Chief Executive COVID-19 Update: 5 May

Message from the Chief Executive

In this update, we cover: 

• The opening of our high-volume vaccination centre at Cranbourne
• Celebrating our midwives
• New interstate public exposure sites listed in Sydney, New South Wales
• Meet our STAR award winner, Senior Social Worker, Brooke Webb
• Accreditation countdown continues
• Support for those impacted by family violence
• Caring together proves a positive focus for Patient Experience Week
• Nursing and Midwifery annual registration renewal due
• Survey for Coronavirus in Victorian Healthcare and Aged Care Workers (COVIC-HA)

Yesterday marked a significant step in returning to a more familiar way of life for our community, with the opening of our first high-volume vaccination centre at Cranbourne Turf Club.

The official ‘Day 1’ was marked by a media tour and a visit by Commander of the COVID-19 Response, Jeroen Weimar, who stopped in for his own vaccination. The queues started at 8am, ahead of a 9am opening – the kind of enthusiasm we are keen to continue.

We’ve seen the trend overseas of winter marking an upsurge in COVID-19 cases, as people move back into enclosed spaces. We will be working hard to increase the vaccination program, so our community can stay safe and well, and we can stay ahead of any potential outbreaks. There is more information on the South East Public Health Unit website.

Thank you to our dedicated and hard-working teams, who have met every challenge head-on and worked diligently, with a large supporting crew, to get the first of our high-volume sites up and running. There will be more to come, and we are well on track to deliver a strong outcome.

Have you had your COVID-19 vaccination? 

As we open vaccination up to our community, it should be a strong prompt that your own COVID-19 vaccination needs to be a top priority. If you haven’t already booked in, please do so today. This is the way you can protect yourself and those you care for.

Celebrating our midwives 

Today marks the International Day of the Midwife, a day when we celebrate the hard work and dedication of over 1,300 midwives here at Monash Health.

In 2020, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our midwives delivered over 9,000 babies across our maternity services. They continued to offer support, compassion and guidance for mothers and their families through a challenging time when many people were anxious to enter health services. A huge thank you to all of our midwives for the care you provide every day.

Thursday’s Nursing and Midwifery Forum will be a celebratory event for International Day of the Midwife and International Nurses Day (12 May).

Caring for your colleagues

As we look around the world, we cannot help but be reminded of how fortunate we are. The situation in India is distressing for so many, acutely so for many of our Monash Health employees and patients. India is one of the top five countries of birth in our community. As we see what is unfolding, I’m sure you are aware of the potential emotional impact on your colleagues and patients. Please reach out to show support and kindness; even an acknowledgement can go a long way.

Thank you.

Andrew Stripp
Chief Executive

Key messages

New interstate public exposure sites listed in Sydney, New South Wales

This afternoon, the NSW Department of Health has listed new public exposure sites in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. If you have recently returned from Sydney, please ensure you review the list of exposure sites.

Meet Brooke – one of our STAR Award winners this quarter

At yesterday’s employee forum, I spoke with STAR Award winner in the category of Outstanding Care or Service Delivery, Senior Social Worker, Brooke Webb. Brooke recently managed a difficult case involving a pregnant patient in ICU. Read more about Brooke’s amazing work here.

If you know someone who deserves to be recognised, head to the STAR Portal and nominate them today! You can find more information about STAR on the Monash Health COVID-19 website.

‘Light the way’ with new EMR and Comprehensive Care QRGs

Providing high-quality, comprehensive care is one of the most important things we can do as a health service. It’s critical we communicate and correctly document the care we provide, so your team members and other clinicians associated with your patients’ care get the complete picture. Accreditation, 7-11 June, gives us the opportunity to showcase the collaborative clinical work we do in caring for patients. To help you prepare, we’ve created brand new Quick Reference Guides (QRGs) to help you connect and demonstrate how the EMR facilitates comprehensive care. Remember, documenting in the right place can ‘light the way’ for your colleagues and fellow care providers.

Nursing and Midwifery annual registration renewal due

All registered and enrolled nurses, midwives and nurse practitioners, please ensure you have applied to renew your registration before the expiry date on Monday 31 May.

Renewing your registration can be done simply via Australian Health Practitioner Regulations Agency (AHPRA) website.

This is a requirement under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme. If you do not apply to renew your registration in time, it will lapse and you will not be able to practise as a nurse or midwife. Learn more here or visit www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/.

Support for those impacted by family violence

We remain committed to providing a supportive and non-judgemental response to employees and patients impacted by family violence. Support for employees includes practical measures such as family violence leave and flexible work options. Learn more about this on our recently updated employee webpage ‘Respectful Relationships and family violence’.

Caring together proves positive focus for Patient Experience Week

Showcasing how Monash Health employees partner with consumers in planning, design and delivery of health services was a key focus for Patient Experience Week. Congratulations to Director of Emergency Medicine, Rachel Rosler, Amy Lewis and Di Treble, who took out first prize in the consumer participation poster competition, for their work engaging consumers throughout the patient journey in the Emergency Department, to ensure strong emotional support for those who visit the ED. It was enlightening hearing from Rachel at the employee forum last week, as she spoke about improvements made in partnership with consumers by focusing on communication, culture and engagement, supportiveness and technology.

Coronavirus in Victorian Healthcare and Aged Care Workers (COVIC-HA) – All Employee Survey

Clinical researchers across Monash Health, Alfred Health and Monash University (including Professor Rhonda Stuart) are asking employees who work in any area within the health services to participate in the Coronavirus in Victorian Healthcare and Aged care workers (COVIC-HA) Cohort Study. The COVIC-HA study aims to understand and monitor the ongoing psychological and physical impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on employees working in the healthcare setting in Victoria.

We encourage you to complete this brief survey. Your valued insights will help evaluate the ongoing psychological and physical impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic within the workplace. In addition, results from this study will assist in the improvement of workplace preparedness and practices in the context of COVID-19 and future health threats. Involvement in this study is completely voluntary, and the information collected will remain confidential.

This brief survey will only take about two minutes to complete and can be accessed using the link below:

https://redcap.helix.monash.edu/surveys/?s=CMC7XT3FJJ

Respondents who complete this survey will be eligible to enter a prize draw to win one of five $50 digital gift cards.