Chief Executive Update – 26 July 2022

Chief Executive Update – 26 July 2022

As of today, we have: 

• 136 COVID-19 positive inpatients
• 248 employees with COVID-19
• 65 employees in precautionary quarantine
• 60 employees who are primary close contacts and working under public health exemption

In this update, we cover: 

• Winter response
• Extended team-based care
• Applications for Stronger Together wellbeing grants are now open
• Dates for the Winter Retention Payment
• Free meals for Healthcare workers on nightshift or double shifts
• Where to get vaccinated
• Countdown to Accreditation
• Thanking our security team

Winter response

As Winter progresses and COVID and non-COVID demands continue to increase, our community appears to be responding to public messages about mask-wearing, which will help reduce the impact of this wave on the health system.

While it may feel like we’ve been here before, we are better positioned heading into the third Omicron wave:

• We have improved workforce availability compared to previous COVID-19 surges as we are no longer deploying large teams to testing centres, vaccination clinics and COVID pathway care. During the last peak, we had the equivalent of 1,000 full-time employees working in these areas.
• Our extended team-based model of care (see below) will increase workforce capacity in acute and critical care settings as required.
• We have increasing access to hospital capacity via our private partners.

As I shared last week, we have moved to stage three of the Victorian Winter Response Plan (VWRP), a move triggered by greater than 800 COVID-19 hospitalisations across the state.

Monash Health’s response will align with the VWRP and focus on three key domains:

• Environmental controls – including front-door screening, visitor management, employee vaccination, appropriate PPE and recommendations on working from home and face-to-face meetings. You can read more about these settings here.
• Service capacity and delivery – for our COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients both within our hospitals and specialist clinics, and community programs.
• Workforce – including resourcing for our ED and inpatient management and extended team-based care models, which will enable us to honour all approved annual leave.

Extended team-based care

In response to workforce pressures and in line with the Health System Winter Response Plan, we will adopt, as required, a multidisciplinary model of care referred to as Extended Team Based Care.

Extended Team Based Care is an essential strategy to increase health workforce capacity in acute and critical care settings – helping our teams to deliver safe, appropriate care in the context of unexpected workforce shortfalls.

The model supports patient care by enabling flexible team compositions where experienced health care workers partner with other team members across professions and roles to provide care that may be different from their traditional scope. Examples include:

• RUSONs, RUSOMs and allied health professionals supporting our experienced nursing workforce (with appropriate training).
• Doctors from different specialities working together to deliver care for COVID-19 patients.
• Pharmacists preparing IV infusions to create additional capacity in our ICU nursing workforce.
• Enabling our Allied Health Assistants to work to the top of their scope, creating capacity for allied health professionals to work in Extended Team Based Care with the necessary training and upskilling in place.

Redeployed staff may also fulfil new roles (such as Operations Support) specifically designed to support patient care and teams during the pandemic. Some of these roles can be undertaken by individuals regardless of professional background or experience. New team members are provided with just-in-time training to support familiarisation within the clinical setting, to maximise and build on their existing skill sets.

We successfully used a previous iteration of this approach to support our response during earlier COVID-19 waves. Our approach this time will build on what we have learned to ensure we continue to provide safe, high-quality patient care and support the experience and wellness of our healthcare teams.

Applications for Stronger Together wellbeing grants are now open

Applications for Monash Health’s Stronger Together team wellbeing grants are open until Friday 12 August.

These grants give you the opportunity to implement a team-based health and wellbeing initiative in your area, unit, or department. More information on the grants, including the information pack and how to apply, can be found on our COVID-19 employee website.

Payment dates for the winter surge payment

All clinical and non-clinical staff employed by the Victorian public health system who meet the eligibility criteria for the Healthcare Worker Winter Retention and Surge Payment will receive a payment of up to $3,000. The payment will be split across two payment periods and will be subject to tax.

The first of the two payments will be paid as follows:

• H pay cycle – Fortnight ending 4 September, paid 8 September
• N pay cycle – Fortnight ending 11 September, paid 15 September

More information on the surge payment, including eligibility criteria and how the payment is calculated, can be found here.

Free meals for Healthcare workers on nightshift or double shifts

A further part of the package from the Victorian Government provides free meals for healthcare workers who work overnight or double shifts from July 2022 until the end of the year.

The free meals provided under the Winter Retention strategy are in addition to the meals we already provide as part of our Be Well Be Safe program. We have extended the capacity of our existing meal program, with additional fridges stocked with meals added to our current supply.

If you work overnight or a double shift, you can access the meals provided in fridges available across our sites as a way to provide you with additional support while you care for our community.

Where to get vaccinated

Employee vaccinations are a crucial tool as we face this next COVID-19 wave.

Flu vaccination
As a Monash Health employee, flu vaccination or a declaration is mandatory. You can walk into any of our Infection Prevention offices shown here; no bookings are required. Please bring your Medicare card and Employee ID card.

On-site pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinics for employees
On-site pop-up vaccination clinics are available for Monash Health employees.

Pfizer vaccines are available for winter doses in line with ATAGI guidance. No bookings are required for the pop-up clinics; simply walk-in. Please bring your Medicare card and Employee ID card.

Read more about where and when you can have your winter dose.

Countdown to accreditation

With three weeks to go until our National Standards accreditation assessment (15-19 August 2022), it’s encouraging to see steady and continuous improvement across our areas. We look forward to showcasing the fantastic work we do each and every day.

As we countdown to accreditation, we’re making a final push to ensure we have all completed our mandatory and targeted training and have had (or booked a convenient time for) a Give Me Five or Annual Performance conversation.

To ensure you feel confident and comfortable when you meet with the assessors in August, I encourage you to read past Accreditation Bulletins and visit the employee accreditation website for all the latest news and resources you need to be accreditation-ready.

Thanking our Security Services team

The pandemic has been a challenging time for our Security team as they look to de-escalate situations and communicate with often highly agitated people, all while maintaining compassion and understanding. As we marked International Security Officers Day last weekend, I’d like to finish by acknowledging and thanking the incredible Monash Health Security Services team for their work.

Thank you for your continued commitment. We couldn’t do this without you.

Martin Keogh
Acting Chief Executive