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

A few weeks ago I wrote about the move away from the pandemic response we have been well practiced at towards a more business as usual approach. I also mentioned that for some it will be a great relief and for others it may feel uncomfortable for a while.

It is now less than eight months until we reach construction completion of the new Clinical Services Building (CSB)! We have so much to look forward to and many aspirations to achieve.

Our charity partner, The Common Good, will host its inaugural Caboolture Hospital Giving Day on Wednesday 30 November.

It has been a really big week across the Directorate. It has been 12 months since the independent external review into surgical services at Caboolture Hospital was conducted by eminent South Australian surgeon, Dr Jim Sweeney.

This week has been a week of global reflection over the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. We have heard the voices and opinions of monarchists, republicans, our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, feminists, butlers and heads of state.

A very big thank you to everyone for being so welcoming and helpful during my week as Acting Executive Director. We really do have a great team at CKW!

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!

R U OK? Starting a conversation when you spot the signs that someone you care about might be struggling with life is important every day, every week, every month, every year.

We recently identified an urgent need to temporarily extend capacity of the current Caboolture Hospital Emergency Department (ED).

Working in effective teams improves clinical outcomes, increases professional satisfaction and provides crucial peer support (James, 2021).

To ensure we are ready to open the new Clinical Services Building next year, construction work needs to happen throughout the kitchen area of the Common Good Café.

The pressures that we have been facing from external sources are not to be underestimated. I recognise that this - on top of all that you have been doing every day during a pandemic and with increased demand - is not to be taken lightly and very much recognised by myself and your leaders

Here's some great news! At 7am tomorrow morning (Wednesday 17 August), Metro North Health will move to a Tier 2 response in our COVID-19 and Influenza Response Plan.

I’m sure you have heard me say before that we need to look after ourselves and care for each other to ensure we can continue to provide high-quality care to patients.

Did you catch the Metro North vidcast yesterday with Incident Controller Louise O’Riordan and Acting Chief Digital Health Officer Dr Jason Brown? It included some very encouraging news.

I truly value all your hard work. Weeks like this are a good reminder of the strength of the CKW team. You have all shown this in the cross-collaborations and rapid responses in so many directions.

Working in healthcare can be very challenging and very rewarding. Each and every one of us at CKW contributes to delivery of excellent patient and family centered care for our community.

It’s been a familiar story. Patient demand for health services across all areas of the Caboolture, Kilcoy and Woodford directorate continues to rise, combined with many staff furloughed due to illness.

My favourite quote from Lord of the Rings is “There may be a day when the hearts of men and women may fail … but today is not that day … for today we fight!”

COVID is surging again, at the same time as winter flu season. This surge is estimated to last for weeks to a few months. So we need to change gear again … this time it’s back to COVID Tier 3.

Let’s celebrate NAIDOC Week. Be encouraged to call into the central courtyard this Thursday between 11am and 3pm. At 11am, there will be a traditional Welcome to Country with Aunty Jacque Kina, following by Torres Strait Islander dance group performances and a drop-in art workshop.

After night, the sunrise will come. After winter, spring will arrive. We will get through this season. Right now we are recruiting 50 new staff to help us. In 7 ½ weeks, we will have 12 more bed spaces.

This week we bid farewell to Caboolture Hospital Coordinator Sue Stork, who is transitioning to retirement after a remarkable 46-year nursing career.

While Angie Dobbrick continues as Acting Executive Director at TPCH and Dr Simon Bugden takes some planned leave, I am acting Executive Director for the CKW Directorate this week (to Friday 24 June).

What a week! Thanks for all of your valiant work in caring for our community. More staff are being recruited and more space is being created. Our CKW is growing and receiving more resources. Now is the season for us to try new ways of doing things, to stop doing things which patients don’t value and to focus on what really makes a difference.

Caring for people and helping them get better … it’s what we do. Doing this at the moment is very challenging for many teams. We have spent most of the past week on Tier 3 (old Code Yellow) due to high community demand.

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.

We’re all committed to providing the best possible care for our patients and the community and so I would like to thank you for all of the work you have done this week.

Once again we are faced with an extraordinary weather event! I know, if it’s not COVID it seems to be water. It is always during these critical times that I am humbled by the teamwork and commitment you all have to the community and each other. We shouldn’t underestimate the power and strength in this culture and you should all be very proud of your efforts. Thank you!

It’s a familiar story. The Caboolture region has received a large amount of rain today with flooding in some low-lying areas.

We are so very pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 CKW Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards.

It has been another short week and our three facilities continue to be extremely busy. Thank you for doing such a great job again this week!

Metro North Health facilities limited visitors during the pandemic. Now most people have been vaccinated and we have proven systems and policies in place to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Here’s a wonderful milestone worth celebrating. This week is the 25th anniversary of the Chapel and chaplaincy services at Caboolture Hospital.

We’ve all done a large amount of work the past few weeks to combat the latest surge of COVID-19. It’s been a tough road, particularly with so many of our colleagues furloughed because they are a close contact or COVID-19 positive themselves.

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.

Pharmacy Director Tim Dunn received a mayday call from our friends at Longreach last Friday, flagging a critical shortfall in their pharmacy workforce due to COVID-19.

I’m excited to officially welcome about 180 new staff to the CKW Directorate today … but we already know them well and value the work they do every day to support our patients, visitors and staff.

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.

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.