Jane Hancock, Acting Chief Executive
Last week I talked about how the cycling teams in the Tour de France work together to achieve the daily and overall goals and the work that we do requires our individual effort as part of a team. It is important that we understand our role within the local everyday team and how that fits in with the bigger picture.
As the largest public healthcare service in Queensland, we need to continue to be a leader in our communities and in healthcare. And we do, through the care we deliver, the innovation we operationalise, through investment in services, and the value we provide to the community. Metro North’s operating budget is almost $4B which is staggering. Whilst that is a big number it is our responsibility to ensure we spend it in the way that most benefits the community we care for and the broader Queensland Health network.
What’s coming
On Monday we’re inviting the community to visit the Caboolture Satellite Hospital ahead of the services opening later next week. This is the first of three satellite hospitals for Metro North and the first of seven across South East Queensland, part of a major investment in health infrastructure over the coming years. By the end of this financial year, the satellite hospitals at Kallangur and Bribie Island will be operational. Later this year we’ll be opening the new Clinical Services Building at Caboolture Hospital, a major deliverable in the almost $400M Caboolture Hospital Redevelopment.
In the next year we’ll also continue working with Health Capital Division on the expansions at The Prince Charles Hospital and Redcliffe Hospital, and the new Queensland Cancer Centre at Herston. We have started a five year roll out of the integrated electronic medical record (ieMR) across Metro North. We will also continue to invest in our MN32 vision which is being refreshed this year due to some targets being achieved ahead of schedule and other priorities shifting following the pandemic response.
The investment in built and digital infrastructure is only part of the picture. We also need to continue investing in our people, our services, and in great ideas.
Our people
I’m going to talk about investing in our people in next week’s message. We are investing in ideas by expanding the support we provide to researchers and innovative projects across Metro North through grants and programs such as the new Helix Hub. Our Metro North institutes continue to lead the way in collaborative work into biofabrication, trauma, infectious diseases, and improving outcomes for people with breast cancer.
Our priorities
Our priorities for the next year include implementing the Minister’s Putting Patients First plan which outlines the investment in virtual care such as the expansion of the Virtual ED, increased focus on telehealth and virtual outpatient services and reimagining the front door, and investment in Rapid Access Clinics and expanded allied health services in emergency departments.
We will be increasing our clinical models focusing on delivering care virtually and closer to home, working in partnership with primary care partners to streamline the patient journey, and continuing to reduce low value care.
Our values
We can do fantastic things together, but this means nothing if we do not work together to understand what we are trying to achieve and living our values. We are big and we do great work, but we need to do this with kindness and compassion. We need to practice self-care, look after our team members, and importantly practice compassion and kindness to our patients.
Your call to action:
- Celebrate your team successes.
- Talk to your team leader about your goals for this year.
- If you are a team/ senior/ clinician or executive leader, ensure your team understand the priorities for the coming year.
- Be kind to yourself.
- Reflect on how your care or that of your team could be more compassionate and kinder – identify one thing that you could change today.
Thankyou for all your work that you do every day. A special shout out this week to the team who is working on opening the Caboolture Satellite Hospital and to those of you who will be working there.
Warm regards,
Jane.