Tami Photinos, Executive Director

In the midst of this challenging period, it is always good to celebrate our achievements and this week, I have some wins to share.

TPCH Cardiology was ranked the sixth best hospital in world and best hospital in Australia Newsweek’s Best Specialised Hospital Asia Pacific.

This accolade is testament to the world class services provided by our cardiology program which contribute to the improved outcomes of thousands of patients every year.

Read more on the Best Specialized Hospitals APAC 2023 –
Cardiology website.

Dana Allen

Metro North Health Nurse Graduate of the Year 2023

Congratulations to Dana Allen, who received the New Graduate of the Year Award at the Metro North Health Nursing and Midwifery Awards recently.

Dana received this award for the way she naturally and compassionately connects with, and cares for children and their families in the Children’s Ward.

Executive update

It was good to get around to as many clinical and support areas this week.

Thank you to the social workers who welcomed me so warmly to their department and the TPCH Child Protection Unit.

In the past 12 months, the Child Protection Unit has:

• provided 71 face-to-face training sessions to 872 staff, as part of mandatory training requirements;
• processed 252 reports of Suspicion of Harm made to Child Safety by TPCH clinicians;
• provided written responses to 2003 Requests for Information received from Child Safety; and
• provided 453 consultations for clinicians regarding child protection matters.

In Ward 1A, the Director of Operations, Heart & Lung Karen Leighton and I enjoyed the company of Garry Askew, his wife and daughter from Hervey Bay.

I asked Garry what we could do to make his stay better at TPCH and he answered that he would really like a Bundaberg Rum.

When I said that while we couldn’t get him a Rum and suggested a ginger beer instead, it was very clear by the way he screwed up his face that wasn’t an option.

I joined Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Services at TPCH with invited local Elders and high school students to participate in an Elder and Youth Cultural Immersion Day.

It was a great day to connect, share life experiences, knowledge and information.

A special thanks to our local Elders Aunty Elsja Dewis, Uncle Belza Lowath, Aunty Lauraine Barlow and Aunty Marie Hamilton.

Thank you to the students of Mitchelton State High School, Everton Park State High School and Aviation High School.

In addition, I had the opportunity to hear first-hand from Advanced Vestibular Physiotherapist Kelly Costa about one of TPCH’s rapid access services.

I was also welcomed by many teams across the hospital including the Nursing Workforce.

Thank you to Clinical Nurse Consultant Tanya Mountford who took me around all the Children’s areas, including the Ward, Triage, Outpatients and Emergency.

Paediatric Outpatients

Paediatric Triage

Paediatric Ward

Nursing workforce

FAST FACTS

The Critical Care Research Group (CCRG) was established in 2004. For almost 20 years their focus has been research that improves healthcare outcomes. The group is considered a world leader in critical care research and biomedical engineering.

Our Critical Care Research Group have been delivering world leading research activity.

Did you know?

• CCRG led preclinical studies into the use of hypothermic machine perfusion (HMP) – a novel method of storing and transporting donor hearts. Dubbed The Living Heart Project, this research has since been translated to a clinical study with 100% success rate. HMP and CCRG’s research was used in the first ever xenotransplant where a pig heart was transplanted into a human.
• At the start of the pandemic, CCRG founded the COVID-19 Critical Care Consortium, a global alliance dedicated to identifying the most effective treatments for critically ill COVID-19 patients. ‘COVID Critical’ is the world’s most in-depth source of ICU COVID-19 data consisting of 27,000+ deidentified patient records from a global network of over 60 countries. The 45 million datapoints took an estimated 350,000 hours to gather, most of which was volunteered by ICU staff.
• Working hand-in-glove with The Common Good and TPCH AICS, CCRG recently unveiled the hospital’s ICU of the Future bedspaces. A world first for TPCH, it is hoped the new patient-centric design will support ICU patients who experience anxiety, depression, or other physical, cognitive, or psychological problems during their admission.

Mary Green

Staff profile

Today we will profile Clinical Nurse Consultant, Transcatheter Heart Valve Program, Mary Green.

Mary is responsible for coordinating and managing patients referred to TPCH Cardiology program for Transcatheter Heart Valve procedures including TAVI, Mitra clip, Tri-clip, Valve in Valve and Pulmonic Valve in Valve procedures. She enjoys being part of a cutting edge, multidisciplinary team that works collaboratively to provide expert, high quality patient care.

Mary values the privilege of supporting patients return to a better quality of life, and is passionate about providing wholistic care, and engaging with patients and families to ensure a safe and streamlined journey with the best possible outcomes.

Outside of work, Mary enjoys spending time with family and friends, and likes nothing better than reading a good book on the beach.

Shout out

Rosie Trent

This week’s shout out goes to Nurse Navigator Rosie Trent who will shortly leave TPCH to take up another position within Metro North Health. Having worked at TPCH since 2008, Rosie is a valued member of the internal medicine stream and has worked as a nurse in RAMS/EMU/DUIT for the past decade.

During this period Rosie undertook various nursing positions within the unit, was a project officer for the GRACE project and also relieved in the external services facilitator CNC position. More recently, Rosie has worked as a Nurse Navigator in the FRAIL team where she honed her skills and knowledge in providing best practice care to the ageing community. Rosie is known for her strong commitment to patient advocacy, and the development and empowerment of junior staff. We wish Rosie all the very best in her new endeavours.

ED compliment to Security

“They quickly responded to my call for assistance and ensured safety for all in our Emergency Department.

“They displayed utmost professionalism dealing with a behaviourally challenging patient while graciously waiting for us to create capacity for ongoing management of escalating behaviours.

“The Security team are always so supportive of us in Emergency and we are so thankful for their assistance.

“Last night’s interactions are not in isolation, however it is a good example to highlight the ongoing appreciation the Emergency Department staff have for the security team.”

Today’s quote

“To me, there are saints every day. They stand up and help others and live for others and do things for others.” –  Theodore Melfi

Tami.