Louise Oriti, Executive Director, Redcliffe Hospital

We began the week with mentions in the media about the AMA’s Queensland Resident Hospital Health Check. The Health Check is an annual survey undertaken of 12 hospitals (including RBWH, TPCH, and Caboolture), with ratings for various aspects of working conditions for junior doctors.

This year’s survey gave Redcliffe Hospital an overall “B” grade, the highest overall grade of all 12 hospitals.

As we heard in the Have Your Say Staff Survey, there’s still a lot of work for us to do to improve staff wellbeing in many areas – but the AMA survey is an encouraging result for us. It’s especially encouraging, considering what the last 12 months have looked like during our COVID and influenza response.

Our latest survey result also reflects well on our senior medical staff, medical support teams, the Wellness Working Group, our Clinical Council, and everyone working together to make Redcliffe Hospital a truly great place to work.

Redcliffe EOC wrap up

As we close our COVID EOC this week, I’m reflecting on just some of the many things we have achieved over the past two and a half years of the pandemic response:

• 51,432 PCR swabs by the Redcliffe fever clinic and Emergency Department between 1 March 2020 and 30 June 2022
• Over 1800 visitor exemptions managed by the EOC
• Concierge service at entry points
• Community COVID vaccination clinics, including dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clinics
• 2 standalone COVID wards stood up in response to surges
• Infrastructure upgrades and ward relocations to manage COVID patients
• Supported 2289 staff identified as COVID positive or close contacts
• Completed 4665 fit tests (97% of staff fit tested)
• 11,539 RATs performed by the ED and DPU since December 2021

Redcliffe Hospital may not be the biggest in Metro North Health, but our contribution to the pandemic response in Queensland has been significant and has definitely been noticed. While COVID is still present in our community, we are now in a position to manage it as another of our acute respiratory illnesses. Everyone at Redcliffe has contributed to our success in some way. Thank you.

Health Equity starts with you

In my message last week, I detailed the changes that are now part of everyone’s position description around our obligation to support and promote Health Equity. You can also expect your line manager to talk to you more about this, as everyone works to complete and update their PDPs before the end of the year.

We moved the Health Equity conversation forward this week at our Leaders and Managers Forum with the help of our Cultural Capability Officer, Elwyn Henaway.

In the coming weeks and months, we’ll all be learning much more about what Health Equity means and what it will look like for our patients, staff, and the wider community. Those conversations may be confronting for some, but ultimately they’ll make our hospital a safer place. I encourage everyone to embrace this opportunity and welcome those conversations.

Temporary senior staff changes

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I’ll be on leave for the next two weeks. Thank you again to Sally Taranec, who will be acting as Executive Director while I’m away.

In the Medicine Service Line, Louise Joce will be acting nursing director while Keith Von Dohren is away. Stacey Hobden will be acting nursing director for the Surgical Service Line while Anna Pevreal is on leave.

Our thanks again to Tracey Brighton from TPCH for her time as acting Director of Allied Health while Geoff Grima was on leave too.

On a personal note from me

One thing I’m particularly looking forward to during my leave will be spending time with my mother, my daughter, and my grandchildren. We’ll have four generations of the family hanging out together. Just like at the hospital, we’re stronger when we work together. 

Louise