While this year has been a challenging one for so many reasons, it has also been inspiring and uplifting.

The Common Good Café servery re-opened this morning.

We have now had over a week to get used to being in a Tier 1 COVID-19 and Influenza response. It’s a definite change from the months of Tier 3!

Remember when we all received two additional days of leave for full time and part time employees (pro-rata) in recognition of the contribution we all made to Queensland’s COVID-19 response?

The Metro North Research Excellence Awards were held at Eatons Hill Hotel last night. It was a wonderful night, celebrating what can be achieved when we embed a strong research culture alongside our great patient and family-centered care.

National Sorry Day yesterday and National Reconciliation Week (NRW) starting today are both important opportunities for all of us to reflect on shared histories, cultures, achievements and explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

It is not all ‘Days’ that I write to you to acknowledge but today is an important day. Today is Trans Day of Visibility, an international day of celebration which recognises gender diverse experiences.

The decision to move to the Metro North COVID-19 Tier 3 Response this week is primarily about preserving our acute staffing during this period of high staff leave.

I want to acknowledge it’s been another challenging week for the CKW Directorate and I hope everyone is taking care to look after their wellbeing and to support their colleagues. All the usual support mechanisms are in place if you need some extra support.

CKW is proud to be partnering with Clinical Excellence Queensland to deliver the 'Conversations that make a difference' virtual sessions. Whether conversations are about safety, processes, behavior or expectations, there are often important things that we need to talk about that can be a bit tricky to discuss.

The flooding we experienced last weekend was a defining event for CKW staff and the patients we care for.  A very big thank you from me, particularly to the many staff who worked extra shifts and overtime to keep our colleagues, patients and community safe from harm. I am so proud to work with such a dedicated bunch!

Heavy rain is expected to continue through today and possibly into tomorrow. This is causing significant flooding around access roads to Caboolture, Kilcoy and Woodford. Kilcoy and Woodford have been isolated since Friday due to floodwaters blocking the D’Aguilar Highway and key local roads. At Caboolture, access is blocked from the north, east and west, but Bruce Highway access is still possible.

A very big shoutout today to our friends and colleagues at Kilcoy Hospital and Woodford Corrections Health who are cut-off due to rising floodwaters blocking the D’Aguilar Highway and several other key local roads. We have called a Code Brown related to both facilities until further notice. I would like to thank the staff who are so dedicated and kindly arranged to stay on site.

Good news! It looks like we have passed the crest of our COVID admissions wave & are on the way down.

Keep up the great work – we’ve got this! While COVID-19 presentations are declining across Queensland, our acute patient load is growing which means we continue to operate in a very busy environment. Important information attached to help you today.

I’m filling in for a few weeks while Angie enjoys spending time with her daughter, who started Prep yesterday. A very special time. Thanks for all the hard work and caring that you have all been doing.

Fit testing is important to keeping you safe, especially those staff that are working in priority high risk areas. Call the CKW fit testing service on 2422 to make a priority fit testing appointment. Your safety is our highest priority.