Louise Oriti, Executive Director
National Sorry Day and National Reconciliation Week
Today, 26 May is National Sorry Day, an important day to remember and acknowledge the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities which we now know as ‘The Stolen Generation’. If you are yet to read the message sent this morning from RBWH’s Cultural Capability Officer, please take some time to learn about the significance of this day. You are all also invited to our National Reconciliation Week event on Monday, 29 May at 9am on the grassed area outside the RBWH Education Centre, where you will have the opportunity to participate in creating a Sea of Hands.
Have your Say
By now, you would have received an email to complete the Metro North Have your Say survey in your email inboxes. I continue to receive questions about the confidentiality of the survey so I wanted to explain the process. Although the survey will ask you to provide your payroll ID when you log in, this is only to ensure we know how many individual employees have participated. This information is removed by the third-party survey provider BPA Analytics before any results are shared with Metro North, so there is no risk to you in being completely honest about your experiences and opinions of working at RBWH. So far, RBWH has achieved a 14% response rate, which means we have 46% to go over the next two weeks to reach our target. I’m confident we can do it! I’ve also been alerted that the survey has been directed to some staff members’ junk mail inbox, so please check there if you are yet to receive the survey. For managers, I encourage you to complete the Have Your Say Survey Accreditation Program available on the Talent Management System (TMS).
Short notice accreditation
Short notice accreditation continues to remain a priority for all facilities across Metro North. To ensure we are prepared to meet the NSQHS standards, please ask yourself and your colleagues, “how do I know I am providing safe, quality care to my patients?”. There are many ways you can assess this within your workplace both strategically and practically, such as:
- Engaging with consumers
- Looking at data
- Checking requirements of Daily Care Plans/Patient Risk Assessments are completed
- Following agreed clinical care standards/pathways
- Ensuring electrical equipment is tagged and tested
- Ensuring cleaning regimes are in place
- Using the Improvement Board in your ward
- Familiarising yourself with where to go to raise a risk or report an issue
- Knowing the NSQHS standards
- Ensuring mandatory/requisite training is up to date
I see and hear how hard you are all working; however, it is vital we meet the standards to ensure we are providing our patients with the best care we can.
Positive feedback
We recently received some positive feedback that recognises a number of teams from across the hospital. It brings me much pride to read about these experiences and highlights how the way we treat our patients and their families can have a lasting positive impact.
Over the period January to March my Mum was in hospital at RBWH. She was in a number of wards including Emergency, ICU, 9B South, 9A North. The care Mum received was amazing. Our family has nothing but the highest respect and thanks to the staff. Mum was treated with respect, kindness and great care. Our family was included in decisions and always knew how things were progressing. Mum passed away in March in hospital but your staff helped us every step of the way and never stopped caring for Mum with such kindness. We are forever grateful for all of your staff and hope you can share this with them to say thanks so much.
On a personal note
On a personal note, I am deeply saddened and shocked after listening to ABC journalist Stan Grant’s words this week. On Sorry Day and on the commencement of National Reconciliation Week, I want to say that unconscious bias and institutional racism have no place in healthcare. I am absolutely committed to health equity and walking side-by-side with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander colleagues.
Kind regards,
Louise.