Message from the Chief Executive Deb Willcox
I was delighted to attend Ryde Hospital’s accreditation summation meeting last week. A lot of work goes into preparing for accreditation and the entire team at Ryde did such a fantastic job. While we need to await the final report, the assessors told us the hospital has met every one of the eight national standards with no recommendations or system improvements. This is an amazing result and all of the Ryde staff should feel incredibly proud. A number of highlights were mentioned, including the hospital’s leadership and impressive clinical governance system, the Yarning Circle and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagement, the food muncher initiative for sustainability, excellence in palliative care, and the establishment of level four ICU. This is just a snapshot of the many remarkable achievements. I was incredibly proud to hear the assessors describe Ryde as a “wonderful community hospital” and talk about how much of a privilege it was for them to assess it. Thank you to all of our staff at Ryde for your hard work and commitment, and congratulations on such an excellent outcome – you truly deserve it. Hornsby and Royal North Shore are next with accreditation at both hospitals happening in May. I know everyone is working hard to prepare and I would like to thank them for their efforts, particularly at a time when the pandemic is impacting operations.
It was also exciting to see nominations open for the district’s Quality and Improvement Awards this week. Our Quality and Improvement Awards put staff achievements in the spotlight and showcase the hard work and delivery of programs and services that have such a positive impact on the people we care for, our colleagues and the broader community. Like in previous years, the awards will inform our entries into the NSW Premier’s Awards and NSW Health Awards. Lastly, the presence of new Omicron variant of COVID-19 is still being felt by many of us with the number of cases increasing in the community. Thankfully the severity of the disease has not increased but as more people in the community are exposed to the virus it is having significant impact on staff. Your wellbeing remains our priority. We will continue to do all that we can to support you during this challenging period. It is important we continue to do what we can to prevent its spread; please continue to practice appropriate hand hygiene, where a mask where appropriate and get you booster vaccine. Our vaccination clinics have a number of bookings available and it is the best way to ensure you and your patients are protected against the adverse effects of COVID-19.
Deb Willcox Chief Executive Northern Sydney Local Health District
NSLHDNEWS | ISSUE 5 | 28 MARCH 2022
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