Dale Dally-Watkins, Executive Director

On Friday 16 February we farewelled Peter Slattery, Director of The Rehabilitation Engineering Centre. It was wonderful to see so many of Peter’s current and former colleagues attending, either in person or dialling in on Teams. The thank-you speeches acknowledged Peter’s dedication and commitment to the profession of rehabilitation engineering and the important role he has played in strengthening and building the rehabilitation workforce in Australia. Attendees also spoke about Peter’s mentoring and leadership skills, his kindness and compassion, his integrity and humble nature.

Fittingly, Peter was presented with a 3D printed bust, courtesy of the Herston Biofabrication Institute (HBI). Peter will be very missed by his immediate Rehabilitation Engineering Centre team, but also staff across Metro North and Queensland. Thank you to Oliver, Brooke, Sam and Michelle for helping organise a very memorable send off for Peter.

Mandatory training requirements

As STARS opened in February, at this time of year we find that a lot of our staff’s mandatory training requirements are up for renewal. We have also had many new starters over the last few months. Could I encourage everyone to check their mandatory training requirements via TMS. The three priority areas are:

• Fire Safety – via TMS
• General Evacuation  – can be performed by the line manager, supervisor or a Warden of the work area where the person receiving the instructions works. Click here to see the checklist. Once the checklist is completed, the team member needs to log into TMS and complete the record of training.
• Annual Performance Development Plans (PDPs) – The Metro North PDP QHEPS page provides additional information and ‘how-to guides’ to support you and your team members through the PDP process.

Mandatory training forms part of our short notice accreditation assessment as well so it is important it is up to date.

RBWH Foundation grant round opens today

Just a reminder that the RBWH Foundation’s second grant round opens today. The RBWH Foundation Grants provide financial support to undertake projects (including research) that improve patient outcomes at RBWH and STARS. The grants are for project/initiatives for up to $50,000. In the last grant round STARS had four successful applicants so I encourage everyone who has either a research project or a project which improves patient care to consider putting in an application. For more information on the grants, click here.

Health and Safety Representatives morning tea

On Thursday I met with the STARS Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs), along with Facility Services for an appreciation morning tea, celebrating their ongoing work and commitment to us all here in STARS. They offered valuable insights into the state of health and safety at STARS. The feedback given was largely positive, and also provided opportunities to improve our campus. Thank you to all the HSRs who have nominated themselves to advocate for making our workplace safer. The role of a HSR is very important and I am eager to support their work.

Clinical Excellence Showcase

This year’s Clinical Excellence Queensland (CEQ) is calling for speakers to share their success stories and I would love to see some of the amazing work at STARS featured. Speaker abstracts need to align with the following themes:

• Small change; big difference: Improving care at the coalface (small scale improvements)
• For the greater good: Improving care for priority populations (First Nations, people with a disability, LGBTQIA+, mental health, culturally and linguistically diverse, or rural and remote Queenslanders)
• Future focused: Virtual, data-driven or technologically advanced improvements
• Better care pathways: Patient flow, improved access and community initiatives
• For the people: Wellbeing, environmental impact, climate change and sustainability improvements.

If you have a success story you think would be suitable you can contact me on STARS_ExeDir@health.qld.gov.au by early next week so we can then coordinate any submissions.  Abstracts for the Showcase are due by next Friday 8 March.

STARS Staff Forum and SET Staff Forum next Thursday 7 March

The next STARS Staff Forum will be held on Thursday 7 March at the usual time of 11am and will include guest speakers Chief Allied Health Practitioner Mark Butterworth and a consumer, discussing the Disability Services Action Plan.

Immediately following the Staff Forum, we will be holding a SET Staff Forum from 11.30am-12.30pm, STARS level 1, Room 115. The SET Staff Forum is your opportunity to ask questions, provide feedback and suggest ideas to the Metro North Senior Executive Team. The SET team looks forward to hearing from staff from all areas of STARS at the Forum.

STARS receives five green star performance rating

Accolades continue for the STARS building with it recently receiving a five green star performance rating by the Green Building Council of Australia for its excellence in hospital building operations. 

The STARS building was recognised for its efficient energy and water systems, effective waste management, architectural design that optimises air flow and thermal performance, protection of environmentally significant surrounding areas and close proximity to public transport.

It is wonderful to know that we not only work in a beautiful building but a green one as well. Congratulations to everyone involved in obtaining the rating.

Staff Shout Outs

Congratulations to all our wonderful staff at STARS who received a Staff Shout Out in January: Christina Skeen, Jordan Harmse, Charlotte Timms, Samantha Atchison, Rachel Lovaszy, Nicole Aitcheson, Holly Mccarthy and the STARS Dietetics and Food Services Team. Well done to everyone.

If you have a colleague or team that you would like to give a Staff Shout Out to you can nominate them here.

Kind regards

Dale.