Adj Prof Jackie Hanson

Health equity is a major focus for Metro North and Queensland Health this year. Through our Metro North Health Equity Strategy we are working to close the gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and provide culturally appropriate care.

The draft Metro North Health Equity Strategy is now open for consultation. Please have your say on how we as a whole and at a local level can improve health outcomes and experiences of care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The consultation period closes on Wednesday 20 April. If you would like to attend the middle manager health equity training, you can search ‘health equity’ on TMS to find the five units.  

Yesterday, April 7, was World Health Day. This year’s theme – our planet, our health – ties in well with a body of work happening around our Green Metro North Sustainability Strategy. The strategy gives a high level overview of our approach to achieving a more sustainable healthcare system. World Health Day this year recognised that people are dying every day in the Western Pacific region as a result of air pollution. Some of our actions under the Green Metro North strategy include introducing electric vehicles to our fleet, providing electric vehicle charging stations in new carparks, and switching from petrol to electric or battery powered equipment for our gardening teams.   

Clinical Support Services has now transitioned back to facility-based governance. This week I attended several facilities to welcome back Patient Support Services and Medical Imaging staff to the localised governance. This change came out of our Have your Say staff survey which found that these teams are highly embedded in their local facility communities, and it made sense to formalise those relationships.   

We have undertaken a review of the Office of the Chief Executive. Due to increased responsibilities, Director of Office of the CE position has been re-evaluated. The position is now Executive Director, Office of the Chief Executive and Communications. I’d like to congratulate Vivienne Hassed on being appointed to this position, which encompasses Metro North Communication, Deadly Start, the CE Office and Correspondence team, and new initiatives in line with strategic priorities. Viv has been Director Office of the CE for several years including introducing the successful Deadly Start education to employment program.  

As we move towards the recovery phase of the pandemic, a lot of people who have contributed to Metro North’s response are returning to their usual roles. One person who has made a quiet difference in our Metro North Emergency Operations Centre is the Consumer Liaison Officer Lyndell Coupland who has provided a single point of contact for compliments and complaints since last year. As part of the role Lyndell has talked to everyone who complained to listen and help work through their issues. Thank you, Lyndell.   

This week I attended some staff expos to meet with staff. At Brighton Health Campus I met with two of our Transition Care team leaders, Leanne Carroll and CNC Christina Birch who shared a lovely letter they have received from a patient’s family about the care she is receiving.

At the staff expos our Culture and Wellbeing team launched Staff Shout Out. If there’s someone who demonstrates Metro North’s values that you’d like to thank or acknowledge, give them a shout out.  

We continue to be challenged by increased demand coupled with high numbers of staff away due to COVID. The only way we can get through this in the short term is to think outside the box and find alternative ways of providing care outside of our standard hospital approach. If you have an idea, please talk to your line manager, director or EOC.

Regards,

Jackie