Adj Assoc Prof Jackie Hanson, Chief Executive, Metro North Health
The past few months have continued to be busy. We are now starting to see a slight decrease in demand. We are preparing to move to Tier 2 in our COVID and Influenza Response Plan during the course of next week, assuming we continue to see declining COVID numbers. There will be communication in the coming days to support everyone in preparing for this change.
I’d like to thank Jane Hancock and Tami Photinos for their work in leading Metro North during this busy time while I was on leave. We have an excellent leadership team across Metro North and I appreciate the way we work together and demonstrate our organisational values of teamwork, respect, integrity, compassion and high performance.
Recently we applied for Connecting Community Pathways funding, including some of your #innov8 ideas. We have been successful in securing funding for quite a few projects including:
- Pulmonary and cardiac telerehabilitation
- Rapid access to community care
- Urban Indigenous outreach respiratory clinic
- Working together to connect care
- IUIH respiratory rehab
- Cardiac rehabilitation (First Nations)
- Behavioural emergency response team (BERT) for people with a disability and complex behaviour support needs
- Virtual ED
I encourage you all to continue looking for ways to care for our community safely in settings other than hospitals. Please keep the great ideas coming!
As always, while Metro North rises to the challenge of meeting demand for care, cutting edge innovation also prevails. Two recent examples are the amazing work by the Herston Biofabrication Institute and Comprehensive Breast Cancer Institute around the 3D breast scaffold surgery, and the Australian first cardiac procedure performed at TPCH to address abnormal heart rhythms. STARS also achieved another milestone this week with the hospital’s first robotic prostate surgery.
I visited Caboolture this week and can advise that the Clinical Services Building has reached final stages of construction and will soon commence fit out activities. The car park is at level 6 in development and the Caboolture satellite hospital is well under way.
Kate Copeland and I continue to deliver asset and infrastructure vidcasts to share with staff the exciting and comprehensive capital program to be delivered over the next five years so please tune in or watch the recordings if you can. Next week we will provide an update on capital works at Redcliffe Hospital, followed by The Prince Charles and RBWH/Herston over the next two weeks.
August is Multicultural Queensland month. Healthcare is a wonderfully multicultural industry reflecting the diverse make up of our community. Please think about how you can demonstrate this year’s theme, inclusion in action, in your work and day to day life.
Have a good weekend. If you’re attending the final few days of the Ekka, please remember that COVID and flu haven’t gone away yet – keep up your hand hygiene, wear a mask, and practice social distancing as best as possible.
Warm regards,
Jackie