Adj Assoc Prof Jackie Hanson, Chief Executive, MN Health

Today I visited the site of the future Bribie Island satellite hospital to mark the start of construction. Metro North will manage three of the state’s seven satellite hospitals, with the first to open at Caboolture later this year followed by one at Pine Rivers. These facilities, plus the extensive redevelopment at Caboolture Hospital reflect the growth of the population and associated healthcare needs in the northern part of our Metro North catchment.

This week the Director-General Shaun Drummond, along with Jasmina Joldic and Dr Liz Whiting, launched HealthQ32: A vision for Queensland’s health system via a virtual town hall. HealthQ32 is the roadmap to ensure Queensland Health is responsive and dynamic, providing world class healthcare while valuing the empowering the workforce. It also provides a framework for strategy and planning across our vast organisation.

Priority areas for HealthQ32 include reform, First Nations, health services, public policy, consumer quality and safety, and research. HealthQ32 is currently in draft and all staff have the opportunity to provide feedback before the document is finalised. I encourage you to read HealthQ32 and provide your feedback by Tuesday 14 February.

During the interactive HealthQ32 town hall there were some comments and questions about behaviours and culture. Ensuring a safe and supportive work environment for all staff is a priority for me and the executive team. The Chief Operating Officer Jane Hancock and I will continue our listening posts around Metro North this year. We will have a mix of virtual and face to face opportunities and are keen to hear from you about what you enjoy about your workplace and where we can improve. Please be brave and honest.

Across Metro North there has been a lot of work on our organisational values in action and workplace culture. I would like to call out the work at Redcliffe Hospital over the past few years chartering behaviours, actively leading staff wellbeing strategies, and connecting with community in a respectful way. I have experienced this in practice both as I move around the facility talking to people and in meetings where staff are empowered to respectfully call out behaviour that doesn’t meet agreed expectations. As the current Executive Director makes plans to move on in Metro North, I am really confident the Senior Leadership team and staff at Redcliffe Hospital will carry on this important work. (pictured: rocks painted by staff for the Redcliffe Hospital Zen Den)

This calendar year we will be repeating our Have your Say staff satisfaction survey for the third time. It is a great avenue for you to feedback, provide suggestions and put your messages in a bottle to the Chief Executive. Can I encourage teams to discuss this and participate when it is launched. Your feedback is incredibly valuable in helping us create a place where staff and patients feel safe and welcome and have a positive experience.

As an employer, we have a responsibility to ensure not only the physical but the psychological safety of staff at work. In April Queensland will introduce a new code of practice and new legislation which strengthen the requirement for employers to manage workplace psychosocial risks. It is important that line managers understand their responsibilities in shaping health and safety and reporting incidents in Riskman.

As part of our commitment to health equity and building the future health workforce, Metro North offers a range of cadetships and traineeships. This week we received an email from a former Indigenous cadet updating us on the success of one of her fellow cadets from 2020. Both have completed further studies and are now working in Pathology Queensland. The Deadly Start program has also expanded to other HHSs this year and we’re looking forward to hearing about the success of these students across the state.

Staff at Caboolture Hospital received a thank you this week from Donate Life after they supported a family through organ donation. The intensive care and allied health staff provided family support to make the difficult decision to donate their loved one’s organs and facilitated the donation process. What was a very sad time has extended the lives of four people who received organ transplants and will improve the lives of others through tissue donation. Well done to the ICU and allied health staff for your work supporting the family and working with donation teams for this positive outcome.

This weekend will be warm again, so please take care, stay cool and keep up your hydration.

Kind regards,
Jackie