Metro North Health

Whilst some of the best footballers are overseas competing on the pitch, some of the best chefs are on our home turf, kicking goals in the RBWH Food Services team. ⚽🍜

With Food Services staff stemming from 50% of the competing nations, World Cup fever has well and truly hit the kitchens.

Executive Chef Reed who is repping Algeria and Chef David who is originally from Venezuela but is cheering on Brazil are two of the passionate supporters leading the friendly fire and banter.

"Football is a big part of culture in South America, we live and breathe it, and we love to celebrate with our friends," David said.

"[The decorations] adds to the team culture, we have a lot of passionate supporters which makes for a lot of happiness and fun," Reed added.

👏Shoutout Saturday to this wonderful team, cultivating good vibes amongst their peers!

Nobody plans to be in hospital in a situation where you can’t speak for yourself, but sadly this does happen. It would bring you comfort to know your treatment preferences could still be carried out, even if you couldn’t communicate them! 💭

Advance Care Planning (ACP) ensures that the treatment and care you receive reflects your preferences and wishes, with your loved ones and care team clear on what you want.

After working in palliative care nursing for many years, Advance Care Planning Facilitator Casey now works with patients and residents to formulate both formal and informal documents that detail their preferences.

“My aim is to help reduce distress and support people. It is very hard for families whose loved ones have lost capacity, to make decisions on their behalf, if they have no direction," Casey said.

“It is important to ensure that people who become suddenly injured or seriously ill, have plans in place so that medical staff know what their healthcare wishes are.

“The experience in palliative care was very important for my current ACP role, as I was able to get more comfortable with conversations about dying and talking to people about their wishes.” 🪽

In just six months, Caboolture Hospital Pharmacy Intern Olivia has grown her confidence and clinical knowledge, with helping patients her favourite part of the role! 💊🏥

A typical day includes taking medication history from patients and reconciling their records, reviewing medication charts and counselling patients prior to discharge.

"My favourite part of the role is definitely the patient interaction. Being able to explain medications clearly and help patients feel more confident about their treatment is incredibly rewarding," Olivia said.

"I’ve felt well-supported throughout the year and have grown both professionally and personally. Interns are encouraged to be actively involved in patient care while receiving guidance from experienced pharmacists who are genuinely invested in your development."

Applications are open for our next round of Pharmacy Interns! If you'd like to develop your understanding of hospital pharmacy practice, clink the link in the comments to apply.

"I've been here about 4 months, I'm enjoying it. I had a fall last year which meant I did a lot of physio at Redcliffe Hospital and then moved in here. I've made a few friends and come out for happy hour or when the rock and rollers come out, but still getting used to things. I never learnt to crochet but I do crosswords to pass the time and I want to get back into knitting. You've just got to enjoy life, try and be happy and get on with things."

💭 Monday Mantra, Marilyn, Gannet House Resident

As a young and healthy anaesthetic registrar preparing for his final specialist exams, Dr Steven never imagined he could become a patient.

Unexpectedly, a colonoscopy revealed a large tumour and he was diagnosed with metastatic bowel cancer, which resulted in a year of intensive chemotherapy, surgery and significant complications.

Despite being given a prognosis of only a few years, Steven achieved the impossible is now cancer free and a full-time anaesthetic consultant at Caboolture Hospital. 👊

"My journey as the patient has taught me innumerable practice-changing lessons, from how I manage a pain crisis to advice I give before major surgery, it grants a level of empathy few can match," Steven said.

"Of the seven hospitals I rotated through, the Caboolture team were so friendly, collegiate and caring. My plan is to work as an anaesthetist in Caboolture for the foreseeable future.

"The threat of my cancer coming back is always present, but I am living as much of my life now and really appreciating my wife and kids." 🫶

The "Glenda and Annie team" is a hard act to follow, having spent 40 years together helping patients in RBWH surgical theatres. 👯‍♀️

This bestie duo has been working together since 1984 but have an even longer friendship dating back to high school, before they together did their nursing studies and worked at Metro North.

When Glenda was left short-staffed at RBWH one evening, she called on her trusted sidekick Annie who was based at TPCH, and they've been inseparable ever since.

"One night we only had three registered nurses on, but everyone was sick except me. We had this huge case come in, and I said, 'Annie I some need extra hands; I'm going to give you a lesson in 10 minutes on how to scout in an operating room' and it went from there," Glenda explains.

"I eventually got into theatre, and I've been there ever since. We’ve been very fortunate to work together, it's been an absolute privilege which I think is why we’ve stayed as long as we have," Annie said.

"In surgery, you are only as good as your scout nurse and I had the best one in Annie," Glenda added.

👏 A big to Glenda and Annie, showing us what the power of two can do!

Death isn't always an easy topic to discuss, but it doesn't have to be a taboo one.

With tea and cake on the menu and death and dying on the discussion board, the Death Cafe held at the Brighton Wellness Hub invites the community to have open discussions around their own experiences and wishes when it comes to death.

One Death Cafe attendee Kim who travelled from Maryborough to attend and is training to be a death doula says that anyone who is contemplating attending a session should give it a go.

"I'd absolutely say go in with an open mind; it’s a fact of life that we are all going to die at some point. It’s not morbid and you’ll probably have a laugh, we certainly did. We need to make it less scary," she said.

"It was really interesting as there were a few healthcare professionals in the room as well, I learnt that everyone is different and has a different take on the death cafe, however everyone had the same interest at heart to attend.

"A friend of mine from New Zealand planted the seed in my head, I’ve had lots of death in my life, and I've read a bit about death cafes. I was looking for one closer but found the one at Brighton and I'm glad I did."