led and in line with Metro North priorities. The Board are keen to support these programs and enhance our ability to implement innovation that can scale up and be embedded across our hospitals and facilities.
Celebrating our nurses and midwives
Last Sunday, 5 May, was the International Day of the Midwife. This Sunday, 12 May, is International Nurses Day. Thank you to our dedicated and compassionate nurses and midwives who do an extraordinary job every day across Metro North.
Yours sincerely,
Bernard.
A summary of the Metro North Board meeting is available online.
If you would like to contact the Board, please email MNBFeedback@health.qld.gov.au.