Dale Dally-Watkins, Acting Executive Director

Move to Tier 1 Acute Respiratory Illness Response Plan

As of yesterday, Thursday 10 August, Metro North transitioned to Tier 1 in our Acute Respiratory Illness Response Plan. While there has been a decrease in the number of people attending and being admitted to Metro North facilities, I encourage staff to continue to:

• Wear masks in clinical areas, in line with the PPE guidelines
• Ensure flu and COVID-19 vaccinations are up to date and annual fit testing for P2/N95 masks is completed. (You can still get your flu vaccine by making a booking with Infection Management and Prevention on ext 77961 or STARS_staffIMM@health.qld.gov.au)
• Stay home if unwell and inform your line manager as soon as possible via the Smart Leave form on MyHR if you’re off sick
• Ensure compliance with mandatory training programs
• Practice good hand and respiratory hygiene
• Check with your line manager for any other requirements in your local workplace under your directorate Acute Respiratory Illness Response Subplan.

Metro North Research Excellence Award nominations

Nominations for the annual Metro North Research Excellence Awards have now opened. Employees of Metro North Hospital and Health Service engaged in health and medical research are encouraged to nominate for the awards. There are seven categories reflecting the various stages of research: three individual awards and four project awards in addition to a new award, the Consumer in Research Award.

Nominations close on 28 August 2023 and finalists will be invited to an awards ceremony on Thursday 2 November 2023. More information and nominate online.

Justin Bryson, Relationship Manager, Qld Government, ‘Rose’ Nisbett and Dale-Dally Watkins.

QSuper International Nurses Day Award

Last week Bryanna ‘Rose’ Nisbet, received the QSuper International Nurses Day award. She was one of sixteen nurses from across Queensland to be recognised. Rose’s nomination reflected her passion for her role and the broader team at STARS: “Loyal and dedicated employees like Rose are the foundation to any successful team. We know that the work is not always easy, but you always make it look easy! We appreciate your unceasing support and unyielding enthusiasm to all of us at STARS hospital.”

Thank you Rose for all your outstanding work and dedication in inspiring all of use to strive for excellence. SEALS and the broader hospital are immensely proud of the work that Rose undertakes. As Henry Ford said ‘Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.’

RBWH Foundation grant round opens

The RBWH Foundation is encouraging STARS staff members to apply for its latest grant round, opening for submissions from 1 Sept – 30 Sept 2023 thanks to the extraordinary power of giving.

Funding of up to $50,000 is available for patient care initiatives and research projects which aim to improve patient outcomes or the patient experience. Priority will be given to applicants who have supported or engaged with the RBWH Foundation within the past two years, and to research projects led by Early Career Researchers.

The previous grant round, finalised in March this year, with more than 60 submissions from across Metro North at Herston, resulted in 15 innovative projects and initiatives funded. You can find summaries of these projects here. Many have the potential to transform patient outcomes and/or patient experience at hospitals around Australia.

New applications which meet the eligibility criteria will be assessed by a panel with representation from RBWH and STARS. Learn more at www.rbwhfoundation.com.au/grants.

Visit from the Acting Director-General

This week we also facilitated a visit from Acting Director-General, Michael Walsh who saw first-hand patients receiving care in rehabilitation areas and learned about the procedural and surgical work we do here at STARS. Mr Walsh also spent some time in the Rehab Engineering Centre, meeting with Peter and Ollie and getting a glimpse of the work undertaken there. Thank you for everyone who took time to meet with the Acting DG.

Spinal Impact Analysis update

Last Wednesday we held a second vidcast with Acting Chief Operating Officer, Tami Photinos, Leah Vegh from the Project Team and myself. The vidcast went over the main themes from the Staff Impact Analysis feedback and provided another opportunity for staff to ask questions. Thank you to those who took time out of their day to attend. As Tami explained during the vidcast, we don’t yet have a decision concerning the temporary relocation of the QSCIS service to STARS, but we will endeavour to keep you informed of any decision as soon as we are made aware of it.

Kind regards,

Dale.