Message from the Chief Executive

In this update, we cover:

• Vaccination update
• Victoria eases restrictions
• Easter break payroll information
• Digital Health update
• Monash Health welcomes back volunteers
• Working remotely survey closing soon
• STAR Award – nominations close next week
• Accreditation sample assessor questions
• Information sharing schemes coming in April
• Post-vaccination insights from your colleagues
• Victoria’s first Gender Equality Act

Vaccination is open to all Monash Health employees
Our vaccination program is now open to all Monash Health employees, both patient-facing and non-patient-facing. You can learn about how to make an appointment here. Advice for managers is available here.

Appointments are available at Clayton, Dandenong, Casey, Moorabbin and Kingston. You can be vaccinated at any of these clinics, so if you work at a larger site like Clayton, where the clinic sees high demand, you may wish to consider visiting another clinic so you can receive your vaccination sooner.

We have now delivered over 12,000 vaccine doses, and the post-vaccination side effects align with expectations of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford AstraZeneca vaccines. These are usually mild and are much less severe than developing coronavirus or complications associated with coronavirus. You can read about the experiences of some of our second dose recipients here.

We are seeing what credible advice and evidence-based data has already suggested; the vaccines are both safe and effective. Please continue to seek expert advice when making an informed choice about vaccination.

My thanks and congratulations to our hard-working vaccination teams for their efforts.

Victoria eases restrictions, but there are no changes for health services
Following reduced exposure risk and low community transmission, from 6pm, Friday 26 March, Victoria will further relax its COVIDSafe settings, allowing for more visitors in the home, reduced mask-wearing and an increase in the number of people allowed in a number of settings.

There are no changes regarding how we operate, so please continue to wear masks, maintain physical distancing and observe our current visitation restrictions.

Thank you.

Andrew Stripp
Chief Executive

Key Messages

Easter break payroll information
Payroll information for Easter is now live. You can view all the leave details for your department’s Easter break on the intranet’s payroll page here.

Digital Health update – TOTO and logon time improvements
Our Digital Health team have supported Monash Health through substantial change over the past few years – from the Electronic Medical Record to working remotely through the pandemic. This work continues with some significant improvements to our Touch On Touch Off system and reduced login times. You can read more here.

Monash Health welcomes back volunteers
As mentioned at Tuesday’s Employee Forum, we have welcomed back our volunteers at Monash Health. Be sure to say hello and, of course, support our volunteers to understand all safety protocols.

Working remotely survey closing soon – have your say today
Our working remotely survey is closing this Friday, 26 March. The survey is an opportunity for you to tell us about how you worked these past few months. We want to make sure we are giving you all the tools you need to continue to perform your role safely, whether onsite, remotely or both. Take five minutes to complete the survey.

STAR Award nominations close next week – nominate your colleague today!
STAR Award nominations for Quarter 1 2021 close next week. Our health service is made up of people who strive for excellence in everything they do. The STAR Awards are an excellent opportunity to highlight some of our colleagues’ hard work and dedication during this time. Head to the STAR Portal and nominate someone today!

Get accreditation-ready with our sample assessor questions
Preparing for accreditation is about ensuring you feel confident and comfortable when you meet the assessors in June. That’s why we have developed area-specific guides for doctors, clinicians, food service employees and environmental services assistants with some of the questions assessors may ask during accreditation week (Monday 7 June to Friday 11 June 2021).

Read more here or download the area-specific documents from the employee resources page of our Accreditation website.

Information sharing schemes coming in April
The Royal Commission into Family Violence found that appropriate sharing of information was crucial in keeping victim survivors safe and holding perpetrators to account.

From 19 April, the Victorian government will implement the Information Sharing Schemes in Victoria. Under the legislation changes, organisations prescribed as an Information Sharing Entity (ISE) and/or Risk Assessment Entity (RAE) can share information.

Monash Health is an ISE and may share information for a Protection Purpose with other prescribed agencies (ISEs or RAEs). This means clinicians may be asked to make a decision about sharing information with external organisations to help keep people safe.

To learn more about the scheme, all employees are encouraged to attend an internal briefing session run by the Monash Health Family Violence team. Click here for details.

Post-vaccination insights from your colleagues
As our COVID-19 vaccination program expands to all Monash Health employees, there’s curiosity about what to expect. We revisited our day one vaccination recipients and asked them to share their insights and impressions after receiving the second and final dose of the vaccine last week. Reassuringly, their range of experiences was as expected. Find out more about the vaccination experience here.

Victoria’s first Gender Equality Act – hear from Commissioner Dr Niki Vincent
Victoria is set to commence the Gender Equality Act 2020 (Vic) rollout on 31 March. The legislation provides the Commissioner for Gender Equality in the Public Sector with powers to ensure positive action is taken concerning gender equality.

As part of a pilot project, representatives from Monash Health trialled resources such as reporting tools on sexual harassment, reporting tools for conducting gender pay gap analysis and measuring intersectionality throughout our policies and procedures. Read more here.