As Metro North Health is starting to focus on getting back to business it is a good time to be mindful of what this means for Community and Oral Health.

As a directorate we need to continue to be receptive and responsive to the needs and requirements of our hospitals and broader Metro North Health services with their focus on elective surgery and waiting lists for outpatients.

Last financial year we did exceptionally well and exceeded our activity targets thanks to the dedicated work of all of our teams and service lines.

With success though, comes added pressure to do even better, and the best way to do that is to look at ways we can deliver more services virtually when it is clinically appropriate and safe.

An outstanding virtual care example

The Complex Chronic Disease Team (CCDT) has developed and implemented a dynamic virtual model of care that allowed the continuation of services to vulnerable clients who were at risk of deterioration or hospitalisation during the pandemic.

The CCDT team were able to continue care without interruption offering more than 1,000 virtual occasions of service each month during the height of the pandemic.

What an outstanding effort and a great model of care which we can all learn from!

More great stories – Rapid Access Pathway

Thank you to everyone involved in this wonderful achievement! Metro North Oral Health Services will be commencing the Rapid Access Pathway for Dental Presentations to Emergency Departments from Monday August 29.

With the weekend dental clinics commencing mid-September, this team will play such an important role in triaging urgent dental cases away from Caboolture and Redcliffe Hospital emergency departments.

Moora View Opening

This new Healing Garden at the Brighton Brain Injury Service (BBIS) garden was created with the love and pride of many people including staff, Elders, community members and patients.

A special shout out goes to Michelle Crawford, Nurse Unit Manager BBIS for driving the project.

Staff are invited to attend the Moora View Healing Garden unveiling on Tuesday 13 September between 3.00 – 4.00 pm.

Please RSVP Paul Drahm (Manager, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health) paul.drahm@health.qld.gov.au or 0417 457 620.

Name the Hill

It was good to get outdoors and join staff, our COH gardeners and members of the Sandgate and Districts Men’s Shed to officially unveil the sign for the new dedicated staff, visitor and patient area called Warra View.

Warra View, which means open sheet of water, was an apt name for the hill/rise which sits alongside Dolphin House at Brighton Health Campus, and adjacent to Moreton Bay.

It is a great location for many of you to have a break, relax and enjoy the peacefulness, beautiful spaces and sea views Brighton has to offer.

Support your peers

As announced by Metro North Health last week, our health service is once again working towards White Ribbon Accreditation later this year, following commencement of the process back in 2019.

Becoming a White Ribbon Accredited Workplace demonstrates our responsibility to uphold zero tolerance against violence.

All staff are now required to complete the mandatory domestic and family violence online training – Recognise, Respond, Refer.

Please complete this training via TMS by 18 September 2022. This will not only help us earn our White Ribbon Accreditation; it will give staff the tools and knowledge to support colleagues who may be experiencing violence.

For more information please visit the Metro North’s domestic and family violence intranet site.

Compassionate lab places still available

Compassion is not an emotion. Compassion is a state of mind that allows us to notice the distress in ourselves and others and to step forward with genuine understanding and a determination to do something about it.

Mary Freer, a social innovator at Freethinking has imagined a different future. A future where, through the power of compassion, workplaces are inclusive and free of blame.

Please join Mary and other staff members at the Compassionate Lab

All staff are welcome to apply for a Compassionate Lab place.

Event details are:

• Tuesday 11 October 2022 
• 8.00 am to 4.30 pm 
• Sunshine Coast University, Petrie
• Lunch, Tea and Coffee will be supplied

Quote to ponder

Marianne Williamson said: “In every community, there is work to be done. In every nation, there are wounds to heal. In every heart, there is the power to do it.”

Glynis Schultz

Executive Director
Community and Oral Health