We kicked off our Christmas calendar of events at Redcliffe this week with our annual Volunteers Christmas Lunch.

We’re fortunate at Redcliffe to be supported by a community of 85 dedicated volunteers. That volunteering community includes our Redcliffe Hospital Volunteers (in the red shirts) who assist patients and visitors in areas like outpatients waiting areas and at the front desk.

It includes our volunteer chaplains, who had more than 1,500 interactions with patients, visitors and hospital staff this year, and our Justice of the Peace volunteers, who supported close to 400 clients and witnessed more than 800 documents.

Redcliffe Hospital Auxiliary members are also part of that community of volunteers. The Auxiliary runs the hospital’s gift shop in the hospital foyer and assists with a weekly working bee on Wednesday mornings. This year, the Auxiliary raised nearly $75,000 through activities like next Wednesday’s plant sale. Since they started in 1971, the Auxiliary has raised more than $929,000 for the hospital.

Our Volunteers Christmas Lunch is a small way that we can say thank you and show our appreciation to all of our volunteers.

Thanks again to our Volunteer Coordinator, Larra Mark, Facility Services and the kitchen team for helping make the lunch a success.

Christmas Wellness Fair

The Staff Wellness Working Group and the REDDY Fun and Fitness team are helping share the Christmas spirit this year with a Wellness Fair in the Zen Den on Tuesday, 12 December.

There will be free snacks, slushies, and live Christmas Carols to enjoy. An invitation will soon be in everyone’s Outlook Calendars, and I hope to see you there.

This event is sponsored by QSuper, part of the Australian Retirement Trust.

Staff Christmas Morning Tea

It’s been a big year for everyone at Redcliffe Hospital. To say thank you for everyone’s hard work and commitment to patient safety, you’re all invited to a Staff Thank You Morning Tea in the Staff Courtyard on Wednesday, 20 December, from 9am to 11am.

There will be cake!

Christmas Decoration Competition

Another important part of how Redcliffe Hosptial celebrates Christmas is the Christmas Decoration Competition. We’ve announced the theme for the competition this year as: favourite Christmas movie.

Christmas decorations help brighten the hospital during the festive season when our patients and their families would all rather be elsewhere. At the same time, we’re still a hospital and patient safety is always our highest priority. When planning your displays, please follow the workplace health and safety and infection prevention guidelines.

Good luck, and make sure your work area has entered!

St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal

Thank you to everyone who has already signed up for our annual St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal. It’s not too late to join them.

The Christmas Appeal has been a tradition at Redcliffe Hospital since 2013, and I know how important it is to many people here.

The Appeal is one of the ways that, we share our Christmas spirit with everyone on the Peninsula and help local families to celebrate a happier Christmas.

Thanks again to REDDY Fun and Fitness for coordinating the Appeal again this year.

Research Internship Program

Research at Redcliffe has had a great year, with another successful Symposium and the second Nursing and Midwifery Spotlight. Now, Redcliffe Hospital is launching a Research Internship Program. This 10-month, team-based program aims to build capacity for staff and consumers to undertake research.

To help everyone learn more about how the program will work and what it offers, the Research team is running a Discovery Workshop on Thursday, 30 November, in the Education Centre. Find out more or talk to Dr Joel Dulhunty.

Have Your Say Staff Survey feedback sessions

All four of our Have Your Say Staff Survey feedback sessions have now concluded. Thanks again to the People & Culture and Learning & Development teams for facilitating those sessions.

The ideas and suggestions shared in those sessions are now being used to help inform the Hospital’s People Plan and refresh our #IamRedcliffe Agreed Behaviours.

The four sessions were well-attended, both in person and on Teams. If you couldn’t join one, you can add your comments, ideas and suggestions to this short survey, which will remain open until 30 November 2023.

Lastly this week, thank you to our Cultural Capability Officer, Mellissa Maley, and everyone involved in arranging a smoking ceremony at the hospital on Wednesday morning.

This smoking ceremony was an important milestone for our local community and the hospital as we prepare for works to get underway for the Redcliffe Hospital Expansion.

Louise.