West Moreton Health has recognised staff who go above and beyond to deliver quality care to our community at this year’s Caring Better Together Awards held on Wednesday (1 September 2021).

West Moreton Hospital Chief Executive Dr Kerrie Freeman said the awards were a great opportunity to celebrate the hard work of staff who have continued to deliver day-to-day healthcare to the community in a complex environment.

“Now more than ever it is important to recognise staff, including those who work behind the scenes,” Dr Freeman said.

“These awards were a chance to say thank you to staff for their dedication to our fast-growing community at a difficult time.”

The response to this year’s awards was impressive. Staff submitted 72 nominations in recognition of their colleagues across three categories: Caring for people; Safe, sustainable care; and Future focus.

This year’s winners were:

Caring for people: Deadly Steps indigenous health program

Safe, sustainable care: Dr Samantha Fairless and Paula Clancy, from Paediatric Emergency

Future focus: Cal Winckel and the Senior Pharmacy Team

“To be nominated by your peers is the best form of recognition and I congratulate our winners, and the finalists. The calibre of nominations for this year’s awards was terrific and made for some difficult decisions for our judging panel,” Dr Freeman said.

“The nominations came from divisions across West Moreton Health and highlighted the diversity of services we provide to our growing community. Each of our nominated staff delivered care and compassion in the most difficult of circumstances.

“I commend West Moreton Health staff for their continued dedication to caring for our community,” Dr Freeman said.

Award categories and winners

Caring for people

The award recognises outstanding work in delivering equitable, person-centred care in the community and for each other.

Winner: Deadly Steps Together program (Indigenous health program)

The Deadly Steps Together program cares for First Nations peoples through exercise and yarning about health. This culturally safe program encourages lifestyle changes and provides interventions for chronic disease and preventable risk factors for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who have previously not engaged with mainstream rehabilitation or exercise programs.

Safe, sustainable care

The award recognises an individual or team’s ability to deliver safe, quality care, now and in the future.

Winner:  Emergency Department specialist Dr Samantha Fairless and Paediatric Clinical Nurse Consultant Paula Clancy

Dr Fairless and Ms Clancy have led the clinical service redesign of the paediatric emergency department, resulting in the establishment of a paediatric emergency short stay unit and optimised paediatric patient flow through the Ipswich Hospital Emergency Department.

Future focus

The award recognises the ability to grow and adapt their services.

Winner: Cal Winckel and the Senior Pharmacy Team

The Senior Pharmacy Team led by Director Cal Winckel have leveraged digital platforms to improve the time and resources spent on routine tasks. Ms Winckel and the team adapted pharmacy models of care during the pandemic to allow physical distancing, including telehealth models that enable better patient engagement during transitions of care.