November 11, Remembrance Day, is always a special time to reflect on the sacrifices of others so that we can enjoy peace and a time to take a moment to reflect on those places in the world who may not enjoy the freedoms that we do.

I’m sure for many of you this is a day that you reflect on what that experience might have been like for a family member or reflect on memories yourself. It always makes me think of my grandad who signed up to the Air Force the day he turned 18 years of age and headed off to Borneo (on a ship!). He was the first boat to land and prepare the airstrip for the allied planes.

Even today, at 98 years of age, he proudly attended an event to acknowledge his and others’ service. To those of you who have served or remain in service, thank you for your dedication.

On another note, many of you will know Dr Sharon Miskell, who has been acting in the CKW Director of Medical Services (DMS) role since the start of the year.

Her extensive experience and knowledge from many previous medical leadership roles across Australia gave us a real advantage tackling the large challenges we faced this year, including COVID-19 and building our medical workforce for the future.

Dr Miskell is leaving CKW today. I want to thank Dr Miskell for fighting hard for our community and providing advice which has put us in a strong position to grow as we head quickly towards a new era in 2023!

While one door is closing, another exciting opportunity starts on Monday (14 November) with CKW to welcome Dr Rosalind (Ros) Crawford as acting DMS for the next six months.

Dr Crawford will join us from TPCH, where she has been Director of Medical Administration for several years. She has a strong background in many areas, including emergency medicine, medical administration, health technology, clinical and corporate governance.

I’m excited that we will have such a strong and capable leader taking on this key role for our Directorate. Welcome aboard, Dr Crawford.

Never share your password campaign

At CKW, we are responsible for keeping the healthcare data of our patients safe and secure.

Healthcare data is an incredibly valuable target for cyber criminals. We must remain vigilant to ensure our patients’ data doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. One basic thing we can all do to help keep patient data safe is observe Queensland Health policy when it comes to passwords.

The ‘Never share your password’ campaign features tips for keeping your user account secure. Share the tips on this poster with your colleagues. The key takeaway is that it’s not okay to share your password or login credentials with any other person.

In some clinical settings, confidential passwords are the only thing keeping safe the sensitive patient data and information to which staff members have access.

Sharing passwords compromises the security of your accounts and breaches the Queensland Government Code of Conduct. Anything someone does while logged in to your account will also be recorded as being done by you.

Other things you can do to keep your user account secure are:

• using a strong password
• never displaying usernames or passwords on any workstation
• always locking workstations whenever they’re unattended
• logging off any individual accounts, including MyHR or Office 365.

Taking steps to keep your user account secure, including not using shared passwords, will help protect Metro North Health and uphold our responsibility to keep patients’ data safe.

Welcome donation for Kilcoy Hospital Auxiliary

The CKW community really knows how to look after each other. The Woodford Agricultural, Pastoral and Industrial Association Inc (Woodford Showgrounds) recently donated $1500 to the Kilcoy Hospital Auxiliary.

It will be a great helping hand to the auxiliary, which unfortunately had to cancel its annual fete earlier this year due to the hospital grounds being too wet.

Here’s Val Reichle from the Woodford Show Society (centre) presenting the donation to Kilcoy Hospital Auxiliary President Lesley Warren (left) and Treasurer Caril Davis (right).

The Auxiliary will put the money towards purchasing pressure-relieving chairs and sun sail for the Kilcoy Hospital courtyard. Such great news for our patients and the Kilcoy community.

What a compliment!

This week’s compliment highlights great compassion by the Caboolture Hospital Emergency Department team:

“The staff (in the ED) were beyond amazing in a difficult situation. My child needed a lot of care and soft-handed attention after a traumatic year of medical concerns. All staff went above and beyond to assist and try to minimise her pain. I was beyond impressed.”

Finally,

The new COVID-19 traffic light system moved from green to amber today. When you’re out and about this weekend, please remember that masks are recommended:

• indoors if you can’t socially distance
• on public transport
• if you are older or medically at risk
• around people who are vulnerable to COVID-19
• if required by a venue or household.

More information on the traffic light system is available here.

Take Care,
Angie.