Message from the

Chief Executive

You-Me-HealthTorres and Cape Hospital and Health Service Newsletter - July 2015 Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service Newsletter - July 2015 Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service Newsletter - July 2015 Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service Newsletter - July 2015

ABOVE: Dr Jill Newland, Health Service Chief Executive.

I am very proud of all sta� for our Health Service’s achievements since we almagamated one year ago. In July 2014 the Torres Strait-Northern Peninsula Hospital and Health Service and Cape York Hospital and Health Service amalgated to form the Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service (TCHHS). The amalgamation has resulted in new and expanded services and a number of achievements which illustrate that TCHHS sta� are making a real di�erence to the health of communities in our region. Our achievements include: • Birthing service commenced at Cooktown Multi-Purpose Health Service

• Renal dialysis began on Thursday Island• New tele-chemotherapy programs commenced at Cooktown, Weipa and Thursday Island• Revitalised dental services in the Torres Strait Islands and Northern Peninsula Area• Dental Blitz Torres Strait Islands commenced• Tuberculosis cross-border management project established• Saibai Island health project established• Nurse Call System and new generator loadbank at Cooktown Multi-Purpose Health Service• Continuation of $36.3 Million Backlog Maintenance Remediation Program• Roof replacement and standby generator installed at Coen Primary Health Care Centre• New TCHHS partnership agreement with Department of Housing and Public Works• New dental sterilising facilities in Aurukun, Coen, Lockhart and Pormpuraaw Primary Health Care Centres.I want to thank all sta� for your commitment to making the amalgamation a success and to improving health services for our communities.Regards

JillDr Jill Newland Health Service Chief Executive

Lockhart River and Coen Health Checks. From le�: Nancy Gamia (Mens & Womens Health), Orlando Sandy, Karen Koko (Snr Health Worker), Neville Temple and Shona Lynch (Women’s Health). Story page 3.

Tele-chemotherapy services were established in Cooktown, Weipa and Thursday Island. Above: Registered nurse, Peta Lyons with patient, Lindsay Bell, at Cooktown.

Dental achievements included the Dental Blitz, revitalised dental services and new dental sterilising facilities. Above: The dental team for the Torres and NPA with Older People Action Program (OPAP) participants from Horn Island. From le� – Lillian Majid, Dr Ian Swinton, Dolli Bin Tahal (OPAP Coordinator), Geo�rey Compton, Ruth Doolah and Lauren Drury.

More than 14 babies have been born at Cooktown Hospital since we re-instated birthing services. Above: Clinical nurse, Sarah Matthews at Cooktown.

2 Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service Newsletter - YOU-ME-HEALTH - July 2015

From le� seated: Ms Tracey Jia, Mr Bob McCarthy (Chair), Dr Ruth Stewart and Councillor Horace Baira.

Standing from le�: Mr Greg Edwards, Councillor Fraser (Ted) Nai and Mr Brian Woods.

News from the Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Board

Board members reappointedFour Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service Board members, whose terms were expiring, have been reappointed for a further three years.Torres and Cape HHS Board Chair Bob McCarthy said Deputy Chair Dr Ruth Stewart, along with Board members Tracey Jia, Ted Nai and Greg Edwards have all had been reappointed.The other members of the Board are Cr Horace Baira, Mr Brian Woods and Mr Greg Edwards.Mr McCarthy said he welcomed the reappointments.“Their reappointments ensure the Board, the health service and our regional communities will be able to bene¢t from their broad skills and experience for three more years,’’ he said.Mr McCarthy said he was looking forward to working with the Board over the next ¢nancial year.“It’s been one year since the amalgamated Torres and Cape HHS was formed and we have already notched up some very signi¢cant successes in terms of improving health services for our diverse communities,’’ he said.“I believe the next 12 months will be just as exciting and eventful. The Board and the Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service executive team are looking forward to continuing to serve our communities.“I have no doubt we will be celebrating yet more successes in 12 months’ time,’’ said Mr McCarthy.

Summary of Board meeting 9 July 2015• July was the ¢rst Board meeting for the ¢nancial year and all Board members attended in person in Cairns.• The newly appointment Executive Director of Primary Heath Care, Vonda Moar-Malone, met with the Board members and discussed her upcoming projects for the year.• The Terms of Reference for the Board and the Board Charter have been reviewed for the new ¢nancial year.• The TCHHS Strategic Plan has been reviewed to align with feedback received from the Department of Premier and Cabinet in Brisbane and has now been approved by the Board.• The next Board meeting will be conducted in Weipa on 6 August where the Board members are looking forward to meeting some of the community groups. The Board summary is a brief report on issues discussed at Board meetings. Any questions or queries can be forwarded to Andrea Brophy, andrea.brophy@health.qld.gov.au

Nominate someone for their contribution to health care in the Torres Strait Islands, Cape York and Northern Peninsula Area. See: http://qheps.health.qld.gov.au/torres-cape/html/awards.htm

Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service Newsletter - YOU-ME-HEALTH - July 2015 3

News from the Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Board

Health checks for Coen & LockhartLockhart River and Coen community members aged between 15 – 30 years took advantage of free health checks during June. The checks speci¢cally targeted young people in order to o�er an opportunity to provide preventative health care and education on issues that present signi¢cant health problems. These issues include diabetes, hypertension, sexually transmitted infections and dyslipidemia (an abnormal amount cholesterol and/or fat in the blood). Indigenous Health Worker, Nancy Gamia, and Clinical Nurse Consultant, Shona Lynch, from the Men’s & Women’s Health Team conducted the free health checks with the support of local sta�. They were held at the Lockhart River Church Hall and the Coen Conference Room over three days. The checks provided residents with vital information on their health and wellbeing.The number of health checks in Coen exceeded expectations with 30 young people having health checks. In Lockhart River community, 45 young people had their health checks completed. “It is a great idea to have these checks done in the Hall”, said Lockhart River community member Orlando Sandy. “It is good because it is so quick and easy,” said another community member Neville Temple. Health checks are a way by which health sta� can use of secondary prevention strategies to care for a population using tests and discussing behavioural risk factors that contribute to illnesses and diseases. Clinical Nurse Consultant, Shona Lynch, said the aim of a health check is to identify risk factors and clinical signs that may indicate the early development of disease or illness. “For instance a client may have the sexually transmitted infection of chlamydia. People with chlamydia may not have any symptoms of the infection. A simple urine test can identify the infection and then it can be treated with two tablets,” Shona explained. “Le� untreated this infection can lead to illness and disease in both men and women some of which are urethritis, epididymitis, prostatitis, cervicitis, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID),

Above: Lydia Hobson and baby Zendayah with Karen Koko (Senior Health Worker, Lockhart River Primary Health Care Centre).

Above from le�: Nancy Gamia (Men’s & Women’s Sexual Health Worker) and Ronald Leggatt (Admin Oªcer at Lockhart River) ¢ring up the BBQ at the Health Checks.

ectopic pregnancy and tubal factor infertility,” she said.The health checks were run in partnership with Cairns Sexual Health Unit, Apunipima, Queensland Health, the Royal Flying Doctor Service and Tropical Public Health Service.

4 Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service Newsletter - YOU-ME-HEALTH - July 2015

Western Cape College Careers ExpoSta� from the Weipa Integrated Health Service and Napranum Primary Health Care Centre participated in the Careers Expo in May. The Expo is a major annual event for the community and provides an excellent opportunity to showcase careers in health and especially in the Torres and Cape region.Danielle Nielsen – Human Resources Oªcer, and Vanessa McDonald, Manager Community Services, worked together to co-ordinate the community activity and tried to organise di�erent stream representation, activities and resources for the day.Karen Akhtar, Clinical Nurse Consultant, Napranum PHCC, and Dennis O’Sullivan, Queensland Ambulance Service, presented as guest speakers to a large audience.“Their talks were truly inspiring and le� us with goose bumps at times,” said Danielle and Vanessa.Several other sta� members participated in the Expo, sharing their career pathways, study information and goals with the students. A big thankyou to Colleen Neilson & Jill Lawrence - Advanced Health Workers, Gina Parker - Dental Therapist, Herb Moorhouse - Radiographer, Tara Stanway and Lyn James - Clinical Nurses, for delivering their sessions to the students up to four times throughout the day. The Expo commenced in the a�ernoon and the students swarmed through the building. The students were very interested and intrigued by our displays and had many wild and wacky questions, which we attempted to answer.The day was a great success and we intend to build on our ideas and activities each year to ensure this day is fun and productive for the students and inspires them to consider a career in health.

Danielle & Vanessa Weipa Integrated Health Service

Above from le�: Gina Parker (Senior Dental Therapist) and Colleen Neilson (Advanced Health Worker Oral Health).

Above from le�: Vanessa McDonald (Manager Community Services) and Danielle Nielson (Human Resources Oªcer).

Le�:Gina Parker and Colleen Neilson

Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service Newsletter - YOU-ME-HEALTH - July 2015 5

Farewell and thank you morning teas

ABOVE from le�: Marcella Ketchell and Anne Gray were farewelled at a morning tea recently.

ABOVE from le�: Dr John Gallichio was farwelled, pictured with Professor Michael Humphrey. Dr Gallichio was Acting Executive Director of Medical Services (EDMS). Dr Winton Barnes is the new EDMS.

ABOVE: Andrea Waring from the the patient safety unit was farewelled recently.

Rural Generalist Training Weipa

Herbert Moorhouse, in Weipa, holds one one of 11 Allied Health Rural Generalist Training Positions in rural and remote areas across Queensland.The Radiography Rural Generalist site in Weipa has implemented a range of improvements to their X-ray Operator training, supervision and governance processes. Led by Tristan Hunt, Advanced Radiographer/Sonographer, these improvements to training and other processes are helped by the by the rural generalist position. Improvements include a feedback process on X-ray Operator images which has been developed and implemented through IMPAX. Supervision and training programs have also been delivered via telehealth to X-ray Operators across Cape York. Resources developed through this work are available on the Torres and Cape HHS Medical Imaging qheps site at http://qheps.health.qld.gov.au/torres-cape/html/radiography-xray.htmGraduate positions, like the radiographer training position in Weipa, provide opportunities for allied health practitioners to launch their career in a rural or remote area, and allow host teams to develop their rural generalist service model.

Story courtesy of Allied Health eNews

ABOVE: Herbert Moorhouse is a Rural Health Generalist Trainee Radiographer at Weipa Integrated Health Service.

6 Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service Newsletter - YOU-ME-HEALTH - July 2015

Primary Health Care Information System and Support Unit

joins Torres and Cape HHS

The Primary Health Care Information System and Support Unit (PHCISS) is now part of Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service (HHS). This move is part of Torres and Cape HHS’s commitment to enhancing health service delivery by improving our information and communications technology (ICT) solutions.“Using reliable ICT is essential to support modern healthcare services,” said PHCISS Manager, Vikky Tierney.“Our team has over 15 years’ experience and knowledge in eHealth implementation and a detailed understanding of Queensland’s Hospital and Health Services business, information and reporting needs,” said Vikki.PHCISS have been instrumental in securing funding for key Far North Qld information management and ICT projects such as the Commonwealth Health and Hospital Regional Priority Funding (HHF) - ‘eHealth to support Integrated Care in Regional Qld Project’ - and North Queensland Continuous Quality Improvement Collaborative Project. Both projects will supersede the FERRET application.Queensland Health is promoting more devolved ICT services focussed on empowering HHS’s to manage their own ICT needs.

Above from le�: Cherie Blo¢eld (Senior Health Informatics Oªcer), Paula Lush (Health Informatics Oªcer), Vikki Tierney (Manager), Robyn Wilson (Senior Data Oªcer), Wendy Brand (Business Oªcer) , Richard Olearczyk (Training Coordinator) and David Woodman (Information and Reporting Oªcer).

The PHCISS team are based in Cairns and have played a key role in providing strategic advice for ICT solutions, particularly for primary health care rural and remote locations. “The transition to Torres and Cape HHS will provide our HHS with the access to expertise, resources, knowledge, skills and experience of the PHCISS team so we can get the best value from current and new ICT investments,” said Dr Jill Newland, Health Service Chief Executive.As part of the new arrangements the TCHHS Chief Executive will assume full custodianship and accountability for governance and support of FERRET as an enterprise service, with PHCISS continuing to provide current statewide HHS sites with support.The PHCISS team will be a division of our Rural and Remote Clinical Support Unit (RRCSU) based in Cairns. This aligns with the current work activities and deliverables RRCSU provides across HHS boundaries and their networks with internal and external service providers. For more information contact Vikki Tierney on 07 4226 3085 or at Vikki.Tierney@health.qld.gov.au

Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service Newsletter - YOU-ME-HEALTH - July 2015 7

Work on the �rst stage of a $31.6 million maintenance and upgrading program for Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula health facilities will get under way this month.Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Board Chair Bob McCarthy said the health service would begin releasing about $5.7 million in maintenance works contracts over the next six months at 21 primary healthcare centres in the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula.“The ¢rst clinics o� the rank will be the primary healthcare centres on Mabuiag and Yam islands, with work on Mabuiag starting in July,’’ Mr McCarthy said.“The rest of the 21 primary healthcare centres involved in the maintenance program will be done progressively from then.’’Mr McCarthy said the works on Mabuiag Island were valued at about $366,000 and those on Yam Island at about $207,000.

First stage of major maintenance program to start in Torres Strait

The works on Mabuiag include:• Full internal repaint to accommodation duplexes• Full external repaint to entire facility• Recti¢cation of external wall cladding systems• Upgrading of corroded steel roo¢ng to pre-painted aluminium roof sheeting• Removal of old/redundant mechanical and refrigeration systems• Numerous hydraulic, mechanical, electrical, carpentry and building maintenance recti¢cation works.The works on Yam Island include:• Full internal repaint of accommodation duplex units 1 and 2.• Full external repaint to entire facility• Recti¢cation to damaged and corroded roo¢ng systems• Numerous hydraulic, mechanical, electrical, carpentry and building maintenance recti¢cation works.The $31.6 million funding over four years for the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula areas was provided as part of a $327 million State Government Backlog Maintenance Remediation Program (BMRP) announced in the 2013-14 State Budget.A further $4.7 million, also over four years, was announced for the Cape York region as part of the BMRP, making a total allocation of $36.3 million for the Torres and Cape HHS.

Yam Island is one of the locations that will bene¢t from the maintenance and upgrade program.

TIME FOR ACTIONWorld Hepatitis Day 28 July

See your GP or local health

centre for a check-up and adviceWithout treatment, hepatitis B and hepatitis C can

lead to liver scarring (cirrhosis), liver cancerand liver failure.

http://loveyourliver.com.au/worldhepatitisday

8 Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service Newsletter - YOU-ME-HEALTH - July 2015

Please email submissions to: TCHHS-COMMS-MEDIA@health.qld.gov.auPhotos of people need to be accompanied by a signed photo consent form Phone: Heather Robertson: 4226 5689

The Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service respectfully acknowledges the

Traditional and Historical Owners, past and present,

within the lands in which we work.

Submissions

Sta� are encouraged to:1. Contact Learning and Development to request your Required Training Report2. Discuss your mandatory training requirements with your Line Manager3. Add your mandatory training requirements to your Performance and Development Plan4. Liaise with your Line Manager to roster your mandatory training requirements into your work schedule5. Add your mandatory training requirements to your diary and give them the same priority as other appointments6. Add reminders to your calendar for when your mandatory training falls due7. Contact Learning and Development if you are having diªcult completing your training and they will investigate alternative delivery modes8. Develop yourself and those around you by being a mentor to others 9. Be accountable and take responsibility regarding your obligation to keep yourself and others safe by completing your mandatory training.10. Keep calm and learn on!

Top Ten Tips for achieving Mandatory Training Success

SEXUALHARASSM

ENT

WORKPLACEHARASSMENTWORKPLACEDISCRIMINATION

IS NOT OK.For more information and how to report, visit

www.health.qld.gov.au/supportive-workplace

Every employee has the right to a safe, secure and supportive workplace.

Executive appointments

Vonda Moar-Malone has been appointed our new Executive Director of Primary Health Care.

Danielle Hoins has been appointed as the Chief Finance Oªcer.

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