Welcome to another edition of the Caring Together newsletter. It’s a great way for everyone to see what’s been happening across our three facilities in the past month.

First of all, we made it! Just over 51 per cent of CKW staff completed the Have Your Say survey, just sneaking over our target of 50 per cent! A very big thank you to everyone who took the time to have their say.

Your answers will enable the CKW leadership and Metro North Health to continue developing a workplace that gives staff just as much value as they put in. After the survey results are analysed, we expect to receive feedback for individual teams by the end of August. We’ll also start work on actions that continue to improve our workplace.

I know it’s still exceptionally busy. Caboolture Hospital continues to see unprecedented levels of patient presentations, which is putting tremendous strain on our staff and resources. Kilcoy Hospital is also regularly at capacity.

The Caboolture Hospital Transit Lounge has been a great success alleviating some of this pressure by improving flow. It offers a safe and efficient discharge planning option for Caboolture patients.

Since it re-opened in the Education Centre in January, the Transit Lounge has recorded an impressive 1200 hours of patient time, which has cleared the way for more patients in the Emergency Department and on the wards.

Two beds and six chairs are available 7.30am to 5pm weekdays. The team do a great job improving flow with non-urgent patient transport, alternative transport options and trouble shooting.

It’s a very comfortable and quiet space for patients with beverages, snacks, movies and calming music.
The door-to-door service is popular with families and friends who can park in the hospital main entry pick-up zone, rather than having to find a parking space and find their way through the hospital.

If you haven’t already, please pop in for a visit or contact the team on Ext 5393 or Ext 8262.

Finally, we’ve had a challenging few weeks after several cases of COVID-19 emerged in South East Queensland recently. Once again, everyone has done a remarkable job.

It has also highlighted how important COVID-19 vaccinations are to protect our patients, staff and the community. If you’re not yet fully vaccinated, please make it a priority to do so today.

Please stay safe and keep up the great work!

Take care,

Angie