After more than three decades of ‘dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s’ Tracy Donelly, Patient Safety Advisor at Metro South Clinical Governance is celebrating her extensive nursing career and 30 years of service to healthcare in Queensland.
Tracy began her Australian nursing career in 1994 after moving from the UK. Her first stop was Gympie Hospital, where she worked across a wide range of departments including ED, theatres, and trauma.
“It was a great place to learn - I did a bit of everything,” said Tracy.
“We saw some intense cases, especially with farming accidents, and aeromedical retrievals.”
In 2000, Tracy joined QEII Jubilee Hospital, a place she still describes as having a strong community feel and a beautiful place to work. She spent many years in the Orthopaedic Unit and later moved into roles as an orthopaedic case manager and Orthopaedic Educator after gaining her Graduate Certificate in Orthopaedic Nursing.
One of her proudest achievements was leading a two-year orthopaedic education project that saw 25 nurses from eight southside hospitals trained in specialised orthopaedic nursing.
In 2009, Tracy made the move into Patient Safety, a space she says she truly fell in love with.
“I loved the difference it could make, not just for patients but for staff too. I loved being able to influence change that improved care.”
Over time, Tracy and her team helped shift safety culture at QEII. Where once there was resistance, there’s now a strong focus on learning and improvement.
“One of the biggest outcomes from this work is changing the thought process for staff around patient safety.
“When you remove the question of blame when there’s an incident, and teach people how to support, listen and become a multidisciplinary team - not a team working in isolation - patient care and outcomes benefit.”
“They literally went from saying, ‘she’s here again,’ to coming to me for help with innovations to prevent safety risks. That kind of change takes time, but it sticks,” she said.
Tracy has also been a leader in digital transformation, playing a key role in rolling out the ieMR at QEII and Redland Hospitals.
“I’ve seen a lot of change in my time; from corded phones and DOS systems to fully digital records, it has been exciting to be part of that.”
Now looking ahead to long service leave in June 2025, Tracy is ready to enjoy quality time with her family while they’re fit and well.
Tracy’s incredible 30-year contribution and dedication to patient safety, staff education, and compassionate care has left a lasting impact at QEII and across Metro South Health.