Well, as our local landmarks across Brisbane shine white to share light with Sydney following the terrible events in Bondi Junction last weekend, I want to send my personal thoughts to anyone in our team who was personally affected by this shocking event.

I also want to acknowledge the broader distressing events in Sydney and how they have impacted the community widely.

Stress, whether related to work, family, finances or the reality of events like this in our community, can have profound effects that manifest in many ways. Please take time today to check in on each other and prioritise your mental health and wellbeing.

If you or anyone you know is struggling to cope with these feelings, there are a range of support services available. More details are available on QHEPS.

Out and About

This week, I had the true joy, as always, to visit Kilcoy Hospital. It had been too long between visits and it was great to see the team again.

This week I was so surprised to be given a pumpkin and date scone as I met with Leanne. A huge thanks to the scone master at Kilcoy – it was divine!

No photos as they were busy dishing up Meals on Wheels lunches. That’s right, are you aware that at Kilcoy they cook for Meals on Wheels in the area and the aged care facility next door, as well as Kilcoy Hospital?

As an Executive team, we are committed to being visible out and about across our service. Kilcoy is looking forward to seeing more of our Executive team visiting and I hope for more pictures and showcases, highlighting the beautiful healing site and amazing staff we are lucky to have as part of our Directorate.

I also visited the Caboolture Satellite Hospital. It’s always great to visit this site and be welcomed by the amazing administration team. Jess Barr is our amazing Facility Manager at the Caboolture Satellite Hospital.

I was chatting to Jess about the new Bribie Island Satellite Hospital – it was exciting to discuss this new facility with Jess, as she is going to work with the project team over the next couple of months to ensure that we are on track for a successful opening.

Soon after that, Jess will be taking some time off to welcome a new family member. It is all moving so fast and she is certainly in a very exciting phase of life both at work and home, thank you Jess.

While at Caboolture Satellite Hospital, I had the opportunity to meet the Ngarrama team who spoke to me about their roles and how much they enjoy them. There are still opportunities within the team for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island midwives – if you are interested or know someone who may be, please contact Marcia Morris.

I also had the joy of meeting briefly with our Minor Injury and Illness team, which is a great team serving a broad range of our community and preventing them going to our Emergency Department.

I also sat down with the Nurse Practitioners to follow up on some of the challenges that we have been working through. The Nurse Practitioner role at the satellite hospitals is a new role and it was great to hear how they are committed to their jobs and the community. Challenges of the roles in the new facilities are evolving and it is always great to see groups who are committed to work through improvements with their managers and broader teams.

If you have not seen me for a while (or ever) and think it’s time I visited, please send an email to me or the Ask Karlene link below.

Allied Health clinic returning to Caboolture Hospital

Outpatient clinics that have been operating off-site at Caboolture Super Clinic are returning to Caboolture Hospital. I look forward to welcoming back our Physiotherapy, Paediatric and Geriatric Oncology patient cohorts. Thank you to these clinicians for your flexibility working off-site these past two years.

The clinics will resume in the newly refurbished Allied Health gymnasium and clinical spaces from Monday 29 April. I’m looking forward to a visit once you’re settled back in.

Health Equity commitment

I had the absolute privilege to be invited to and attended the Metro North Health Journey to Health Equity Community Event at Victoria Park Golf Course at Herston this week. This event was an opportunity to bring together Metro North Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island elders and community members, with the Metro North Board, Executive and Staff importantly our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island teams.

The event included a Welcome to Country delivered by Turrbul Traditional Owner Shannon Ruska (right) who also shared tribal experiences with the group and had the attendees up dancing for a little fun, while talking about the importance of song and dance in his upbringing.

There was more than 200 people in attendance and I understand many other requests to attend that could not be managed in the space available, so it was great to be accompanied by Dr Liz Rushbrook, Parker Michaels, Judy Gentle and, most importantly, the majority of our CKW Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island team.

It was great to see one of our Health Consumers, Uncle Alan, there as well.

CKW Managers Tracy Grant and Parker Michaels and Cultural Capability Officer Janita Adams facilitated a Yarning Table discussion: “How do we best promote the Satellite Hospitals to Community.”

It was also the first time the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island community and staff, along with many of the other attendees including myself, have had the opportunity to meet the new board members.

It was great to hear Bernard Curran (Board Chair), Honourable Jane Prentice, Dr Peter Aitken, Dr Shea Spierings and Linda Lavarch speak to both their personal commitment and their commitment as a Board towards Health Equity.

It was great to hear such an eloquent and committed introduction to our board who I look forward to working with and introducing to our site and you, our amazing staff.

Prior to heading in to Yarning Circles, our Executive were also introduced to participants and asked to speak to their commitment and role in leading Health Equity. Again, it was great to hear this team and their commitment.

We, the attendees, then participated in other Yarning Tables with different discussion topics. These focused on listening, discussing and learning to inform policies and practices within Metro North.

Co-designing health care services with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is an important part of the Metro North Health Equity Strategy 2022-2025.

Our Journey Towards Health Equity Funding

In July 2022, Metro North Health reaffirmed its commitment towards achieving health parity by 2033 and committed to prioritising actions to achieving equity in healthcare and service delivery for Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Our Journey Towards Health Equity, Metro North Health Equity Strategy 2022-2025 provides the pathway for cultural change and consists of five priority areas for inclusion in our local strategy:

1. Actively eliminate racial discrimination and institutional racism within the service.
2. Increasing access to healthcare services.
3. Delivering sustainable, culturally safe, and responsive healthcare services.
4. Influencing the social, cultural, and economic determinants of health.
5. Working with First Nations peoples, communities, and organisations to design, deliver, monitor and review health services.

Our Chief Executive has committed an annual allocation of funding to strengthen our efforts towards Our Journey Towards Health Equity. All services are encouraged to put forward a funding application that align to priority principles of eliminate institutional barriers, re-shape the system, transform care and strengthen the workforce.

You can find information on how to apply and the criteria online or contact the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leadership Team.

CKW Nursing and Midwifery Award nominations now open!

Nominations for the 2024 CKW Nursing and Midwifery Awards are now open. These awards recognise the substantial influence made by nurses and midwives to the provision of safe, quality care within Metro North.

They recognise excellence and achievement – individually, in teams, or through partnership across all facilities, services, streams and community partners.

Nurses and midwives who are nominated for these awards display a passion for their profession, support and inspire those around them to strive to provide the best care possible and exemplify the Metro North values. – respect, teamwork, compassion, high performance and integrity.

Please take some time over the next few days to nominate your CKW colleagues and teams. Visit here for more details and to submit your nominations.

The CKW Nursing and Midwifery Awards are sponsored by QSuper. Thanks for your ongoing support.

Catch-up with Aleesha Hampson

Aleesha Hampson was recently appointed as the acting Nursing Director for Caboolture Emergency, Kilcoy and Woodford Service Line for three months while a permanent recruitment process is finalised.

“This position holds a large portfolio covering Caboolture Emergency Department, Kilcoy Hospital, Woodford Correctional Health and the Caboolture and Bribie Island Minor Injury and Illness Clinics.

“The team is currently working on several exciting projects including strengthening models of care and recruitment of specialist staff for our Paediatric Emergency Department.

“We’re also busy preparing for opening of the Bribie Island Satellite Hospital in July.

“I have been in the Nursing Director role for four weeks and enjoyed working closely with the multidisciplinary teams across CKW Directorate to ensure our community receive timely, compassionate care.

“Our services, like most others across Metro North, have experienced increased demand over the last few weeks.

“I have been impressed by my team’s ability to remain calm and adaptable while also displaying kindness as I transition to the role.”

Have you had your flu vaccination this year?

It’s important to have an influenza vaccination every year. With a lot of flu already circulating in the community already, I strongly encourage staff to organise your vaccination as soon as possible.

Staff flu vaccinations are available at Caboolture Hospital next week – from Monday to Friday (22-26 April) excluding Thursday (25 April) in the former Cardiac Sciences Room, just inside the doors to Ward 3A.

Vaccinations continue until early June. Please take your Medicare card or Individual Health Identifier (IHI) to receive the vaccination. Visit here to find another date that suits your calendar.

Woodford and Kilcoy staff should contact your NUM for more details.

If you would like to know more about this year’s flu season and staff vaccination campaign, Metro North Health Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Alanna Geary, Infectious Diseases Staff Specialist Dr Krispin Hajkowicz and Metro North Public Health Unit Director Daniel Francis hosted a Metro North vidcast on this topic recently. It is available on QHEPS.

RSV vaccination now available for newborns

A big congratulations to our maternity team, which successfully started the RSV vaccination program at Caboolture Hospital this week.

A Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) immunisations is now being provided to babies born at Caboolture Hospital and other hospitals across Queensland with birthing facilities.

From Monday 29 April, parents and carers of eligible infants and young children will be able to access the vaccination from their routine immunisation provider.

Chris Holm has been providing education to all midwives, MGP teams, neonatal nurses and paediatric ward staff. Thanks, Chris!  More details are available online.

Karlene.