Chief Executive Update – 8 December 2022

As of today, we have:  

• 142 COVID-19 positive inpatients
• 214 employees with COVID-19

In this update, we cover: 

• Moving to Stage 3 of the health system response plan
• Infrastructure upgrades announced for Monash Medical Centre and Monash Children’s
• A focus on the power of purpose
• Join us for a Ben Crowe masterclass today at 2pm
• 16 Days of Activism – unite to end family violence
• Foundation launches Christmas appeal

Moving to Stage 3 of the health system response plan

As a new wave of COVID-19 spreads, we are seeing an increase in admissions and the number of our colleagues unable to work as they test positive.

In response to the high number of people with COVID-19 in hospital, as well as ongoing workforce pressures leading into the holiday period, the Department of Health escalated its Health System Response Framework (HSR) to Stage 3. This came into effect on Saturday 3 December 2022, and will enable us to trigger team-based care as we need, to ensure we can continue to support safe patient care across all sites.

The details of what this means for us were outlined by Martin Keogh, Chief Operating Officer, and Adjunct Professor Katrina Nankervis, Executive Director, Nursing and Midwifery, at this week’s employee forum.

We have been here before and know what to do, but we need to stay on top of the risks COVID-19 continues to present.

Given the increasing community prevalence of the disease, it is better that we get in front of it and manage it sensibly and appropriately. That’s why we recently reintroduced mandatory mask use and increased our COVID-19 capacity across our health service.

Hospital admissions are now the best indicator of infection numbers, and you will no doubt be aware of people around you socially and professionally who have recently contracted COVID-19. It is a good time to remind ourselves of the importance of hand hygiene, correct mask use, annual fit-tests, the need to get tested if unwell, and the requirement to report positive test results.

Infrastructure upgrades announced for Monash Medical Centre and Monash Children’s

On Wednesday (7 December 2022), I was delighted to welcome the Minister for Health, the Hon. Mary-Anne Thomas to announce funding for both Monash Medical Centre and Monash Children’s Hospital.

As part of the Victorian Government’s Metropolitan Health Infrastructure Fund (MHIF), an investment of $1.4 million was announced for Monash Medical Centre to upgrade and expand our Maternity Clinic for in-person and telehealth antenatal appointments. The upgrades will allow our Monash Women’s team to welcome mums-to-be in modern and light-filled facilities, reflective of the care we provide.

Monash Children’s Hospital will also receive MHIF funding to upgrade five inpatient rooms to become HEPA-filtered, positive-pressure rooms. These rooms will better protect children receiving treatment and cancer care and better support their families.

You can read more about the Minister’s visit and announcement here.

A focus on the power of purpose

Thank you to everyone who joined us last Thursday for Monash Health’s 2022 Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Open Board Meeting, which reflected on a year when COVID-19 again challenged every part of our organisation and explored the theme of ‘connecting with our purpose as we plan for the future’.

As Board Chair, Dipak Sanghvi and I reflected on the past year and shared our results, I was incredibly proud to speak about your hard work and dedication, and the resilience we’ve seen displayed once again across our health service.

We will share some elements of the event in coming days. In particular, I hope you will take the time to revisit our Power of Purpose video, which gives just a small insight into the work you do each day.

Join us for a Ben Crowe masterclass today at 2pm

I hope you enjoyed hearing my interview with Leadership Mentor and Mindset Coach, Ben Crowe, as part of our Open Board meeting last week.

Ben opened by talking about his personal connection with Monash Health “…you have literally saved my family’s life once or twice, so without getting emotional, I just want to say thank you.”

Ben made many salient points about healthcare workers and the need to find balance and purpose, and to control the things we can control, so we look after ourselves in order to be able to care for our patients and those who are important to us.

It was a privilege to have this conversation with Ben, and I am pleased that we can take this a bit deeper this week as part of the final Employee Wellbeing Forum for the year; a Masterclass with Ben.

Ben will introduce the Monash Health team to the ‘Mojo Principles’ and will discuss three key mindsets; Connection, Purpose, and Performance.

We will run a slightly longer session today, Thursday 8 December, from 2pm-3.30pm, to allow time for a short Q&A with Ben.

16 Days of Activism – unite to end family violence

The United Nations’ global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is an annual campaign that runs from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, through to International Humans Rights Day on 10 December.

We know, from our own experience, the significant impact family violence has on our community and our patients. Intimate partner violence is the greatest health risk factor for women aged 25 to 44.

This week, we were joined by Dr Naomi Pfitzner, Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre, Lecturer in Criminology, Monash University, and Dr Ashlee Linck, Monash Health Gender Equity Lead, for an important discussion on ‘Respectful Relationships at work and home’. The forum explored what’s required to build respectful relationships and the connection between inequality and gendered violence. If you missed it, please take some time to watch the recording here.

You can read more and explore the actions we can take to drive positive change, here.

Christmas appeal launches
Monash Health Foundation has launched our annual Christmas appeal, raising funds to help improve the lives of children living with Type 1 diabetes.

Almost half of all Victorian children diagnosed with diabetes are cared for by the Monash Children’s Hospital team, with the Department of Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes providing care for more than 800 children under 19 years of age.

Visit Monash Health Foundation’s website to learn how the appeal will raise funds to support a Flexible Insulin Dosing Program, which aims to significantly improve the quality of life for children and adolescents with Type 1 diabetes.

Thank you and stay safe.

Professor Andrew Stripp

Chief Executive