At this month’s orientation, we welcomed new starters to the hospital team, including those who joined both nursing and operational teams.

Among those new starters was registered nurse Binoy. Binoy has joined the hospital team from New Zealand and is now proud to be part of the Day Procedure Unit.

Binoy said he was drawn to Redcliffe particularly because he’d heard it had a lovely community where people knew each other.

Another new starter is enrolled nurse Sara-Jane, who comes to Redcliffe from Byron Bay. Sara-Jane says she’s happy to be part of a good team again and looks forward to taking advantage of the education opportunities available at Metro North.

Please do all you can to help our new team members like Sara-Jane and Binoy feel welcome.

Manager, Development and Learning role

After a full recruitment process, I’m pleased to announce that Scott Trudgett has been appointed as our Manager for Learning and Development.

Scott has been doing some great work acting in the role and helping to improve our mandatory training compliance, which saw him nominated for the Excellence in Performance category at this year’s Staff Excellence Awards.  Scott was also a nominee for the #IamRedcliffe Team of the Month award in June for his can-do attitude and being so easy to work with.

World Sepsis Day

Around the world, at least 11 million people die of sepsis each year. World Sepsis Day is an international effort to encourage early detection, diagnosis and treatment of sepsis.

This year, we had an information stand in the hospital foyer, engaging with patients and staff about how we’re fighting sepsis.

There’s also an online quiz for clinicians and non-clinical staff to test your understanding of how sepsis presents, and how it is treated.

For everyone’s safety, work safely

October is National Safe Work Month. This year’s theme is “for everyone’s safety, work safely”, encouraging everyone to prioritise health and safety in the workplace.

A safe and healthy workplace benefits everyone, and this year, there’s a calendar of events and webinars available to help get everyone involved.

Find out more on the WHS QHEPS page.

#IamRedcliffe Team of the Month

Last week, we announced our #IamRedcliffe Team of the Month winner for August, patient support officer Amy Forbes.

Amy has been part of the patient support team at Redcliffe since 2019 and works across birth suite and paediatrics on Level 3.

She says she loves the environment on Level 3, and both the birth suite and paediatrics are great teams to work with.

Those who nominated Amy said that she’s “respectful, friendly and warm to patients, families and staff and goes out of her way to help her team.”

Congratulations again to Amy, and a reminder that nominations for the September #IamRedcliffe Team of the Month close tonight!

Redcliffe Hosptial Expansion update and car park changes

Work is ramping up on our hospital’s $1.148 billion expansion, and we’re just over a week away from welcoming the construction team to the site.

From Monday, 25 September, we will permanently close 37 patient/visitor car parks in the main public car park (P1) to allow the construction team to establish their site compound on the hospital campus.

An additional 48 car parks will also be temporarily closed while the site compound is safely moved into position. Staff access to our main public car park (P1) will be removed to ensure our patients and visitors can continue to park in close proximity to the hospital.

Night shift staff can request for their access to this car park be reinstated by emailing the Redcliffe Hospital car parking team at RedcliffeCarpark@health.qld.gov.au. Day shift staff can continue to use the dedicated staff car park or the Multi-Storey Car Park.

We will continue to see changes to our hospital campus as the project gets closer to construction commencement, so please keep an eye on the Staff Bulletin and join our Staff Forums to stay up to date.

Rehabilitation Unit upgrade underway

Work has also started this week on the upgrade to the Rehabilitation Unit courtyard.

The upgrade works to the courtyard will provide a more usable area for patients and their families to enjoy.

The upgrade works are being funded by Raise it for Redcliffe Hospital and are due for completion later this year.

Do you know about Way to Go?

One of the innovative ways that Metro North is making it easier for patients and visitors to come to Redcliffe Hospital is with the Way to Go app.

If you haven’t heard about it, Way to Go is a web app that works on smartphones and mobile devices, offering a step-by-step guide for those visiting the hospital, with an appointment at the hospital, or coming to hospital for a procedure.

The app has detailed information for all other Metro North hospitals and COH facilities like Brighton Health Campus and Cooinda House.

It’s the kind of thing we should all know about so we can tell our patients and those at home and in our communities. Visit the app and save it to your phone today.

How are you getting involved for Giving Day?

We’re now only one month away from Raise it for Redcliffe Hospital Giving Day. Giving Day is the major fundraiser for Raise it for Redcliffe, with funds raised going toward hospital projects that benefit patients and staff.

Two of the best ways to get involved are to volunteer some of your own time to support either the phone action hub in the Education Centre or collect donations around the hospital on the day.

If your work area or ward has an idea about how you’d like to fundraise, get in touch with Sharyn from the RBWH Foundation.

I’ll see you in the phone room on the day!

Lastly this week, I’d like to thank everyone for their support during my time as Acting Executive Director. There have been many occasions where I have leaned on colleagues for advice. Thanks for making me feel so welcome when I came up to visit the wards and for sharing with me things that are going well and things that could be better.

It’s been a good few weeks. I’m particularly grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to:

• share with many staff the gratitude expressed in Staff Shout Outs
• celebrate with everyone our exceptional teamwork at the Staff Excellence Awards
• witness the breath of research Redcliffe talent we have here through the Research Symposium
• thank many of our most generous through Raise it for Redcliffe Hospital as we kick off the upgrade to the Rehabilitation Unit courtyard.

​I’ve learnt a lot during these last few weeks. Acting in different roles from time to time is something everyone should consider if they have the opportunity.

Louise will be back on Monday, and I’ll be off on a couple of weeks’ leave. My thanks again to David Thompson for continuing to act in the Allied Health Director role until I return.

Geoff.