A reminder about our special All Staff Forum with Chief Executive Jackie Hanson on Monday (11 September).

Metro North Chief Executive Jackie Hanson and I will present some of our current challenges, how you can support and how we can assist.

This forum is targeted to the CKW leadership team – this is all professional leads, clinical directors, nurse grade 7s (NG7, 8, 10 11, 12) and above, HP4s and above, AO6 and above and OO7s (Operational Supervisors). I would also be like Executive Support Officers to be present.

The leaders included above should attend in person. All other staff are welcome in person or on Microsoft Teams.

The community turns to us for compassionate care for their family and their loved ones. We need to ensure this is what they continue to receive. As we address our current and future services, this will be a great opportunity for us all to meet and discuss.

Time: 9am – 10am

When: Monday 11 September

Where: Caboolture Hospital Education and Skills Centre Lecture Theatre and Microsoft Teams.

Please prioritise your attendance.

Finally, please remember there are support options available to everyone – including our Peer Responders and Benestar if you would like to reach out.

World Physiotherapy Day

Today is a special day, as we acknowledge our amazing physiotherapy colleagues.

CKW is lucky to have so many exceptional Allied Health professionals but, on this World Physiotherapy Day, I would like to say thank you to our outstanding physiotherapist staff. Thank you for all that you do for our patients.

If we think about a health world without you, it is difficult to imagine. Keep up the great work and please know that your healthcare colleagues appreciate you every single day.

World Suicide Prevention Day

Caboolture Hospital will host an event for World Suicide Prevention Day on Monday (11 September).

This year’s ‘Creating Hope Through Action’ theme is a reminder that there is an alternative to suicide and that our actions, no matter how big or small, may provide hope to those who are struggling.

Our colleagues from Red-Cab Mental Health will join with community partners to host a display in the main corridor (near the central courtyard) on Monday between 11am and 1pm.

Please go along for a chat, get some information and even grab a tasty treat!

RU OK? Day

RU OK? Day on Thursday (14 September) inspires and empowers people to meaningfully connect and start a conversation with those in their world who may be struggling with life.

We’re all invited to a special “How To Ask” presentation with RU OK? Ambassador Anita Hogan. Register via TMS.

For more details, email Amy RUOKMetroNorth@health.qld.gov.au or visit the Staff Wellbeing Staff Extranet page.

CKW Research Report now available

We are fortunate to have a growing research culture at CKW which involves professionals across our facilities, including nursing, midwifery, medical, allied health and administration.

The CKW Research Development Unit recently published its 2020/21 Research Report. I really encourage you to read further about the great work being done by many of our colleagues in this space.

Research inspires us to constantly innovate and push for better ways of delivering healthcare that improves outcomes for our community.

Enterprise Scheduling Management (ESM) training update

With the Enterprise Scheduling Management (ESM) go-live approaching at the end of next month, I would like to congratulate everyone who has completed their mandatory ESM training, as well as those who have completed ieMR view only training.

If you have been identified for ESM training and have not yet been booked in for a classroom training session, please speak to your line manager as soon as possible. All training must be completed before Caboolture, Kilcoy and Woodford (CKW) goes live with ESM on Monday 23 October.

Even with the timeframe leading into go-live for ESM at CKW having recently being extended, it is important to remember that this will not change the planned schedule of our current ESM training program. The final instructor-led training sessions for CKW staff will be delivered by Friday 29 September.

For those who have completed ieMR view only training, you will be provisioned with access once we go live with ESM.

Farewell Nicole

I was so happy to hear that Caboolture Hospital midwife Nicole Isaacs is leaving us!

She will soon head to Zambia to follow her long-term dream of establishing a continuity of care midwifery model for local women.

On one of her final days with us, Nicole penned a beautiful tribute to the maternity team which reflected on the strong connections she made with patients and colleagues during her time at Caboolture Hospital.

I wish her the best and every success with the next phase of her journey to the place where her heart and passion lies.

Farewell Donna!

Today we bid our fond farewells to Donna Ward, Director Allied Health who is leaving CKW after nine years.

These nine years are on the back of a previous 26 years, meaning that to date Donna has given 35 years of her working life to health.

Congratulations to Donna on a stellar career, not only in Metro North but beyond.

Donna is leaving to pursue some opportunities in her private consultancy. I thank her not only for her contribution to CKW but also to Metro North.

It was lovely today to see Donna acknowledged but also her letting CKW know of what you all mean to her. The auditorium was full of colleagues who were proud of her not only as a colleague but as a friend.

Good luck Donna to you and your beautiful family. We wish you nothing but good health and continued success.

What a compliment!

A different compliment this week from Surgical Director Dr Dinesh Ratnapala acknowledging the work of Caboolture Hospital surgical administration officer Belinda Johnson.

Over several paragraphs, Dr Ratnapala praised Belinda’s ability to create an environment where clinical staff and patients felt safe.

“In the four months Belinda has been with us, she has uniquely and unanimously gained the praises of all our staff, both surgeons and gastroenterologists, who continuously acknowledge her outstanding ability, work ethic, exceptional trustworthiness, reliability and honesty and pay tribute to her outstanding genuine caring nature and temperament,” Dr Ratnapala wrote.

“This high level of praise is extremely rare and noteworthy and is a tribute to the outstanding character traits of Belinda.

“Belinda has proven to be an absolute and rare asset in this space, and I think such exceptional individuals deserve standout recognition, elevation and appreciation in line with our organisational values.”

It is always so lovely to hear that our staff are doing an excellent job and thank you Dinesh for taking the time to acknowledge Belinda. Much appreciated.

Maintenance on the TV anntenna

Maintenance on the TV antenna at Caboolture Hospital may affect access to free-to-air channels on TVs across the facility (including patient TVs).

This work is expected to occur on Wednesday 13 September between 7 and 11am. I hope it is not too disruptive.

Finally,

I wanted to share something that happened to me this week which I am still chuckling about.

Many of you know me reasonably well and you may also know that I am a “curly girl” with naturally very curly hair.

Every now and then I decide that straightening it is a bit more than I can handle at 6am so I resort to my natural state.

So, on Monday, I got out to walk the dog, my three-year-old Groodle… Dave. I walked past a woman who said, ‘oh isn’t that nice… you have the same hair as your dog’!

To give you an idea of what she thought I looked like, I share with you… Dave.

Stay safe,

Alanna.