Last week we received some exciting news about our Cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgical Services which have been prominently listed in the Newsweek’s World’s Best Specialized Hospitals 2023.

TPCH Department of Cardiology was ranked 35th best hospital in the world, and the best hospital in Australia for cardiology. TPCH Cardiothoracic Surgery was ranked 61st best hospital in the world, and the second best hospital in Australia for cardiac surgery. This is an excellent accolade for these services, and testament to the skill, talent and leadership of our staff whose efforts and dedication ensure that our patients receive first class care. Well done!

The other good news is that we have extended our nomination period for our TPCH Staff Excellence Awards for an extra week until next Friday 28 October. So for those of you who thought had missed the opportunity to nominate someone, you have one more week to get your nomination in. More information about the awards, including criteria and the nomination process can be found on TPCH Staff Excellence Awards page.

Executive Update

Executive Walkarounds

Operating Theatres
This week I visited our Operating Theatres where I had the unique opportunity to view parts of various surgical procedures taking place. Our Director of Surgery, Dr Rob Franz kindly took me around the theatres prior to the start of his own case, introducing me to many different staff who support the operation of our surgical service. I appreciate that most of the surgeons, clinicians and their teams didn’t know I was coming, so were a little surprised when I turned up. But all very gracious and keen to explain their cases while I watched on, even if only for a short time.

Some of the procedures I had the chance to view were a mitral valve replacement led by Dr Anil Prabhu, and a ventral hernia mesh repair with Dr Rob Franz and Dr Peter Yuide. I also watched a shock wave stone blasting procedure led by Dr Akshay Kothari using a lithotripter machine, which is the only one of its type in Metro North exclusively used by
TPCH as the health service’s central renal stone service.

I also briefly dropped into the hybrid theatre to watch part of a mitral valve in-valve procedure led by Dr Karl Poon and Dr Dale Murdoch, with all my questions answered by a very knowledgeable cardiac scientist supporting the case. In addition, I visited Dr Rishen Naidoo who was performing a chest closure with an ECMO decannulation, so didn’t get to stay very long. In the next couple of weeks, I plan on returning to the operating theatres for another visit, so look forward to seeing more of our skilled surgical staff in action.

A big thanks to the entire surgical team for their efforts and for making me so welcome during my visit. There are many staff who contribute to the delivery of high quality surgical care for our patients – surgeons, clinicians, nurses, anaesthetists, anaesthetic technicians, perfusionists, radiographers, songraphers, cardiac scienists, patient support officers and
administration staff. Certainly a well-oiled machine to say the least!

As a side note, a special thanks goes to the patient support officer who helped me find my way out of the theatres, back to the change room. Who knows where I would have ended up.

Ward 2A
Yesterday Operations Director Surgery and Critical Care, Melanie Dubbelde and I visited Ward 2A, which supports general surgery, urology, vascular and thoracic surgery patients. A big thanks to Nurse Unit Manager, Bernadette Brown and Assistant Nursing Director, Surgery and Critical Care, Paula Ve who took the time to show us around the ward, and discuss its operations and current challenges. During our visit, we had the chance to chat with urology patient, Richard and his soon to be wife, Pam who were both very happy with the care provided by staff. We learnt that Richard and Pam who have been together for 22 years, will soon be married after Richard proposed to Pam while in hospital. Definitely a hospital admission to remember! We wish Richard and Pam all the best.

ECMO course
On Tuesday, some members of our Executive team attended the introductory session of TPCH’s ECMO training course. This is the second year this course has been delivered by our ICU team and it was great to see participants from others states and as far away as New Zealand in attendance. TPCH is one of only a few centres around the world that can provide this training, which strengthens our ICU’s standing as an internationally recognised heart and lung recovery unit.

Congratulations to ICU Director, Dr Jayshree Lavana and the whole ICU team for organising such a successful course. A special thanks to Jay for her unexpected invitation to speak at the event. There’s nothing like being put on the spot, so just fortunate I like talking!

Newborn Screening Education
Earlier this week, Operations Director Emergency, Paediatrics, Internal Medicine and Clinical Support, Karleen Willcocks and I attended a Newborn Screening Education session for members of our Children’s Services team. This training, which is offered by Metro North’s Women, Children and Families Clinical Stream, is extremely valuable for our paediatric staff who care for many newborns in their day-to-day work. A big thanks to Clinical Nurse, Sam Pycroft for providing this important training to our staff at TPCH.

PFM training update

Most of you would be aware that PFM (Kyra) is set to go live across all inpatient units and wards at TPCH shortly. In order for go-live to commence, we must achieve our training target of 75% of all staff who work in units and wards. While we have seen improvement across all areas over the last week, there is still a large number of staff who need to complete the training in order for us to reach our target.

Below is the current percentage of staff trained in PFM across different areas.

Congratulations to Food Services and Administration who have reached 100% of staff trained.

Staff this needing to complete their training can still access it, this will take less than 10 minutes to complete so please make it a priority.

MN32 refresh

This week during our regular Executive Leadership Team meeting, we listened to a presentation about the current refresh of MN32 which relates to shaping the future vision and goals of Metro North over the next 10 years. The aim of the MN32 refresh is to confirm current proposed initiatives and timeframes, nominate new initiatives for consideration, and ensure the organisation’s goals and priorities are accurately reflected with the many changes and factors impacting on our health service. To ensure a successful refresh process, staff are invited to participate in helping shaping Metro North’s future vision.

If you would like to attend a workshop or other engagement activity, please email: MNHHS_PlanningStrategy@health.qld.gov.au or mnhstrategicdevelopments@health.qld.gov.au

More information about MN32 Refresh.

Orientation – Values in Action

A reminder that Metro North has a separate Values in Action component of the general Orientation program. Managers are encouraged to attend this session which can be accessed via TMS and searching Professional and Positive Workplace Culture Orientation.

FAST FACTS

This week we will share some fast facts about our Gastroenterology Service.

Did you know?:

• TPCH is the busiest Gastroenterology Service in Queensland, performing approximately 640 procedures each month which equates to over 7,500 procedures every year.
• The service performs a range of procedures including colonoscopies, endoscopies, flexible sigmoidoscopy and oesophageal manometry.
• It is staffed by approximately 70 staff which includes medical, nursing and administrative staff, who are supported by a fantastic team of volunteers.
• Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography or ERCP is coming to TPCH early next year.  This procedure assists to diagnose and treat problems in the liver, gallbladder, bile ducts, and pancreas.  It combines x-ray and the use of an endoscope, a long flexible, lighted tube.
• The Gastro team won an international award in 2021 for the development of an innovation online platform to help inform patient decision making.

Well done to this busy service for their excellent work in caring for our patients. Keep it up!

Staff profile

This week we will profile Senior House Officer and current Chair of TPCH Junior Doctor Advisory Committee, Dr Vivek Narotam. In this role, Vivek is involved in initiating and maintaining the clinical care of patents under the supervision of a consultant or registrar, which can include organising relevant investigations, outpatient follow-up, discharge planning, and liaising with the multidisciplinary team.

As a junior doctor, Vivek feels privileged to spend time with inpatients, having the opportunity to advocate and be of service during difficult times. He is passionate about patient safety and supporting systems that enable the healthcare team to provide outstanding patient-centred care. He believes that kindness and compassion go a long way in helping patients recover.

Outside of work, Vivek enjoys doing DIY projects, hiking and exploring new areas in south-east Queensland.

TPCH Charlies Week

View TPCH Charlies Week program

Shout out

This week’s shout out goes to Dr Su Hnin Hlaing, TPCH Interventional Cardiology Fellow who recently won the Best Clinical Case on coronary intervention at AICT-AsiaPCR 2022, the official course of Asian Pacific Society of Interventional Cardiology hosted in Singapore this year. Su’s clinical case related to the percutaneous closure of a bleeding mycotic coronary artery with VSD Amplatzer occluder. Congratulations Su!

Today’s quote

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

Tami Photinos
Executive Director