With the move to Tier 2 last week, we are gradually getting back to business as usual with the recommencement of more planned care. We are hopeful this trend will continue in the coming weeks, so more of our patients can continue to receive the care they need.

This week Metro North hosted an Infrastructure Vidcast about upcoming major capital works projects planned for TPCH campus over the next 15 years. This includes a significant development of TPCH facility comprising a major expansion of our Emergency Departments, additional adult and paediatric beds, and more supporting infrastructure. Other key projects planned for TPCH are a new 1,500 bay multi-storey carpark, new gastroenterology ambulatory care unit, and a Crisis Stabilisation Unit. If you missed the vidcast and would like to hear more about these projects, you can watch the vidcast here.

Staff may be aware that Metro North’s Next Care Conference is on 8 and 9 November and that early bird tickets have been extended until Sunday 4 September, so get in quick! I am fortunate to have been invited to be a speaker at this year’s conference as part of a great line up of very interesting presenters. You can view the conference program here.

Next week I will be attending the Company Directors Course held by the Australian Institute of Company Directors. This course is about giving directors a better understanding of their roles and responsibilities and developing skills in decision making and imparting best governance practices. It will be a great opportunity to build my directorship skills and learn more about how I can successfully support the team at TPCH. In my absence, Cherie Franks, Director of Nursing will be covering any emergent issues, but I’m always available via phone if needed.

Executive update

Executive walkarounds

This week, our Executive team made the most of the change to Tier 2, with visits to several areas throughout the hospital. On Tuesday we welcomed Metro North’s Chief Operating Officer, Jane Hancock to TPCH who took the time to visit our ICU and Emergency Departments following our fortnightly Executive Leadership meeting. Jane was very interested in speaking with staff to understand the operations and challenges of these high demand areas, and we thank Jane for her valuable time.

Also this week, members of the Executive team including our new Directors of Operations visited the Palliative Care, Cancer Care and the Cognitive and Assessment Management (CAM) Units as part of an initial orientation for our new leaders. We were particularly impressed by the Palliative Care Unit which was refurbished around 12 months ago, and is certainly now a very calm and comfortable place for our patients, families and staff. Similarly, the CAM Unit is also undergoing some upgrades and we look forward to seeing the finished product in the coming weeks. A big thanks to Susan Prince and Susan Mannion from Palliative Care; Amy Gilbert and Laura Beth White from CAM; and Emma Wynd from Cancer Care for taking the time to speak to us about the valuable services these areas provide to some of our most vulnerable patients.

Key appointments

We are pleased to announce the following nursing leadership appointments:

• Amanda Smith has been appointed as Nursing Director Emergency and Paediatrics
• Louise Perkins has been appointed to Nursing Director Patient Access and Flow.

Both Amanda and Louise bring extensive experience to these roles, and we congratulate them on their appointments. Well done!

Fast facts

Starting this week, I will be introducing a new item into my weekly message – Fast Facts. This will be a way of sharing interesting information about our services at TPCH and educating staff about the fantastic work we do here.

To kick off, we will share some fast facts about TPCH Health Information Services, in light of it being National Health Information Week!

Did you know?

• Health Information Services includes five areas – Clinical Coding, Medical Records, Mail Service, Health Informatics and Information Access.
• The medical records team provides 1,522 records each day to support patient care.
• The service stores 156,078 medical records in its current file area
• The clinical coding team codes, on average, 5,342 admissions every month
• The Information Access Unit received 213 applications for patient information last month and released 19,742 pages of patient information.

Wow! That’s some fabulous work from Melinda Scott and the Health Information Services team!

Staff Profile

Because it’s National Health Information Management Week, we will profile Service Line Health Information Manager, Bronwyn Learmouth.

In this role, Bronwyn is responsible for all aspects of health information management for the Heart and Lung program. This includes providing data for health service analysis, educating clinicians about funding and documentation, and auditing medical charts to ensure accurate coding, activity, funding and documentation.

Having worked in health information management since 2009, Bronwyn values being part of a team that helps ensure TPCH receives appropriate funding for activity undertaken, so that clinical services can continue to provide high quality care to patients into the future. As a data enthusiast, she also enjoys providing quality data for reporting requirements.

In her spare time, Bronwyn likes dining out with family and friends, as well exercising outdoors. She also loves a good book and recommends people read ‘Honeybee’ by Craig Silvey.

White Ribbon Workplace Accreditation

As announced by Metro North last week, our health service is once again working towards White Ribbon Accreditation later this year, following commencement of the process back in 2019.

Becoming a White Ribbon Accredited Workplace demonstrates our responsibility to uphold zero tolerance against violence. It means standing up against attitudes and behaviours that go against our values, promoting a respectful workplace and supporting those whose lives are affected by domestic and family violence. All of these factors contribute to a safe and productive workplace where people feel supported and cared for in both their professional and personal lives.

Following a change made last year by the Department of Health to training requirements, all staff are now required to complete the mandatory domestic and family violence online training – Recognise, Respond, Refer. We ask that staff complete this training via TMS by 18 September 2022. This will not only help us earn our White Ribbon Accreditation; it will give staff the tools and knowledge to support colleagues who may be experiencing violence.

Members of the White Ribbon Accreditation Working Group will be hosting a White Ribbon information stall at TPCH from next Tuesday 30 August to Thursday 1 September in the Café for The Common Good, so I encourage staff to come down and take a look.

For more information please visit the Metro North’s domestic and family violence intranet site.

TPCH Charlies Week

This year, TPCH Charlies Week will be held later than normal, from Monday 28 November – Friday 2 December.

This is happening to ensure that we are well out of our peak period, and staff have some time to celebrate.

We want to make this year’s TPCH Week better than ever before, so would like to hear your thoughts about what activities you’d like to see on offer during the week.

I encourage you to complete TPCH Charlies Week survey by Wednesday 7 September. It’s quick and easy and will help us make TPCH Week great for everyone!

For more information about TPCH Week please contact Communications on ext. 4329 or email: MetroNorth-TPCH-Communications@health.qld.gov.au

Shout out

This week’s shout out goes to Clinical Director Electrophysiology, Dr Russell Denman who after 12 years, will be stepping down as Chair of TPCH’s Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC). Russell has been a voluntary member of this Committee since 2007, having given countless hours to leading the committee, reviewing numerous ethics applications, and pragmatically and graciously providing advice to researchers to support their valuable work – in addition to his busy clinical schedule. The Metro North Ethics and Governance team has greatly valued the opportunity to work with a talented and dedicated professional like Russell, and we thank him for his outstanding contributions to TPCH and Metro North.

Today’s quote

“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do” – Pele

Tami Photinos
Executive Director