message FROM the Chief executive Deb Willcox
The end of the year is almost here, and what a year it has been! 2020 will be in the history books; the bushfires started in late 2019 and continued to ravage the state well into 2020 and then, of course, it was followed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, not only have we have managed to make it through these past 12 months, we have also excelled as a local health district. As I have said many times this year, I could not be prouder of the teams of people who work here and the way in which everyone came together to respond to these events which were on a scale rarely experienced. You only need to read this edition of the newsletter to see how amazing our staff are as we celebrate the winners from the Exceptional People Awards. From the emergency department staff at Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital who sprang into action when faced with their own COVID scare, to the COVID care teams who supported our staff, there are so many people who have displayed our CORE values this year. Then we have our nurses and midwives who were recently acknowledged at the NSW Nursing and Midwifery Awards. A big congratulations to Jaime Shields of RNSH and the Severe Injury Burns Unit at RNSH who were finalists. Many of our hospitals have recently celebrated the long service of hundreds of staff who have been working in public health for 10 or more years at the annual Time in Service ceremonies.
Every one of us had a role to play in the country’s response to COVID and next year proves to be just as important as we focus on the roll out of the much- anticipated vaccine. Rest assured, our district is already making plans to be ready to protect our staff, patients and our community. At the end of such a monumental year, it is important over the festive season that we all take some time to rest and recharge the batteries. Spend some time on your own wellbeing, enjoy the outdoors and the opportunity to be with family and friends. I know however, many of you will be working through. I hope you can find some time to treat yourself and to be with the people you care about most. For those lucky enough to be travelling around NSW or interstate, safe travels on our roads and remember to still remain vigilant with social distancing and the current COVID-19 restrictions. “Thank you” does not fully capture the level of gratitude I feel, nor the admiration I hold for each of you – you have provided exceptional care in the most difficult of times. I think together we should feel very proud of what we have achieved and our contribution to the nation’s efforts in dealing with this pandemic. I wish each of you a happy and safe festive season and look forward to working alongside you in 2021. Deb Willcox Chief Executive Northern Sydney Local Health District
2 NSLHDNEWS | ISSUE 23| 18 DECEMBER 2020
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