Director of Nursing – Cherie Franks

Cherie Franks

I have just returned to TPCH following a secondment into the Metro North Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer role and a few weeks leave, so it’s great to be back. It is excellent to have an opportunity to work in another role and to understand the demands and opportunities of other roles in the health service. This secondment, accompanied by my leave, is the longest I have been away from my position and I am pleased it gave Tanya Beaumont, DON Community and Oral Health, an opportunity to work at TPCH. Tanya could not have been more complimentary of her experience at TPCH and about how welcoming everyone was, so thank you everyone for your support.

The COVID-19 demands continue to be ever changing and I would like to thank everyone for their hard work and commitment to supporting these changes, and in keeping services running wherever possible. Your commitment is greatly valued and helps ensure that the hospital can continue to provide high quality, safe care to our patients.

I would like to encourage all nursing staff to undertake the Health Equity KPA sessions (register via TMS) and become familiar with the Health Equity Strategy, as everyone’s role can contribute to the strategy.

International Nurses Day is coming up in May and a date claimer has been sent for an afternoon tea and our annual Nursing Excellence Award presentations. I encourage staff to think about nominating a nurse who should be recognised on this special day when we celebrate our profession. More information about TPCH Nursing Excellence Awards including nomination forms and categories will be coming out in the next week.

Corporate Services Director – Karen Leighton

Karen Leighton

Work has commenced on the planning of TPCH’s new multi-storey car park which is scheduled to commence construction at the end of 2022. A staff user group has been established to provide input and feedback around the design and function of the car park. Thank you to those staff who put their hand up to be on the user group; we had a great response.

As a result of feedback received from the Have your Say staff survey, TPCH has undertaken and is planning a number of infrastructure improvements which include:

• Installation of new shade sails in outdoor area of Common Good Café, Building 14 and Doctor’s Common Room
• Refurbishment of Adult ED tearoom (about to commence)
• Upgrade of Cardiac Investigations Unit reception (about to commence)
• Installation of new lockers for theatre staff.

Following consultation as part of a Business Case for Change, as of 1 April 2022, Clinical Support Services (Security, Patient Support Services, Food Services, Medical Imaging) will transition back to the facility. Staff in these areas are an integral part in delivery services to our patients and we look forward to having them aligned directly with the facility.

A lift replacement project will commence in October which will result in the replacement of lifts in the Administration and Clinical Sciences Buildings. We look forward to this much needed improvement.

In May, our Administration Management Leadership team will host a series of workshops to engage administration staff in the review of administration services at TPCH. These workshops will focus on identifying variances between programs, best practice, equity, consistency of resourcing, roles and process in line with TPCH Administration’s Operational Plan. I look forward to working together with our administration teams to help strengthen administration services at TPCH.