What another busy week it has been for TPCH! All areas of the hospital are experiencing a high level of demand as we head further into winter.

Part of our current challenge is the large number of staff across the hospital who are absent due to illness. We are aware this is creating pressure points throughout the facility and are working closely with impacted areas to ensure we can continue providing high quality, safe care to our patients. I thank everyone for their flexibility and patience during this period.

We all know that winter is never an easy time, so it’s important we pull together, work as a team and support each other as best we can. And above all, please take care of yourselves. That is a must!

Executive visit

This week I attended a morning tea for TPCH’s Peer Responder Program. TPCH currently has 25 peer responders who have been trained in Psychological First Aid and are available to provide support to colleagues experiencing distress, professional or personal.  In the current environment it is easy to become overwhelmed, so if you are feeling like you need some extra support, I encourage you to reach out to one of the peer responders who are on hand to help. You can find and contact a peer responder in your local work area or across TPCH by visiting Peer Responder Program | TPCH Peer Responder Program (health.qld.gov.au).

Metro North Virtual ED

With clinical demand in our Emergency Department likely to remain high this winter, alternative patient pathways will become more and more important.

The Metro North Virtual ED provides an alternative emergency care pathway for patients who need urgent care but are not experiencing a life-threatening emergency. These patients receive the clinical attention they need without physically attending the hospital’s busy Emergency Department.

Metro North’s Virtual ED has been around since April 2020, beginning as part of our COVID-19 response, but now it’s successfully helping to reduce the number of face-to-face presentations to Metro North Emergency Departments each day.  Services like this are a win-win that provide patients with a faster and more flexible way to receive care while leaving our Emergency Departments for those who really need to be there.

I encourage everyone to look at the Virtual ED portal and find out more about how this service can work for our patients as well as ourselves, family and friends.

Staff Profile

This week we will profile Registered Nurse, Day Oncology Unit, Angela McGillivray.

Having worked in day oncology at TPCH for the last decade, and also prior to that before having a family, Angela’s role involves providing care to patients receiving treatment for cancer. Her typical day includes administering cytotoxic medication, immunotherapy, along with educating and supporting patients and carers.

For Angela, the best part of the role is the privilege of being able to get to know her patients well throughout extremely difficult circumstances. She prides herself on ensuring patients have the best care possible and that the time spend in the unit is enjoyable, always trying to have a laugh and creating a family like atmosphere. Having cared for her daughter who had childhood leukaemia, Angela relates to the emotions that go hand in hand with the cancer journey. She values knowing that the treatments she gives may cure someone’s disease and give them more time to spend with their loved ones.

In her personal time, Angela enjoys spending time with her family, in particular, attending her children’s weekend sports games.  She is also an avid reader and traveller, and is actually heading overseas next week.

National Blood Donor Week

This week, TPCH celebrated National Blood Donor Week, to thank current blood donors and encourage new donors, and raise awareness and promote best practice for patients and health professionals in relation to patient blood management and blood product management. Our Blood Management Team hosted a series of activities including a ward display competition and a Blood Management Week quiz. Staff, patients and visitors also had the opportunity to purchase a range of healthy, iron-rich meals from The Café of The Common Good during the week. Congratulations to the RAS Unit and the Thoracic Ward who were the winners of the ward display competition and Blood Management Quiz week respectively.  A big thanks to the Blood Management Team for their efforts in organising a great week. Well done!

Reminder – closure of TPCH Fever Clinic today

A reminder that TPCH Fever Clinic closes today, Friday 17 June following the recent direction from Metro North.

PCR testing will still be available at GP Respiratory clinics – www.hotdoc.com.au

RAT kits will be available for TPCH staff to collect from:

• During hours – Clinical/Ward areas and EOC (Building 12) Monday to Friday, 8am – 4.30pm
• After hours – Duty Nurse Manager office (next door to Transit Lounge).

Shout out

This week’s shout out goes TPCH Fever Clinic team. Today, the Fever Clinic closes, marking a milestone in TPCH’s COVID-19 response and providing an opportunity to recognise the hard work and efforts of the staff who have supported the Fever Clinic over the last two years. The Fever Clinic, which to date has performed approximately 97,000 tests, originally commenced operation from TPCH Education Centre in April 2020, relocating to the Chermside Community Health Centre in January 2021 to provide improved access for the general public. At peak times, the Clinic has seen just over 800 people in any one day. A massive effort! A huge thanks must go to the many staff at TPCH who have supported the operation of the Fever Clinic. These last two years have certainly highlighted the great commitment and work ethic of TPCH staff. Well done!

The other big shout this week out goes to Michael Hornby, CEO of TPCH Foundation who this week was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his service to the community as part of the 2022 Queen’s Birthday Honours List. Michael has dedicated his career to making a difference in the community which has included leadership roles across a number of charitable organisations such as The Smith Family, Surf Life Saving, RSPCA, Wildlife Warriors, and for the past nine years here with TPCH Foundation. This is a significant and most deserving recognition of Michael’s 30 years of dedication to the community, still evident in his driving passion to improve life-changing medical breakthroughs via The Common Good. Congratulations Michael!

Finally

The past two weeks have flown by and I have been enjoying getting to know some of you and seeing the amazing work you do every day to care for our community. Your passion and advocacy for patient care is a real credit to you all, and I really appreciate your stamina given the demands you face every day and the challenges of the past few years. I look forward to getting to know more of you and understanding the complex and life changing work you do!

For those of you heading off on school holidays this week or next, if you are going away, please travel safely, rest up, and enjoy the precious time with your family! For those of you who continue to work, thank you.

Take care.

Angie Dobbrick
A/Executive Director
The Prince Charles Hospital