Chief Executive COVID-19 Update: 16 June

Message from the Chief Executive

As of today, we have:

• No COVID-19 positive inpatients
• No employees with COVID-19
• Eight employees in precautionary quarantine

In this update, we cover:

• Changes to restrictions
• Vaccination
• Accreditation date set
• Queen’s Birthday Honours
• People Matter Survey now open – Have your say on working at Monash Health
• Monash Health moving to quiet MET calls
• Issues with your COVID-19 vaccination record?
• Our continued focus on elder abuse
• Give flu the flick – get your free flu vaccination today
• Lung Function Laboratory, our final STAR winners this quarter
• Kingston and Moorabbin COVID-19 vaccination clinics closing 18 June
• Our volunteers return
• Employee Assistance Program
• Room density limits
• Respirator Fit Testing update
• Coronavirus in Victorian Healthcare and Aged care workers (COVIC-HA)

Changes to restrictions
Today Acting Premier James Merlino announced a further easing of COVID-19 restrictions for Melbourne and regional Victoria, effective from 11.59pm Thursday 17 June.

For metropolitan Melbourne, the changes remove the 25km travel limit, increase the number of people allowed at gatherings, and allow businesses to reopen. Masks are no longer required outdoors, where physical distancing can be maintained, but are still required indoors.  You can read the full detail in the table of restrictions at the bottom of the Acting Premier’s statement or in this ABC News article.

There are no changes to PPE, working from home or visitation at Monash Health (except in residential care facilities where prospective residents may visit, accompanied by one other person.)

The new settings will be reviewed in seven days.

Vaccination
Walk-ins and bookings for first-dose Pfizer vaccinations are on hold this week to reserve space in the system for second-dose bookings. Exceptions exist for employees working in a vaccination centre who are eligible for Pfizer.

Those who have had the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine will receive the second dose.

Those who have already booked their first dose of Pfizer will receive their vaccine. Please attend your vaccine appointment at the nominated time and place.

Bookings for the AstraZeneca vaccine are available and, if you are eligible, I encourage you to make a booking.

The Victorian online COVID-19 vaccination booking system has now launched. If you or someone you know is eligible for an AstraZeneca vaccine, or the second dose of Pfizer, click here to book via the online portal.  Alternatively, you can call the central booking line or walk into one of our clinics.

Accreditation
Our National Standards accreditation survey has been rescheduled for 13-17 September 2021.

Thanks to your commitment to quality and safety, we continue to be accreditation-ready and deliver high quality, safe care to our community.

Over the coming months, we will continue to support you with regular updates on maintaining best practice in your day-to-day work to ensure you feel confident when you meet with the assessors.

For all the latest information, resources and tools you need for our Accreditation assessment in September, visit our employee Accreditation website.

Queen’s Birthday 2021 Honours
I am pleased to share that two of our colleagues were appointed Members of the Order of Australia as part of the Queen’s Birthday 2021 Honours List.

Professor Beverley Vollenhoven AM, Head of Gynaecology at Monash Health, and the acting Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Monash University was acknowledged for her significant service to tertiary medical education, obstetrics and gynaecology.

Professor Helena Teede AM, Professor of Diabetes, Academic Lead at Monash Health, Director at Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation, and Executive Director at Monash Partners, was acknowledged for her significant service to medical education and research, to endocrinology, and to women’s health.

Please join me in congratulating both Beverley and Helena for this well-deserved recognition.

Thank you, as always, for all that you do.

Andrew Stripp
Chief Executive

Key messages

Have your say on working at Monash Health – People Matter Survey now open
Share your thoughts in the People Matter employee opinion survey, which is now open and closes on Friday 25 June. Click here to start the People Matter survey.

The anonymous survey will explore different aspects of work – the work environment, patient safety, health and wellbeing, collaboration, learning and development, and diversity and inclusion. Your responses will be used to help shape the way we work.

Today we launched our People Matter leader board. Track how your program is going here.

Monash Health moving to quiet MET calls
From 8am on Monday 21 June, Monash Health will move to quiet MET calls for adult, paediatric and neonatal Medical Emergency Team (MET) calls. This change will apply to Monash Medical Centre, Monash Children’s Hospital, Casey Hospital, Dandenong Hospital, Moorabbin Hospital and Kingston Centre.

The change will improve patient experience by reducing the environmental noise in clinical areas and, crucially, ensure messaging is received as a priority by the first responders and medical and nursing teams caring for the patient.

It’s important to note:

• MET call and Code Blue teams remain unchanged.
• If there is no response to a MET call within 10 minutes, an overhead MET call will be announced.
• All Adult and Paediatric Code Blues will remain as overhead announcements. Neonatal Code Blues (previously quiet) will now ALSO be overhead announcements.

Read more about our move to quiet MET calls and the tiered approach to messaging employees here.

Issues with your COVID-19 vaccination record?
Many of our employees have taken up vaccination against COVID-19, and the majority of records are up-to-date and loaded onto the Monash Health BI Portal and the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR). However, some of you have encountered issues with missing, incomplete or incorrect information on the Monash Health BI Portal or the AIR, or you have received an SMS or phone call asking you to book your second dose of the vaccine, but you are already fully vaccinated.  If this is the case, please fill in the Monash Health COVID-19 Vaccination Queries Form and we will work to rectify the issues. Find out more here.

Our continued focus on elder abuse
Yesterday was World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD), an opportunity to stop and think about how we identify and respond to this global social issue and violation of human rights.

Elder abuse is a form of family violence and is often perpetrated by a family member or carer and can go unnoticed. At Monash Health, we remain committed to increasing employee understanding of how to recognise and respond to potential cases of elder abuse. Learn more including resources available here.

Give flu the flick – get your free flu vaccination
Vaccinating against flu protects you, your family, our patients and the wider community. Monash Health’s flu vaccination program is well underway. You can get your free flu vaccination by attending the Infection Prevention offices onsite. For times and locations, you can visit the Monash Health COVID-19 website.

Please remember to leave seven days between your COVID-19 and flu vaccinations.

If you have received your flu vaccination elsewhere or are not participating, you must complete the Flu Declaration form.

Kingston and Moorabbin COVID-19 vaccination clinics closing 18 June
Moorabbin Hospital and Kingston Centre COVID-19 vaccination clinics will close on Friday 18 June. The clinics will be replaced by employee-only ‘pop ups’ in the same locations as the current vaccination clinics, so that employees can receive their second dose at the same site.

Employees with existing appointments should attend at the time and date allocated to them. If your appointment times have changed, the vaccination clinic team will contact you directly to reschedule your booking to align with pop-up clinic timings.

All public second dose appointments will be transferred to the Sandringham Hospital vaccination clinic, with email and SMS notifications being sent this week. Find out more here.

Learn about the Lung Function Laboratory, our final STAR winners this quarter
At yesterday’s employee forum, the last STAR Award for the quarter, in the category of Exceptional Teamwork, was presented. The winner in this category is Monash Health’s Lung Function Laboratory.

The Lung Function Laboratory at Monash Health is one of the largest providers of lung function assessment in Australia. Read more about what they do here.

Our volunteers return
Our volunteers play a significant role in providing exceptional patient experiences. During the recent lockdown restrictions, our volunteers were once again missed.

After a few weeks away from our campuses, we are now welcoming our volunteers back. Please be sure to support and welcome our volunteers back to Monash Health.

Our Employee Assistance Program
Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is here to provide free and confidential support to our employees, their immediate family, and volunteers. This service is available to proactively manage your health and wellbeing, and to provide support during what can be a difficult time.

The EAP is available from 8am to 8pm every day, with limited availability on weekends. To find out more, call 1300 687 327 or read more here.

Density Limits – Four square metre rule
In line with the recent restrictions, density limits remain at the one person per four square metre rule in various areas, including workspaces and meeting rooms.

It is essential you ensure your density limit door signage is up to date and all employees are adhering to room capacity outlined. Room signage posters can be found and updated here.

Respirator Fit Testing update
Fit testing continues to successfully rollout across Monash Health. Thank you to the more than 6,500 employees who have been fit tested so far; it’s a great effort.

Fit tested respirators remain a vital protection against COVID-19 and other respiratory hazards, which is why the Victorian Government have made fit tested respirators mandatory. Fit testing is an annual requirement at Monash Health and the session is scheduled for one hour.

Fit testing is mandatory and available for all employees who may be exposed to respiratory hazards due to the nature of their work. If you were required to undertake PPE training, and are required to wear a P2/N95 respirator as set out in the tiered PPE compulsory standards (see here), you are required to be fit tested. Also, If you are part of a priority cohort and have not yet been fit tested, it’s really important that you book your fit test as soon as possible.

Fit testing is currently available at Casey Hospital, Clayton Medical Centre, Dandenong Hospital, Moorabbin Hospital, and the Kingston Centre. If you are unable to make your fit test on the day, please ensure that you contact the facility as soon as possible to let them know and rebook your appointment. For location information, wayfinding guides, and contact numbers, please click here.

For further information and to book a fit test, please visit the RPE Fit Testing intranet page.

Coronavirus in Victorian Healthcare and Aged care workers (COVIC-HA)
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 here.