Staff News

Board Chair

The Metro North Staff Excellence Awards are our annual opportunity to showcase the amazing work happening across our health service. The awards recognise teams and individuals who go above and beyond to improve health outcomes and make Metro North a great place to work, visit and be treated.

One of the highlights of the last couple of years has been the development and finalisation of the Metro North Health Equity Strategy, based upon the principle that we need to listen to the stories and experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with the health system.

On Tuesday 28 March, Chief People and Culture Officer Kristal Lowe and John Bartholomew, Senior Director Health and Safety, presented to the Board on the framework and action plan to address the requirements of the Code of Practice under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 for managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work.

The Metro North Hospital and Health Service Board met at Redcliffe Hospital on 28 February. As is now customary, Board members and Jackie Hanson and Jane Hancock welcomed some consumers to gain their insights to how the health service was operating, its strengths, and areas where we could improve.

Welcome to 2023. A new year heralds new opportunities!

Much has happened in the November-December period: Metro North Staff Excellence Awards Night; Other highlights; Christmas wishes; Christmas quotes to ponder

This is a belated column, as I was aware that the follow-up review of the implementation of the recommendations from the Governance Review into Surgical Services at Caboolture Hospital was imminent. As you will recall that initial review and the follow up review were conducted by eminent South Australian clinician, Dr James Sweeney.

The Metro North Board met at the Nundah Community Health Centre at Nundah on 27 September. It was wonderful to resume our commitment to meet in different locations across the region.

The Board met last week in the Australian Unity Boardroom in the wonderfully refurbished Edith Cavell Building on the Herston campus.

This month’s report is a little later than usual as I have had the opportunity to visit the hospital and health facilities on Norfolk Island. As you may be aware, from 1 January this year, Metro North has assumed responsibility to provide support for the Norfolk Island Hospital and Residential Aged Care Service (NIHRACS).

In my role as Board Chair at Metro North, there are some opportunities which are best described as inspiring. One such occasion was the Deadly Start Orientation last Wednesday.

This week is National Reconciliation Week. The 2022 theme is “Be Brave. Make Change.” According to Reconciliation Australia, the theme “is a challenge to all Australians— individuals, families, communities, organisations and government—to Be Brave and tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation so we can Make Change for the benefit of all Australians”.

The Metro North Board met on Tuesday 26 April. As I have indicated many times, the recovery after we are over the scourge of COVID will require all hospitals and health services to investigate new ways of doing things, new models of care and effectively utilising the new technologies.

I write this from my isolation at home as a result of my wife, Kaye, testing positive to COVID-19. This dreaded virus continues to create havoc across Metro North and the broader health system. I know that our personal inconvenience is minimal in comparison to the pressure on those of you providing frontline services, with large numbers absent either because they have contracted the virus or are in isolation because a family member or loved one has.

The Minister for Health and Ambulance Services has informed Board Chairs of the statewide hospital and health board appointments. All appointments have been published in the Queensland Government Gazette and commence on 1 April 2022.

The Metro North Board meeting on 22/2/22 was the first meeting at which Jackie Hanson attended as the substantive Chief Executive. Congratulations again, Jackie.

Appointment of Jackie Hanson as Chief Executive, Metro North Health