Message from the Chief Executive Deb Willcox
Welcome to our first newsletter for the year. I would like to thank those of you who worked during the festive season and hope you all managed to get some rest. Last December was a very busy time with our COVID-19 testing clinics seeing unprecedented numbers just days before Christmas due to the Northern Beaches cluster. I would like to sincerely thank all the staff who came out in their hundreds to help the testing clinics, and those staff who worked around the clock and to make sure we tested as many residents as we could. It was a herculean effort that was swift and of the highest calibre. Testing rates are still lower than the public health officials would like – so again I call upon you as health professionals to encourage family and friends to get tested even with the very mildest of symptoms – they will look to you for advice. Now we look towards to the vaccination roll-out which is expected to start next month. We are busy planning the logistics and are working with NSW Health to be ready to care for staff in the health care system and the community. We will continue to communicate with you when we receive updates. While COVID-19 has rightly been our priority, important work has continued by
all of you and this year we have a lot to look forward to. Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital is planning to open its new Clinical Services Building in a few months which will completely transform the way we deliver services to the community. In just a few weeks, Mona Vale Hospital’s Palliative Care and Geriatric Evaluation and Management Unit will open. It’s the first of its kind on the Northern Beaches. I would like to acknowledge the commitment of everyone involved in the planning of the new ward. Accreditation at Ryde, Royal North Shore and Hornsby Hospitals and MHDA is scheduled to happen this year. While there is much work to do it is a great way to showcase the outstanding care you provide to the community. Finally, I would like to welcome the 100 new JMO interns who have started across our district this month. This is a major milestone for each of them and like all staff their wellbeing is a priority. We wish them all the very best with their training as they commence a career in medicine.
Deb Willcox Chief Executive Northern Sydney Local Health District
NSLHDNEWS | ISSUE 1 | 29 JANUARY 2021
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