The countdown is on to Christmas, with festivities in full swing. It has been wonderful seeing many teams getting in the spirit and giving back to our community, such as the, which has has raised more than $3000 for women and children in refuge this Christmas, and the Indigenous Hospital Liaison Service who provided a hamper of goodies to staff in ICU to say thank you for all their hard work. Several areas across the hospital have also supported the Kurbingui Youth and Family Development Christmas Drive, particularly ETC and Executive.

2023 wrap-up

This will be my final message for the year, and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for welcoming me to the Royal and for your commitment to our patients. There have been many highlights and incredible achievements in 2023, alongside many challenges which have required strong teamwork, compassion and expertise to work though. As we head towards Christmas, you and your teams should reflect on your biggest achievements and challenges this year. Some highlights include:

• MatHOME, the maternity arm of the Women’s and Newborn Services Hospital In The Home Program commencing.
• RBWH Cancer Care welcoming two Australia-first radiation treatment systems to their unit, the Accuray Radixact Units.
• The annual RBWH QuARRIES Awards.
• A highly successful RBWH Foundation Giving Day.
• The launch and implementation of the Odyssey reform program to improve patient care.
• In the research space, RBWH Women’s and Newborn Services joining the world-first initiative, the Women’s Healthcare Australasia National Preterm Birth Prevention Collaborative, to reduce the rate of preterm birth by 20 percent by March 2024.
• NeoRESQ winning the People Focus Metro North Staff Excellence Award for their Close to me: Cuddle for end-of-life care during neonatal transport initiative.

Plus much, much more. Well done to you all.

COVID

As you know, Metro North has moved to Tier Two for COVID transmission due to an increase in COVID patients and staff sick leave. We are actively encouraging staff and patients to wear masks, particularly in clinical areas, and to be vigilant of hand hygiene. If you are experiencing respiratory symptoms please do not come to work and if you have COVID please comply with the current guidelines. The new COVID booster vaccinations are now available. For more information on vaccination recommendations, visit the Queensland Health website. While there are no restrictions in the community at present, please be mindful of transmission while attending Christmas celebrations in the coming weeks.

Executive update

In our most recent Executive Committee meeting, we had the privilege of hearing from Consumer Advisory Group (CAG) representative Gary Power about the group’s activities throughout the year. It was good to hear about the many initiatives the CAG are involved in, such as their work with the Nutrition and Dietetics team to gain real-time feedback from patients on their meals, and their involvement in the What Matters To You Project which involves speaking directly to patients to find out what is important to them in their healthcare journey. They have also been involved as judges in the recent QuARRIES Awards and the RBWH Foundation Grant approvals. We are so privileged at RBWH to have such an engaged group of consumers who are able to guide us in our decisions and ensure we are always keeping our consumers at the heart of our work.

We also discussed the Peer Responders annual report, which identified key issues staff sought a discussion with a peer responder for. The Peer Responder team are an accessible and helpful resource which all staff are able to use whenever they need, and I encourage you to reach out if you would like to speak with a Peer Responder. It is also a timely reminder to check in on your colleagues as we head towards the festive season.

Bed realignment has been a strong topic of discussion in our recent Executive Committee meetings. The RBWH Bed Realignment Business Case for Change was circulated in 2021, and we have been reviewing the plan to ensure it still meets the requirements of our hospital. We have identified that many aspects of the original plan no longer meet our clinical direction, and will work to adjust the plan in line with our current demands. We will provide further information on this in due course.

Kallangur Satellite Hospital

The Kallangur Satellite Hospital (KSH) recently began accepting patients which was a huge achievement for all staff involved.

I would like to thank the RBWH Hospital Kidney Health Services team who have brought this expanded service to life, providing patients with nursing and kidney health management six-days a week, Monday to Saturday. The new twelve-chair kidney dialysis unit at Kallangur has the capacity to treat approximately 48 patients each week, providing a much-needed ‘closer to home’ service to patients and the convenience of receiving the healthcare they need without the burden of travel.

On its first day, Kallangur and Bribie Island Satellite Hospital Dialysis Nurse Unit Manager, Mike Terry (pictured below) and the team were excited to welcome patients.

Procedures icon

A procedures icon has been introduced to all RBWH desktops. This icon allows quick and easy access to the RBWH Safety and Implementation Service (SIS) procedures website.

The RBWH procedures website contains current, published service line and department procedures, guidelines, protocols, pathways, standing orders, and work instructions. It also contains information for new document development, links to overarching documents as well as links to some helpful external resources.

Staff can contact the RBWH procedures team to:

• Discuss document content, provide feedback or prompt new document development via contacts on the website.
• Facilitate both scheduled and unscheduled reviews of a document.

RBWH Director of Research and Implementation

I would like to acknowledge and thank Professor Michael O’Sullivan, who has decided to step down from his role as the RBWH Director of Research and Implementation to focus on his research in brain injury and role as a Neurologist. Dr Joel Dulhunty will be joining us as the Acting Director of Research and Implementation for the next five to six months. Dr Dulhunty has previously worked as the Director of Research at Redcliffe Hospital and brings with him a wealth of knowledge in the space.

RBWH Foundation grants

The RBWH Foundation has announced almost $500,000 in innovative patient care and medical research project grants, with nine of the 11 grants awarded to early career applicants. Congratulations to the six RBWH teams who have received grants. For full details, read the latest News at the Royal December newsletter.

On a personal note

I will be spending Christmas with my mother, daughter and her family this year. After a massive 60-plus-person Christmas last year on a family farm, this one will be quiet. Christmas whilst joyous and pleasant for many can be experienced differently by others and can bring people to our services. I particularly want to thank all staff who are working over the Christmas period for ensuring our community continues to have access to vital healthcare.

I wish to acknowledge and thank the RBWH Executive Team, Staff Council and the RBWH Foundation for their hard work and dedication to our hospital throughout the year. Wishing a Merry Christmas to you all and a safe, healthy new year.

Louise.