Tami Photinos, Executive Director

On Tuesday 25 April, we honoured those men and women who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations in the protection of our country. ANZAC Day is a significant event for the people of Australia and New Zealand as it represents and reminds us of the sacrifices that were made in contributing to the freedom that we enjoy today.

Many of us have personal connections to those who served, and some of us have provided care to them during our working life. Whatever the experience we each have of our ANZACs, we take the time to remember and respect them on this special day in our nation’s history. Lest we forget.

TPCH has remained in Tier Three this week due to an acute shortage of bed capacity across the hospital. I would like to commend all of our teams for working together so diligently during this challenging time to ensure we can continue to meet our clinical priorities and provide our patients with the best possible care.

Executive Update

Visiting our lung transplant physicians
l to r: Dr Michael Trotter, Prof Dan Chambers, Tami Photinos, Dr John Mackintosh

Visiting some of our transplant nurses
l to r: Cherie Franks, Maureen Rogers, Jo Maddicks-Law, Sue Bullock, Joel DeYoung

This week, Director of Nursing, Cherie Franks; Nursing Director Heart and Lung, Sue Bullock and I visited some of the nursing staff within our transplant teams in celebration of Transplant Nurses Week. As Queensland’s centre for lung and heart transplantation, TPCH holds a unique position in caring for a very complex patient cohort, many of whom receive lifelong care from our transplant nurses and members of the broader transplant teams. We commend them on their great work!

During our visit, I also had an interesting discussion with lung transplant physicians Dan Chambers, Michael Trotter and John Mackintosh about patient non-adherence to medication requirements and advice in the post-transplant stage. The team is looking at how cognitive behavioural therapy may be beneficial in helping address this issue. We also heard about the team’s progress with whole lung lavage and other lung transplant research.  Thanks to the team for taking the time to speak with us about their innovative work.

RAS Unit

CAM Unit

As it’s April No Falls month, Zachary Sheldrick, Manager Safety and Quality and I had the opportunity to participate in TPCH’s annual April No Falls ward display competition, viewing a number of entries from Ward 1B, Rehabilitation and Acute Stroke (RAS) Unit, Ward 2A, and Ward 1G. Our teams went to a great deal of effort in promoting this year’s theme of ‘Regular Rounding – Unwitnessed Falls.’ There was certainly some tough competition!

Congratulations to the Cognitive Assessment and Management (CAM) and RAS Units who were the joint winners of the competition. Regrettably I didn’t get to see the CAM Unit’s display, but my Executive colleagues tell me it looked fantastic, so well done!

Ward 2A

Ward 1G

Ward 1B

A special mention goes to Ward 1G nurse, Froilan Dollente who used his artistic talents to produce the impressive painting of TPCH’s well known falls mascot, Humpty Dumpty as part of the ward’s display. Great work Froilan! A big thanks to all wards who entered the competition in support of a very important patient safety issue. Here are some photos (no selfies today!).

Tami Photinos, Mark Budd and Cherie Franks in CCU

Also in our walkarounds, Cherie Franks and I visited the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) where we had the chance to speak with Indigenous Hospital Liaison Officer, Mark Budd who was providing support to a patient to help ensure a culturally comfortable health care journey. While in CCU, we also chatted with a patient who gave some very positive feedback about the care they had received. Well done to the team!

It was also good to speak with some of our Continuity of Care nurses who demonstrated some positive teamwork in action. Keep it up!

FAST FACTS

This week we will profile the Health and Safety team.

Did you know?:

• 

  Members of the Health and Safety team

  The Health and Safety Team support staff in the creation and maintenance of a safe place of work, as well as support staff to return to normal life as quickly as possible following a work-related injury or illness.

• The team comprises a dedicated Safety Team and Rehabilitation team which together, support TPCH staff in the delivery of safe systems of work and safe patient care. The teams include a Safety Advisor, Rehabilitation and Return to Work Coordinator, Safety and Rehabilitation Advisors, Health and Safety Representatives, Work Area Safety Champion Network, and Health and Safety Connect Support Team.
• Last year, the team triaged 6,182 workplace incidents and 1,514 hazards, and supported more than 700 staff following a workplace injury or illness
• The team is responsible for driving the annual legislative compliance audit which ensures TPCH and Metro North are meeting their legislative requirements
• The Safety Team can assist staff with risk assessments, incident and hazard reporting, safety culture training (SHAPE/SHAKE model), legislation and due diligence requirements, and Staff Safety = Patient Safety initiatives.
• The Rehabilitation Team can assist with Work Cover claims management/advice, return to work planning (Income protection/health transition), work capabilities checklist/suitable duties and Early Intervention Strategies – Stay at Work.
• The service runs a dedicated helpdesk for all inquiries relating to health and safety.
• Staff can seek advice and support from the team in relation to legal compliance and fire safety, occupational violence prevention and health management.
• The Health and Safety Team form part of People and Culture, a Metro North wide service with teams based at TPCH and RBWH.

Lesleigh Winks

Staff Profile

As it’s Transplant Nurses Week, today we will profile Lung Transplant Coordinator, Lesleigh Winks.

Lesleigh is responsible for coordinating the care of patients before and after lung transplantation. This includes patient assessment, monitoring of patient health status, managing outpatient clinics, telephone triage, patient and carer education, and discharge planning of inpatients including referral to external services such as HITH. She also provides after hours on call coverage and coordinating the
transplantation process when a donor organ becomes available.

Previously a respiratory nurse, Lesleigh enjoys following the patient journey from pre-transplant to recovery after surgery, and especially watching patients return home to their families. She considers it a privilege to provide lifelong care to patients, and see them regain their health. When working with patients, Lesleigh values excellent communication and problem solving to ensure they are well supported in self-managing their care following transplant.

In her spare time, Lesleigh enjoys spending time outdoors, undertaking triathalons, travel and hiking adventures.

Perry Judd

Shout out

This week’s shout out goes to Director of Allied Health, Perry Judd who recently represented Australia in four events at the World Transplant Games in Perth, winning gold medals in the Individual Time Trial and Road Race, Sliver in the Team Triathlon, and Bronze in the Team Time Trial. Perry received a lifesaving bone marrow transplant 10 years ago after being diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia and has gone from strength to strength, using his renewed health to help raise public awareness of organ and tissue donation.

We congratulate Perry on his achievement, and ask people to join him in supporting those 1,800 Australians currently waiting for a lifesaving transplant by becoming an organ donor. Registering is easy and only takes a minute. So register to be a donor and make sure you tell your family of your wishes.
Well done Perry!

Today’s quote

“Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.” –  Napolean Hill

Tami.