Message from the Executive Director

Congratulations to the entire TPCH team on a successful Accreditation week. This was the hospital’s first ever Short Notice Accreditation process and we were pleased to hear some very positive feedback from the assessment team following their week-long visit. In terms of next steps, we expect to receive the summary report this week which we will review and provide initial feedback on, with the formal final report to be available in several weeks. This final report will be used to develop action plans to address any areas rated as ‘met with recommendations’ or ‘not met.’ TPCH Standards Committees will play a crucial role in developing and progressing the associated actions.

To acknowledge everyone’s efforts, we will be hosting a FREE staff breakfast next Tuesday 28 November, 7am to 8.30am (or until food runs out) at the Cafe of the Common Good. We look forward to seeing many of you there.

Some of you may be aware I was away last week during Accreditation as well during our Charlies Week celebrations last month. I made the decision to take some leave because of the recent unexpected passing of my older brother, Gary. This loss has taken a large toll on myself and my entire family as we are all very close. I acknowledge the timing of my absence was not ideal, however people deal with loss in different ways and for me, it was important to have some time to grieve and refocus.

I would like to sincerely thank Melanie Dubbelde who covered the Executive Director role last week, and to the entire Executive team for their excellent leadership and support. Last week was a particularly challenging week with accreditation and the issues relating to our heart transplant service, so it was reassuring to know I could entrust the care and leadership of TPCH to my Executive colleagues with absolute confidence. I am very proud of what the team at TPCH achieves, and last week was testament to the outstanding capabilities and commitment of our staff in continuing to provide high quality care to our patients.

Heart transplant service

We continue to work through the issues impacting our heart transplant program.

Our specialist team of transplant and infectious diseases staff continue to work to ensure that any potential source of fungal infection is identified and removed. Additional testing and cleaning are being undertaken in key areas of the hospital, as well as in the external environment, to support this process. It is also important to emphasise the heart transplant and lung transplant programs are fully operational.

I appreciate this issue is continuing to cause people some concern and know that staff are being approached by patients and visitors about the safety of the hospital. To support you, I encourage you to refer to or share the Frequently Asked Questions Patient Information sheet which contains relevant information.

The Metro North Executive and The Prince Charles Hospital Executive teams anticipate this issue will likely be of ongoing interest to the media, which will continue to generate questions and concerns from our transplant and broader hospital community. We will endeavour to keep you well informed about the progress of this issue in the coming weeks. I thank everyone for their support.

If you have any questions, please raise them with your line manager.

Executive update

This week I attended the 60^th birthday celebration of our Respiratory Investigations Unit, marking its diamond anniversary. This is a significant milestone for the Unit which was the first of its type in Queensland when it opened in 1963.

Since its inception, the RIU has gone from strength to strength, being responsible for the introduction of first lung function equipment in Queensland and performing the State’s first sleep investigations, which led to the establishment of TPCH’s Sleep Disorders Centre. Today, the Unit performs an average of 18,000 tests each year, approximately 15 times the number of tests performed in its first year of operation when it undertook just 1,169 tests.

At the event I had the privilege of meeting one of the Unit’s early Directors and former TPCH Medical Superintendent, Dr Kevin Kennedy who is now in his 90s. Dr Kennedy, who was Queensland’s first Thoracic Physician, had come to the hospital specially to celebrate this important milestone and it was certainly an honour for the team to welcome him back to TPCH. Congratulations to the RIU team!

This week I visited Wards 2A and 2B, as well as Ward 2E, our Cardiac Surgical ward where I met and spoke with the staff and some patients. I had the chance to ask these patients about their care, and both were happy with how they had been looked after by our staff.

Earlier this week I attended the monthly Consumer Engagement Network meeting where I spoke to consumers about their involvement in the co-design of upcoming TPCH projects including TPCH Expansion and car park. This meeting was very timely given our recent Accreditation which assessed our performance against the eight National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards, incorporating Standard 2 – Partnering with Consumers.

The consumers were very engaged and are keen to have their unique views and experiences heard to help inform these important facility improvement initiatives. Our Consumer Engagement Network is one of several ways in which we engage and partner with our consumers to create patient-centred services. Other ways we undertake consumer engagement include during Executive walk arounds where we engage with consumers and their carers and families at the bedside. We also make improvements from feedback in Patient Reported Experience Measures, and many clinicians engage with consumers, patients and carers in activities to improve patient experience in their units or departments.

Staff Profile

In recognition of our Respiratory Investigations Unit’s 60th anniversary, we will profile Senior Clinical Measurements Scientist (Respiratory), Alanna Bodger.

Alanna’s role primarily involves performing respiratory function (breathing) tests and cardiopulmonary exercise tests. As the Unit’s tests are effort-dependent, a large part of Alanna’s job is coaching the patient to get their best results. She also provides clinical education in respiratory science to students, scientists and other departments within the hospital.

Alanna enjoys working as part of small, close-knit team who cares for a diverse patient group, helping broaden her knowledge and skills as a respiratory scientist. She enjoys being involved in the journey of her regular patients and is passionate about developing and improving clinical practices and procedures within RIU, to ensure the team can deliver the best service possible for patients.

Outside of work, Alanna enjoys spending time with my family, travelling and going to the beach.

Charlies Research Spotlight

Last week, we were pleased to learn that TPCH has had three successful projects from the inaugural round of the Metro North Health SWIFT Grants. These Grants will support early phase, rapidly deployed, innovative projects that benefit Metro North Health patients and the community.

Congratulations to the following three TPCH projects.

Title: The EXPeDiTe Sleep project – EXtending Psychology scope for pharmacotherapies Emphasising Deprescribing during behavioural Treatment of Sleep: Developing and evaluating acceptance of an Australian-first model of enhanced behavioural sleep care
Investigative Team:
CIA:        Dr Daniel Sullivan, Senior Psychologist, TPCH
CIB-E:    Dr Sara Winter, Dr Marea Patounas, Dr Deanne Curtin, Dr Tricia Rolls

Title: New Pathways to Treat Intractable Infections
Investigative Team:
CIA:        Dr Amy Pham, Clinical Research, TPCH
CIB:        Dr Timothy Wells

Title: Trametinib Triumph: Breaking Fibrosis Barriers
Investigative Team:
CIA:        A/Prof Brendan O’Sullivan, Chief Scientist Lung Transplant, TPCH

End of year celebrations

Metro North Staff Excellence Awards gala dinner
Tickets are now on sale for the Staff Excellence Awards gala dinner on Friday 15 December. The date is rapidly approaching and is an excellent way to celebrate the end of the year with your team. So get your team together and purchase some tickets.

TPCH Christmas Decoration Competition
All TPCH wards, areas and departments are invited to help spread some festive cheer by entering this year’s annual TPCH Christmas Decoration Competition.

Available categories:

• Traditional (including White Christmas)
• Aussie Christmas
• Most Unique

To enter, please complete the Christmas Decoration Nomination Form and email to: MetroNorth-TPCH-Communications@health.qld.gov.au by Friday 15 December.

Judging will take place in the week before Christmas. Areas and departments will be notified of an approximate judging time prior to the day which will be advised shortly.

Shout out

This week I’d like to give a shout out to Perry Judd (Director Allied Health), Bretine Curtis (Director Corporate Services) and Dr Livia Williams (Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon) who graduated from the Metro North Executive Leaders Program this week. This program is designed to identify, develop, and retain senior employees with the ability, engagement, and aspiration to progress to other senior within a health environment. I was fortunate enough to attend the final presentations for these staff members and I congratulate them on their success in completing the program.

Today’s quote

“Fortitude is the guard and support of other virtues.” – John Locke

Tami.