Our Nurse of the Year Bethany Arkbuckle is going to fulfill a lifelong dream by travelling to Africa to help sick people.

While the last few months have been a very difficult time it has also been a period of reflection and recovery for stroke survivor Bob Sutcliffe.

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More news from Community and Oral Health.

The past month has been very difficult for the whole service and the pressures are becoming very familiar to us all. Even with these pressures our staff continue to stand tall and provide the best possible care to our patients and residents.

Community and Oral Health (COH) is anticipated to become the lead directorate in Metro North Health (MN) for renewable solar energy. Green Metro North and Infrastructure Planning and Capital Projects Project Officer Drew Button said COH would be the initial beneficiary of Metro North Health’s commitment to improve sustainability and reduce emissions with renewable solar energy installed at many of its facilities.

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New community service supports healthy ageing, hospital avoidance and early discharges. An enhanced community healthcare service will improve the care provided to the elderly, reduce hospital presentations and ensure faster patient discharges from hospital. Community and Oral Health Acting Nursing Director Vicky Sinclair said the Post-Acute Care Service (PACS) had introduced a geriatrician-led model of care that would enhance the care available to the elderly and support healthy ageing. “Demand for care that is accessible and convenient for our elderly patients in their home or in the community is increasing,” Vicky said.

It is very important that we spend some time acknowledging our nurses for their inspirational work caring for our most vulnerable during the COVID-19 response. International Nurses Day 2022 saw some great, award-winning nurses recognised and as an added bonus we reveal why they received awards! 

A new collaborative project will kick off mid-year to discover how the health outcome of patients in intensive care can be improved through improved oral hygiene. The research collaboration will be delivered as part of a partnership between Metro North Oral Health Services, the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) and The School of Dentistry at the University of Queensland (UQ).

To the amazing COH vaccination team, to say I am proud of our achievement is an understatement, I could not be any more proud! I can’t say that it was all smooth sailing. Since March last year, we certainly met many challenges, developed new skills, learnt, became media savvy, collaborated with the private sector and worked in places I would never image we would deliver health care.

The first quarter of the year has been significant for our oral health services, bedded service and broader care we provide across the community.

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A promising trial of virtual reality (VR) technology involving patients with an acquired brain injury may lead to the development of new speech pathology therapies.

Last year we recognised close to 2,400 years of service and 200 staff who have reached an important length of service milestone in their careers.

We try and provide credit where credit is due and knowing how our Oral Health Call Centre has been working hard to improve its service and it was wonderful to read this fabulous comment from a satisfied customer.

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Another year has come to a close and yet again we have seen our community staff rise and shine across our service pitching in with the COVID-19 response while delivering quality care to our residents and patients.

Words are not enough to express how Andrea, Suzanne and I feel about the amazing resilience, the team had showcased over the weekend, when the whole of South East was facing an extreme weather condition.

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It was heartening to hear the great news about Tania Pearce, one of our former Brighton Brain Injury Service patients, moving to her new home at Wynumm West, and being closer to her father, Bob.

An exciting new life chapter has begun for one of our much-loved residents from the Brighton Brain Injury Service, Tania Pearce.

Melanie and Denielle have worked together in the Consumer Liaison role at Community and Oral Health for a number of years and complement each other in this portfolio striving to enhance consumer satisfaction. Community and Oral Health Director of Safety and Quality Michelle Kane said they both have a natural ability to understand the stress and pain that our consumers and their families feel when the care we provide does not meet their expectations. Consultant Oral Health Therapist Alison Dickinson said it was great to hold the first ever Deadly Smiles Oral Health Family Screening Days for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in 2021.

For nearly two years the Hotel Quarantine Management Team have been at the forefront of our COVID-19 response keeping Queenslanders and the rest of Australia safe. Whether they are contacting returning visitors in hotel quarantine for regular welfare and health checks or actively swabbing guests, these unsung heroes are playing a critical role with empathy and a smile.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community has had access to an innovative mobile oral health screening service. Consultant Oral Health Therapist Alison Dickinson said it was great to hold the first ever Deadly Smiles Oral Health Family Screening Days for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in 2021.

The Community and Oral Health Pharmacy Vaccination Services team led by Kerry Feilding having been driving ideas into action through innovative approaches by standing up dozens of vaccination clinics over the last eight months. Community and Oral Health Acting Executive Director Glynis Schultz said these achievements have not been without their challenges and have required adaptation of processes, creative problem solving and great flexibility.

An innovative new project is having great success in Metro North to help improve people’s choice around end-of-life care in aged care facilities. Community and Oral Health Community Palliative Care Staff Specialist Dr Bill Lukin said our Specialist Palliative Care in Aged Care (SPACE) Project aimed to improve access to specialist palliative care and better coordination of end-of-life care for nursing home residents.

When the global pandemic arrived in Australia and we went into lockdown in March 2020, Metro North Oral Health was reduced to two open clinics and many staff redeployed, some within oral health and others across the service. Tanya’s role was to manage the centralised stores for Metro North Oral Health from the base hub at Flinders Parade in North Lakes. This was not a position she was asked to perform but she has embraced the role with passion and gusto.

Community and Oral Health has been vaccinating Metro North residents closer to home thanks to the opening a host of new community-based and pop-up vaccination clinics over the last eight months. Throughout 2021, large vaccination centres have been opened at Doomben Racecourse, Brighton Health Campus, Kippa Ring, and the Surgical, Treatment and Rehabilitation Service (STARS), and more recently the Brisbane Airport and Brisbane Entertainment Centre at Boondall.

Both residential aged care nurse unit managers have been demonstrated stronger leadership in a challenging environment. This has included being super responsive to COVID and ensuring all staff have been vaccinated. Residential Aged Care Director Belinda Sawtell said not only has COVID been a focus, both have been responsive to the ever-charging landscape of aged care including leading the team to change practices in response to the Royal Commission.

Zuby’s formal title is CNC Infection control Hotel Quarantine but his role is so very much more. Community and Oral Health Acting Executive Director Glynis Schultz said Zuby was recognised as the “go to” person because he is an outstanding infection control practitioner.

Reina Veivers is an asset to our COH Speech Pathology Team and her multidisciplinary Complex Chronic Disease Team. She exemplifies all of the Metro North Values in Action, but in particular, high performance. Community and Oral Health Director of Speech Pathology Kate Hacking said this year Reina had taken on the role of Clinical Council Chair for COH and was performing her duties in this role to a very high standard.

Pauline Burge is a great colleague and team member nominated for a Values in Action Award. Community Based Rehabilitation Team (CBRT) Team Leader Donna Ryan said Pauline leads by example in all aspects of her work. She supports the speech pathology discipline and site team within CBRT to deliver excellent client centred care.

Fiona Wilson deserves recognition for her ongoing and consistent efforts as an individual who, while not a direct caregiver, significantly contributes to enhancing the quality of life for the residents and the service provided to families, her fellow staff and all other stakeholders of Halwyn. Halwyn Centre Nursing Director Trisha Turner said Fiona consistently demonstrated outstanding customer service in an effort to improve the health and work environment for those she serves.

The Stafford Dental Clinic have been continually demonstrating a high level of teamwork and high performance. General Practice Oral Health Service Dental Officer Dr Jacinta (Cindy) Jackson said they continually demonstrate respect, teamwork, compassion, high performance, and integrity.

A new, innovative trial has safely supported the acute and long-term care needs of older people in Metro North who have complex and chronic health conditions associated with ageing. Community and Oral Health Transition Care Team Leader Leanne Carroll said across Metro North we have seen an increased demand on community services to provide healthcare at home that supports healthy ageing and the care needs of the elderly.

The Diabetes Service demonstrates a true passion and commitment to ongoing education and training and they understand the importance of this to delivering high quality, current care to their clients.  Extended Care Nursing Director Michael Bishop said the team were focused on fostering knowledge and upskilling their staff but also understand the importance and necessity to do this given the ongoing technological advancements and changes to patient care delivery and monitoring systems within this complex disease. placements provided in 2021).

Elaine McGivern has led an innovative model of clinical education for physiotherapy students in the Brighton Rehabilitation Unit in 2021. Director of Physiotherapy Steve Cameron said this 4:1 model has enabled significant increase in clinical placement opportunities (12 placements provided in 2020, 36 placements provided in 2021).

After spending more than 250 days in hospital due to a complex health condition, former aged care resident Robert has found his new forever home at Cooinda House.

The final Community and Oral Health Express for the year is a little bit different and we have decided to highlight some unique top five moments for 2021.

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The 2021 COH Innovation and Research Showcase was a great success in October, even with a last-minute shift of venue due to the weather. The conference was opened by Professor Dan Chambers, Metro North Health’s Executive Director of Research.

A simple phrase that paints a picture of this amazing, compassionate, selfless, and caring team and the work they do. Our Special Needs Dentistry specialists, who work across the service including Caboolture, Redcliffe and the Oral Health Centre, are changing lives – and delivering care where it matters.

It is always a treat when a service line receives some creative and heartfelt artwork or crafts from a patient or family that are so grateful for the care they receive.

“We as a family used the services of the Community Palliative Care Team in June this year for our father/father in-law. As a family we would like to thank the whole Palliative Care Team for your great service.”