Jane Hancock, Chief Operating Officer, Metro North Health

Last week we reached an incredible milestone when we moved to Tier 0 Transition to Recovery in our COVID-19 response.

COVID-19 will still be with us for a long time, but as a community and as healthcare workers we have the tools and knowledge to manage it as we would any other acute respiratory infection. This is a very exciting place to be.

While I wasn’t with Metro North with the pandemic started, in my previous role as Queensland Health COVID system response lead I was very aware of the important role being played by staff here in leading the way in managing the constantly changing situation. I want to thank all staff for your work in the past almost three years in planning, responding, transitioning to recovery, and also in keeping everything else humming throughout it all.

Last week I was thrilled to visit the Metro North Public Health Unit and thank the team in person for their gargantuan efforts. Our PHU is quite a small team who provide excellent outbreak response to all manner of things such as syphilis, new measles cases, food safety, gastro outbreaks, mosquito borne illnesses and whatever else comes in the door (I’m told there even was the mystery of the purple orange at one point).

At the beginning of 2020, this small but mighty team stepped up in a huge way and they have been pivotal to our successful response to the pandemic. Due to the requirements of the pandemic, the PHU team temporarily expanded. Many of the team have now returned to their previous roles.

I want to formally recognise Daniel Francis and the entire Metro North Public Health Unit for your amazing work not only in response to the pandemic, but for all the many ways each week you support our community. Thank you!

Warm regards,

Jane