Adj Prof Jackie Hanson, Chief Executive

Today I’ve visited staff at The Prince Charles Hospital and attended the accreditation summation. Congratulations on a successful assessment and thank you for all your hard work.

White Ribbon Day

Today is White Ribbon Day, a day of awareness and action against domestic and family violence. Metro North began our White Ribbon Accreditation journey in 2019 and we are now a certified workplace. While we see people experiencing DFV in our care, sadly the statistics show that some of our colleagues are currently experiencing or have previously experienced DFV.

As part of your mandatory training all staff should complete domestic and family violence modules at least every three years. Metro North also employs two Domestic and Family Violence Workforce Specialists who provide training and professional development to all Metro North Health staff surrounding various topics relevant to domestic and family violence.

If you are experiencing violence and abuse at home, there are a range of confidential support services available, including special leave, and 24/7 phone support via Telus (formerly Benestar) on 1300 574 516 or DV Connect on 1800 811 811.

Shout outs

The team at the Caboolture Hospital Redevelopment Project have been doing an amazing job making sure our internal and external environments are welcoming. One example is the use of trees instead of parking bollards.

Well done to CHRP project officer Jordan Duncan who led a piece of work to engage a local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander company, Multhana, on this project. This work is in line with other work across the campus working with Elders and community to select plants to make the site more culturally safe and appropriate.

This week I also received a shout out from a staff member about one of our special needs dentists. David Fu visited a young patient in a residential care facility and arranged for appropriate care via a mobile dental van.

The staff member commented: “We are lucky to work in such a great team. Polite. Caring and very competent. It was great to be able to take this level of care to this very vulnerable young person.”

Well done, David, and thank you.

Staff Excellence Awards

Nominations have closed for the Metro North Staff Excellence Awards. We received more than 165 nominations this year, and it’s fantastic to see so many of you celebrating the achievements of your colleagues. Judging has commenced and we’ll announce the finalists soon.

In the meantime, tickets are now on sale for the Staff Excellence Awards gala dinner on Friday 15 December. The date is rapidly approaching and is an excellent way to celebrate the end of the year with your team.

Kallangur Satellite Hospital

I’m not sure what your plans are for this Sunday, but I’ll be at the Kallangur Satellite Hospital for the community open day if you’d like to come along. The event is from 10am to 1pm and includes facility tours, food trucks, and family entertainment.

Kallangur Satellite Hospital commences clinical operation on 11 December. Thank you to all the staff working hard to get things ready for the first day of patients.

Kind regards,

Jackie.