This is my last day as Acting Executive Director TPCH before Tami Photinos returns on Monday. It’s been a true privilege to cover this role and meet and work with more of our fantastic people.  This opportunity has also allowed me to visit areas I don’t get to often in my own role and gain a broader perspective on the truly great work we do for our patients here at TPCH.

I want to sincerely thank everyone for their welcome and kindness, and most importantly their generosity of time in engaging with me – time really is the most important gift we can give to anyone!

During the time I have really observed the care and focus we have on the provision of the best care for the community we serve. This has been evident in every interaction I’ve had with our teams and individual staff. I have observed the impact and commitment of each and every one of you, and no matter what your role, you all contribute to the journey of our patients and their families.

On a different note, this week is Ekka week, and some of us had the fortune of enjoying a public holiday on Wednesday. You may or may not be aware that the Ekka’s iconic strawberry sundae ice creams are coordinated through The Common Good (TCG), an initiative of TPCH Foundation with funds raised going towards vital medical research at our hospital. I heard from our colleagues at The Common Good that the team would be scooping around 130,000 ice creams during this year’s Ekka period. This is an immense effort, not to mention a lot of ice cream!! The staff and volunteers of TCG work tirelessly behind the scenes coordinating activities like this that support our important work at TPCH and we applaud them for their brilliant efforts and ongoing commitment. TCG’s annual Giving Day will be coming up on Wednesday 25 October as part of our TPCH Charlies Week celebrations, so I encourage you to get behind the day and show your support. More information is coming shortly so watch this space!

Have your Say survey

As we await the full results from the Have your Say Survey, I’ve had the privilege of reviewing some of the messages to the Executive Director. Tami received 337 messages however the other free text feedback that was given has not yet arrived with us, and will be included in the unit level surveys which we will release once they arrive during September.

I am so impressed at the time, thought and energy our staff at TPCH have invested into providing feedback to help us improve our workplace. We will share some of these comments with you over the next few months.

Thank you for your support and making the organisation at The Prince Charles Hospital the best place to work in, and giving everyone the opportunity to express ourselves about our personal experiences at work.

Senior Management have to introduce themselves to ALL nursing staff (from AINs to CNs) and ask them ‘how’s your day today?’ Speaking to NUMs or directors just isn’t enough. And when you visit all health services, get a bit of context of the specialty of that service and engage in meaningful discussion such as vision, patient flow, initiatives that working, staff challenges etc

Our Executive Leadership team undertakes regular walkarounds with the aim of connecting with as many teams and individual staff as possible to understand current activities and challenges. If you see us around, please come and speak to us. We are here to listen and support.

Executive update

Executive changes

I am regretful to advise that Kirsty Leo, Assistant Nurse Director, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Health TPCH has tendered her resignation. As the inaugural holder of this role, Kirsty has driven important progress in TPCH’s Health Equity journey, being instrumental in supporting the Urban Respiratory Outreach Clinic, as well as the Indigenous Cardiac and Respiratory Outreach services. Last year, she coordinated TPCH’s inaugural NAIDOC and Reconciliation Staff Excellence Awards in celebration of the significant contributions of our staff towards achieving improved outcomes and more equitable and culturally appropriate health care experiences for First Nations people.

Kirsty will be taking up an exciting opportunity with Abstarr, a First Nation owned consultancy firm which works with communities, businesses and governments to lead strategic change in culturally safe environments. We thank Kirsty for her excellent work at TPCH and wish her well with her upcoming endeavour. Kirsty’s last day is next Thursday 24 August, and we are progressing the necessary arrangements to recruit to the role permanently.

Director of Nursing

Backfill arrangements for the Director of Nursing TPCH will be as follows while Cherie Franks continues her secondment at Herston:

• Tanya Beaumont – 21 August to 24 September
• Paula Ve – 25 September to 8 October 2023

We welcome Tanya and Paula who both bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the role. Thank you to Sue Bullock for covering the role of the last four weeks.

Walkarounds

This week, A/Director Corporate Services, Bianca Neaves and I visited Food Services where we took a tour of the kitchen. It was great to see this busy team in action preparing high quality, nutritional food for our patients. I was interested to learn that on average, the Food Services team, which comprises around 130 staff, works together to deliver an average of 53,000 meals every month. Wow! They are certainly a well-oiled machine!

I also stopped into the Health Information Services (HIS) to check in with staff during the ESM post go live period. The HIS team has played a key role in the transition to the new system, and will be responsible for system administration moving forward. A significant undertaking!

The HIS team, along with many other teams and staff across TPCH and Metro North have supported the changeover to ESM, which like any large system change, has brought some challenges. To acknowledge the efforts of these staff, the ESM project team hosted a special morning tea to say thank you, and the Executive team echoes this appreciation. Well done all!

I also was taken on a tour of the Critical Care Research Group (CCRG) laboratories in the Clinical Sciences Building led by CCRG Director, Prof John Fraser and attended by local Members of Parliament, Jimmy Sullivan and Christian Rowan. CCRG undertakes a multitude of innovative research projects aimed at improving the care of the critically ill patient, and it was great to visit the labs where a lot of this work happens. I enjoyed the opportunity to talk to some of the CCRG’s PhD students about their interesting work –
we certainly have some brilliant minds at TPCH!

Medical Leadership Intensive Program

Metro North has recently launched a new Medical Leadership Intensive Program, to enhance the leadership skills of senior medical staff across the organisation. The program provides comprehensive knowledge to help medical leaders navigate the challenges of the complex and changing environment within the healthcare environment, and influence positive change. The program is initially available to Clinical Directors and Medical Directors within Metro North. It is delivered in three individual sessions over a 12-week period. (One full day and two half days).

To find out more, please email MedicalLeadershipIP_MN@health.qld.gov.au

FAST FACTS

This week, we’ll profile Ward 2D – Hip Fracture Service.

Did you know?:

• Ward 2D is a specialised 22-bed unit managing patients admitted with acute hip fracture, pelvic fractures and non-operative distal limb fracture requiring admission.
• The Unit is a multidisciplinary shared care unit between Orthopaedic Surgery and Geriatric Medicine with close involvement of Anaesthetic Services.
• It has seen dramatic growth in inpatient admission with 521 patients admitted with Hip fracture in 2022, the fourth largest unit in Australia/New Zealand.
• Comprehensive specialist nursing and allied health care is provided from admission and surgical phase through to early rehabilitation phase with the aim of safe discharge to home where possible.
• Optimal management of these vulnerable patients is supported hospital wide with collaborative flow through imaging and the emergency department, acute pain management team and transfers to subacute services when appropriate.
• Education and research support is provided through the NOFEAR (Network for Orthopaedic Fracture Education and Research) group with multiple publications and support for higher degrees that has driven change in practice.
• TPCH Hip Fracture Unit is a finalist for the Australia New Zealand Hip Fracture awards in 2023 for delivering best practice in Hip Fracture Care.

Staff profile

Today we’ll profile, Site Coordinator Food Services, Rahul Raj.

Rahul oversees a team of 130 staff members who support the production of around 1,900 patient meals across TPCH campus every day.

As the previous Director of Food Beverage and Executive Chef for Accor Hotels, Rahul prides himself on working with his team to provide nutritious high quality food solutions for patients. He has a passion for the science of cooking and the art of designing new food trends, uniting these qualities to surprise people with culinary creativity while meeting their dietary needs. For Rahul, being valued by his colleagues is very important, and he reciprocates this through his commitment to providing his team with a safe, open and respectful work environment.

Rahul and the Food Services team are proud to have recently introduced a new organic waste initiative whereby an average of 45-50kg of food waste is diverted to NuGrow every day! This facility converts the waste into high-grade compost and premium soil which is distributed to farms through Queensland and northern New South Wales.  What a great initiative towards make TPCH greener.

In his spare time, Rahul enjoys playing and watching cricket.

Closing thought

As I reflect on my time covering Tami and look forward to welcoming her back next week, I have been reflecting on two things core to me – Whanau and Kindness.

The Maori concept of Whanau – or extended family or community of related families, is not a family in the sense of a nucleus family; but a much broader network of connection and support.  The reason this is so important in health is that when we care for our patients, we also care for and open our doors to their whanau. My reflection on this is related to our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients who in my learnings and conversations hold family, land, law and language as critical aspects.  In these cultures, family is linked to land and kinship, not necessarily the nuclear family.  This is so important to remember while we care for our patients and communities as our view of who is important at the bedside or in the care conversation may be very different to the person at the centre. I challenge you all to ask the question – who does the patient really want involved in conversations and decisions about their care journey?

In relation to kindness – you may remember last week I mentioned I was running the City 2 Surf  – what an amazing experience! I can happily say that I was beaten by a lobster but the American hot dog did not catch me! (Yes people wear costumes in this event, but not me… it was enough to drag myself up the hills!).  I usually run trail races where I find that as runners, we care for each other. Due to the remoteness, this aspect is important, and weighing up the value of being the happiest/slowest versus the best/fastest. So as I trudged up the hills on the City 2 Surf, I was somewhat stunned as a runner rudely cursed me for being too slow to be in the middle of the road.

It reminded me that no matter what the circumstance, kindness goes along way. No one knows your journey and I have to say no matter how terrible your day is, there is someone having a worse one. Coming to work is always better than being sick in a bed!

And nothing reminds me more of kindness than my boys below who watch out for each other, and share the power of being together.

“How do we change the world?  One random act of kindness at a time.”  Morgan Freeman

Karlene.