Tami Photinos, Executive Director
With demands on our services remaining constant, I have been asked by a number of staff about how we can make TPCH a more fun and inclusive place to work, especially with the current pressures. It can certainly be a challenge having fun when we are busy, but our commitment is to making the hospital environment as positive as possible, so staff feel good about coming to work.
On Tuesday 18 June, we will be hosting a free staff breakfast in the Café for the Common Good from 7am to 8.30am (or until the food runs out) as a gesture of the Executive team’s appreciation for all the work being done by staff at TPCH at present. We look forward to seeing many of you there.
We recently opened up an expression of interest in relation to our annual TPCH Charlies Week celebrations in October to encourage staff to offer their ideas and support to make this year’s event as great as possible. This opportunity is still available so if you’re interested in finding out more or getting involved please email: MetroNorth-TPCH-Communications@health.qld.gov.au.
I’m also keen to hear from staff about other ways we can create a positive work environment and team culture at TPCH so welcome your ideas and suggestions. Please email your ideas to: ExecDir-TPCH@health.qld.gov.au or just come and approach me if you see me around the hospital.
Executive update
This week is National Reconciliation Week where we reflect on our commitment to unity by acknowledging the unique history and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The word Reconciliation means understanding, compromise, bringing together and reunion. All of these meanings are important to us as a health care organisation and help guide us on how we can work together with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, families and community to achieve health equity.
To acknowledge the week, the Executive team attended a number of local events including a flag raising ceremony and a video screening of the Healing Foundation’s Truth Telling. We also attended a lunchtime yarning circle with local Elders, community members and members of TPCH’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health service team. This was a great opportunity to connect and hear stories and thoughts from the Elders and staff around reconciliation and how we need to walk together to achieve a future of equity, respect and understanding.
Lily Sarra and Aaron Lamont
I was also pleased to hear from our physiotherapy department who is supporting a young cadet, Lily Sarra. Lily, who is a proud Gureng Gureng woman, is currently in her fourth year of physiotherapy and second year of her cadetship with TPCH. It is great to support Lily in her career endeavours, with the cadetship giving her a good foundation to succeed in her clinical placements and build her confidence in dealing with patients. A great initiative!
This year, TPCH will start developing its Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) supported by the RAP Working Group. If you would like to be part of this working group please email: Cultural Capability Officer TPCH@health.qld.gov.au outlining your interest in supporting the development of the RAP.
With the hospital in Tier 3, members of the Executive team have been undertaking regular walkarounds to areas to understand how services are managing and supporting the hospital’s surge plans. We acknowledge that many areas have had to flex outside their normal scope in order provide the necessary care for patients and we continue to support these areas as best we can in the current climate.
Protecting you this winter
With winter officially starting tomorrow, we are starting to see an increase in COVID, influenza and other respiratory viruses within our patient population. This means that as healthcare workers, we need to start thinking about what actions we can take to prevent transmission of these respiratory viruses. Some key steps to stay protected include:
- Have your 2024 influenza vaccination – Infection Control is still vaccinating staff between 7.00am and 4.00pm, Monday to Friday, Level 3, Clinical Sciences Building.
- Consider COVID booster vaccination – available via GPs or community pharmacies.
- Staff to consider wearing surgical masks whilst at work to protect yourself from unknown exposure to respiratory viruses.
- Follow the transmission-based precaution signage requirements when patients are isolated.
- If you are unwell, please stay home. You might not have COVID, but you could still be contagious to other staff and patients.
- If you test positive for COVID notify the TPCH Contact Tracing team via email: TPCHContacttracing@health.qld.gov.au.
Waiting for What Survey
Metro North will conduct the Waiting for What Survey on the weekend of 6-9 June 2024. Waiting for What is a survey tool that identifies what an inpatient is waiting for that is preventing timely discharge. The survey is intended to give a better understanding of what challenges are causing delays in discharge from acute hospitals or transfer of care to support improved patient flow.
The survey will be conducted at 10.30am and 4.30pm on Thursday 6, Friday 7, and Sunday 9 June and at 8pm on 6 June. Inpatient beds and emergency department short stay units will be included in the survey, with some exclusions. The survey will be conducted by Metro North Health clinical staff with minimal disruption to clinical care. The information collected by the survey will inform updates to the Metro North Acute Bed Capacity Management Plan and the Metro North Subacute Care Plan.
Staff profile
This week we’ll profile TPCH’s new Senior Project Officer, Connecting Care to Country service, Alex Morgan. In this role, Alex will lead and influence a review of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Connecting Care to Country service. This will involve mapping patient journeys, managing opportunities to streamline processes, and implementing quality improvement practices.
Having spent seven years working for the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health managing the team which provided mental health support and education to Indigenous youth in the Moreton Bay region, Alex is passionate about reducing health disparities and improving access to services. He values cultural sensitivity, community engagement and impactful health care delivery and is looking forward to improving health outcomes for mob and connecting with the staff at TPCH.
Outside of work, Alex enjoys spending time with his family and playing sports including running, basketball, footy and netball. He also enjoy relaxing and watching movies. Welcome to TPCH Alex!
Shout out
This week’s shout out goes to our Social Work team for their outstanding work in supporting patients awaiting discharge to a residential aged care facility (RACF). During May, 38 patients have been discharged on a RACF pathway including a number of complex and long stay patients. Our social team play a key role in coordinating the care of these patients which includes providing care navigation to patients and families, negotiation with care facilities, setting up NDIS planning meetings and undertaking all necessary documentation to support the discharge process. Discharge to a RACF is a complex and time consuming process and our social workers work diligently behind the scenes supporting patients and families to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible. Well done!
Closing thought
In health care, there can be a constant sense of urgency with critical decisions needing to be made, especially when there are significant demands on our services. When we enter this heightened mode, it is often hard to find time to pause and take a breath. It is during these hectic periods, we need to be able to take a step back, pause and regain our perspective. This ability to stop and refocus on the purpose at hand is essential in giving us clarity and a sense of feeling grounded. When we feel calm inside, we feel better about ourselves, make better decisions, and can perform better in our work and daily lives. So the take home message is that finding the stillness inside the busyness of life can serve us well and allow us to continue serving the community.
Tami.