Louise O’Riordan
A/Executive Director
Redcliffe Hospital

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday period and, for those who were able to take some time off, I hope you’re starting the year recharged and relaxed. For those of you who worked through, thank you for your continued dedication to the health and wellbeing of our community. Please know, this does not go unnoticed and is very much appreciated. 

Extreme Weather

The last few weeks have seen some extreme weather events throughout South East Queensland. A reminder to stay safe and aware of what’s happening around you. Avoid flooded roads, never touch fallen trees especially after storm activity, and stay cool and hydrated during hot conditions. 

When things like that are happening, Metro North provides staff with information through the Emergency and Disaster Response Extranet. You can also find out more about how to prepare yourself and your family from Get Ready Queensland. Local governments also provide good information – if you live in the City of Moreton Bay or Brisbane City, both have free severe weather alerts you can sign up for.

Progress on Expansion Project Ramping-Up in 2024

Site works on our $1.148 billion expansion project officially began this week, with sewer and drainage works getting underway, alongside ongoing site investigation activities. We can also expect to see the commencement of groundworks in the first quarter of this year, in preparation for the start of major construction activity. Changes to car parking will also continue throughout this month, including the permanent closure of the Restricted Staff Car Park this Monday, 15 January. Staff, patients and visitors will be informed of future changes to car parking as soon as dates are confirmed. Another change underway is the installation of temporary accommodation buildings (similar to demountable buildings) for Dietetics, Uniform Store, Supply Services and Pharmacy Store. The temporary accommodation buildings are scheduled to be installed in mid-January and following commissioning activities, staff will relocate to these buildings for the duration of construction. Please be safe and follow directional signage when moving around the construction zones.

A reminder, we’ll be returning to our regular Infrastructure Forums. These forums will be on Teams every second Wednesday.  

NUMs and clinical leaders already have these sessions in their Outlook calendars from next month. If you’d like to be invited too, please click here.   

Christmas Decorations

Thank you for all who took part in last year’s Christmas decoration competition. It was wonderful to walk around the hospital and see the Christmas spirit in full force. 

Now we are back on deck, please begin to take down the decorations if you haven’t already. If decorations are to be used again, clean them before storing them. Infection Control can advise on what decorations are appropriate to be kept and what should be thrown out. 

I can’t wait to see what you have in store for this year’s competition! It’s never too early to start planning..

COVID-19/Acute respiratory illness

I echo the advice from Chief Health Officer, Dr John Gerrard, that it is essential people stay home if unwell, practise good hygiene and remain up to date with their vaccinations.

COVID-19 continues to have a significant impact in the local community. We currently have a number of patients and staff off with this and other respiratory illnesses. We are monitoring the situation closely but please stay vigilant with environmental cleaning, good hand hygiene, and wearing PPE.

Just a reminder to:

• Wear masks in clinical areas, in line with PPE guidelines.
• Please ensure all staff are bare below the elbow at all times in clinical areas.
• Move meetings to Teams where practicable, and if face-to- face meetings are required then masks should be worn.
• Encourage visitors to wear masks, practice good hand hygiene, and not to visit patients when unwell.
• Please DO NOT come to work if you are feeling unwell, even if you have tested negative on a RAT. Let your line manager know if you’re off sick as soon as possible and register your leave via the Smart Leave form on MyHR.
• Ensure flu and COVID-19 vaccinations and annual fit testing are up to date.

Rest in Peace Dr Kong Liew

Sadly, as many of you would be aware, we lost a long-standing member of our Redcliffe community over the break. Dr Kong Liew or ‘Kong’ as he was commonly known amongst his friends and colleagues was a senior general and paediatric emergency physician who has been part of the Redcliffe ED and hospital family for over 15 years, since his move to Queensland in search of better work and family balance. He found that here, splitting his time evenly between the Redcliffe ED and the Queensland Children’s ED, tirelessly providing quality care to both communities.

Kong will be greatly missed, especially by our Emergency Department that has benefited for many years from his friendship, wisdom and guidance. Vale Dr Kong. 

Louise.