Adj. Prof. Alanna Geary, Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer

We are continuing to see increasing numbers of people attending and being admitted to our services with acute respiratory illnesses, especially influenza.

As a result, Metro North will make a planned transition to Tier 2 in our Acute Respiratory Illness Response Plan tomorrow, 29 June 2023.

All staff are encouraged to:

• continue to wear masks in clinical areas, in line with the PPE guidelines
• ensure flu and COVID vaccinations and annual fit testing are up to date
• maintain compliance with mandatory training programs
• stay home if you’re unwell and let us know if you’re off sick as soon as possible via the Smart Leave form on MyHR
• check with your line manager for any other requirements in your local workplace under your directorate Acute Respiratory Illness Response Subplan.

For more information, please see the Metro North Acute Respiratory Illness Response Plan.

Metro North will also transition to virtual meetings and training, where possible. Essential face-to-face training (e.g., OVP, BLS, ALS) will continue.

Visitors will also be encouraged to wear a mask, sanitise hands when coming and going, and stay away if they have respiratory illness symptoms. Masks and hand sanitiser will be provided at facility entrances.

You may have seen that Queensland Health’s COVID-19 traffic light system has ceased and COVID in the community will be managed the same way as other acute respiratory illnesses.

In the interests of reducing the risk of COVID transmission in health facilities, the Director-General has also determined that staff who have not exhausted their special pandemic leave, which was due to expire on 30 June, will still have access to any remaining balance for COVID sick leave.

Regards,

Alanna.