Message from TPCH Executive Director

This morning, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet received formal advice that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II passed away. The Prince Charles Hospital has a special affiliation with Her Majesty and the Royal Family because of our hospital’s name, and we extend our condolences to the entire family.

If you would like to express your sentiments and condolences, you can send a message via the State of Queensland condolence book, available online at: https://www.qld.gov.au/condolences. The messages of support and condolence will be shared with the Royal Family.

Please note that this website will be also updated with information on observances and protocols and includes historic information on Her Majesty’s connection to Queensland.

Queenslanders are invited to lay flowers and mementoes at the Queen Elizabeth II statue at Government House at 168 Fernberg Road, Paddington, Brisbane between 8am and 4pm on Friday 9 September and Saturday 10 September, with additional dates and times to be advised in due course.

Earlier this week, Metro North moved to Tier 1 of its COVID and Influenza Response Plan. This is a positive indication we are getting back to business as usual, a much-welcomed transition for us all.

Yesterday was R U OK Day, when we acknowledge the importance of looking out for our colleagues to make sure they’re okay. Even though we are heading out our busiest time of year, we need to be mindful that some colleagues may still need support and help at different times depending on their individual circumstance. So if you see someone struggling, please reach out and ask them if they are okay. This simple gesture takes no time but can make a big difference.

Executive Update

Executive Walkaround

This week, members of the Executive Leadership team and Social Work team met up in the Café for the Common Good to acknowledge National Child Protection Week. This year, the Week focused on children growing up safe and supported. TPCH’s Child Protection Unit provides a consultation and clinical service to all clinical departments across TPCH including inpatient Mental Health Units, and the community.

In the last 12 months, this Unit has provided written responses to 2,078 Requests for Information received from Child Safety. This highlights that child safety is an issue we all need to be aware of. A reminder that staff are required to undertake the mandatory Child Protection Training and Education (SaFE) course. Please go to TMS for more information.

Our new Directors of Operations have also been getting out about visiting departments and meeting with staff. They have all commented on how helpful and welcoming everyone has been, so thank you for making them feel part of our TPCH family.

Key appointment

This week, we are pleased to welcome on board, Assoc Prof Michael Nissen, TPCH’s inaugural Director of Research.

Associate Professor Michael Nissen is a Paediatrician, Infectious Disease Physician and Microbiologist by background. He was previously the Director of Infectious Diseases at Royal Children’s Hospital, Brisbane and Clinical Microbiologist at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital for 12 years before taking up the position of Director of Scientific Affairs and Public Health with GSK Vaccines Asia Pacific in 2014 based in Singapore. He returned to Australia in 2021 as the Principal Medical Officer and Director of the Vaccine Epidemiology Response and Assessment Section, Pharmacovigilance Branch, TGA, overseeing the assessment and monitoring of COVID-19 vaccine safety during the first 18 months of the Australian program. Michael completed his medical science and clinical medical degrees at the University of Queensland followed by postgraduate training including both clinical and laboratory-based research at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Westmead Hospital, University of Sydney and Washington School of Medicine, St. Louis, USA.

His current and ongoing research includes vaccine safety, epidemiology of vaccine preventable diseases and human respiratory virus infections, invasive meningococcal disease, and the use of molecular techniques in the investigation of infectious diseases.  Welcome Michael!

Metro North Staff Excellence Awards

A reminder that nominations are currently open for Metro North’s Staff Excellence Awards, until 5pm Friday 16 September.  A number of categories are available and I encourage people to help fly our TPCH flag by nominating a colleague who is excellent at what they do and who demonstrates our Metro North values. (Remember, my name is spelt T-A-M-I. Joking!). For more information and to nominate a colleague, visit Staff Excellence Awards 2021 | Metro North Hospital and Health Service

FAST FACTS

This week, we will share some fast facts about TPCH Food Services Department.

Did you know?

• TPCH Food Services Department has a team of over 100 staff who work together to provide patients with high quality food and nutrition.
• The Food Services team is made up of Cooks, Room Service Officers, Kitchen Hands, Roster/training Coordinator, Menu Monitors, Site Coordinator and Dietitians.
• Patients can order their meals via our Room Service App? There is a QR code on the back of each menu
• Last month, Food Services staff:
  • Delivered over 59,000 meals which includes breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and supper
  • Served 9,000 coffees and over 10,000 cups of teas
• Scrambled eggs is the most popular patient meal order available from the all-day breakfast menu
• Cheese and crackers or lamingtons are the favourite snack options provided

Staff Profile

As yesterday was R U OK Day, this week we will profile Staff Specialist Psychiatrist and Director of Clinical Training, Prof Andy Teodorczuk.

Andy’s clinical role as specialist psychiatrist involves working as part of the Older Persons Mental Health multidisciplinary team at the Chermside Community Health Centre, to support the care of older patients with complex mental illness and their carers in the outpatient and home settings. With extensive experience working in almost all clinical psychiatry settings including liaison, inpatient and community, as well as various university academic roles both in Australia and the U.K, Andy enjoys the ability to help patients who may be marginalised through their mental illness. He particularly enjoys working with the older population because of the opportunity to learn from their wisdom. Andy’s clinical work is accompanied by a passion for research into developing more effective approaches to delirium practice, as well as understanding how to tackle well-being issues among health care staff.

In his other role as Director Clinical Training within TPCH’s Medical Education Unit, Andy helps support interns as they navigate the challenges of their first years as doctors in training. He enjoys supporting junior doctors to grow over the course of their intern year, assisting with problem solving, and helping them gain confidence in becoming leaders of the future.

In his spare time, Andy makes the most of Queensland’s outdoor lifestyle. He enjoys heading to the beach with his family which includes his two miniature schnauzers, Rupert and Winnie. For six months of the year, he also plays centre field each Sunday for the Redland Rays baseball team.

Shout out

This week’s shout out goes to our Adult Emergency Department who received the following letter from the family of a patient who passed away.

“On behalf of our family, I would like to express our deepest gratitude for the care received by my mother, during the last few hours of her life.

She was admitted to the ED on the afternoon of the 26/7/22, in a semi-responsive state and deteriorated rapidly. The emergency staff could not do enough to help us, and I know that some of the staff worked long after their shift had finished.

My mother was then moved to a quiet, single room. The staff offered us tea, coffee or anything else required, and then left my brother and myself to sit with our mother for as long as we wished. Our mother went quietly to sleep in the early hours of the morning, in no pain or distress.

We will be forever grateful to your staff for their care and compassion.”

What a wonderful letter to acknowledge how our care makes a difference to others. Well done ED team.

Today’s quote

“People appreciate and never forget that helping hand especially when times are tough.” –
Catherine Pulsifer

Tami Photinos
Executive Director