I have a number of important updates for you in today’s Operations Bulletin.
First, the Department of Health has recently revised its guidelines for the wearing of masks in Victorian health services. This has resulted in a review of the Western Health PPE guidance. A summary of the updated recommendations – which include changes for staff working in non-public facing areas – is in the bulletin below.
Second, as hospitalisations due to COVID continue to decline, Western Health is working hard to resume clinical services that have been interrupted during the pandemic. Like many health services across metropolitan Melbourne, we are currently experiencing particularly high community demand for our services.
Subsequently, our leadership teams have been working very hard to resume clinical services to ensure capacity across our sites meets current demand, providing our community with timely access to our services. The following initiatives have been implemented:
- The Short Stay Units in the emergency departments at both Sunshine and Footscray have re-opened, which will enable greater capacity for patients who require a short period of admission between 12 -24 hours;
- Additional Points of Care have also been operationalised in the new Adult Fast Track area of the Sunshine Hospital Emergency Department (SHED);
- The new Sunshine Hospital Transit Lounge, which has opened today in the Community Based Rehabilitation area, has been designed to facilitate timely inpatient discharge and will improve patient flow and access to acute inpatient beds. It will be open seven days (8am-6.30pm) and referral can be made by contacting 0421 995 959;
- On Monday, 7 March, Rapid Assessment and Discharge Unit (RADU) will open at 2G Sunshine, which will be a 24-bed unit that will support the flow of general medicine patients for SHED to the ward;
- We have modified the criteria for COVID/SCOVID wards at 2D Footscray and 3F Sunshine, improving bed access to these wards;
- Consistent with Department of Health guidance, we have developed a plan for the resumption of elective surgery for Category 2 and 3 patients. An additional theatre at Sunshine Hospital has already resumed and the four theatres at Williamstown are scheduled to resume on 15 March.
A huge amount of work has been required to operationalise the above initiatives and I would like to thank all those involved. We will continue to develop our plan for the resumption of clinical services and our broader, overarching strategy for timely access to care.
Regards
John
Executive Director Operations (Acting)
Updated mask rules
A summary of the current recommendations for the wearing of masks across Western Health sites is as follows:
- Clinical areas with patient contact: No change to current advice and N95 should continue to be worn.
- Non-clinical areas where clinical staff meet: No change to current advice and N95 should continue to be worn. Examples include a meeting room hosting a clinical team meeting, a staff-only tea-room used by clinical staff.
- All public accessible areas of the hospital: No change. Masks required. Those using N95 should continue with extended use and all other staff should wear a surgical mask at a minimum. Examples include public corridors, publicly-accessible lifts and stairwells, cafeterias
- Areas with neither public access or clinical staff contact for example shared offices and health service support environments are no longer required to wear masks. However, the individual use of masks continues to be supported by the organisation. Mask use in these areas may be the preferred option for vulnerable persons or those with social or household contacts who remain vulnerable to the risks of COVID infection, both in the short and longer term. Staff with concerns relating to personal vulnerability can request fit-testing and supply of a suitable higher grade N95 mask.
Please note that mask-wearing continues to play an important role in reducing the transmission of COVID in the workplace, particularly while community prevalence remains at significant levels. The continued use of masks in specific non-clinical areas where the impact of multiple concurrent staff absences would be considered a significant risk to ongoing essential service provision may be considered on a case-by-case basis in consultation with Infection Prevention/Infectious Diseases.
Transit Lounge Sunshine
From today, we are trialling the re-opening of a Transit Lounge at Sunshine Hospital. To arrange transfer of your patients to the Transit Lounge, please call the Transit Lounge on 0421 995 959 to make referrals to the lounge.
There is a dedicated Discharge Navigator role that will work to identify patients across all wards who are suitable for transfer to the Transit Lounge. This role will also support identification of patients who can be discharged home with support from Western at Home services, supporting timely discharge and access to the right services.
The new model of care will feature:
- Nine recliner chairs and bed availability, with capability to grow and flex to meet demand from the hospital
- operates seven days, 0800 – 1830
- Referral processes designed to be simple and streamlined, without additional paperwork or workload for the wards. The Transit Lounge Team, which includes PSAs, nurses and RUSONs, will take a verbal handover over the phone and collect the patient from the ward. No written handover required.
- Eligibility Criteria has been expanded to patients:
-
-
- discharging to home; residential aged care facility; awaiting transfer to subacute ward or another hospital.
- Awaiting medications, discharge prescription, or medical certificate
- Requiring “last dose of medications” (e.g. IV antibiotics, insulin), medical imaging or pathology results prior to discharge
- Awaiting discharge review from medical officer or allied health
- Awaiting transport or pick-up
- Patient discharging from the Sunshine Emergency department requiring Transit Lounge support
-
Exclusion Criteria for the Transit Lounge remains any patient that is medically unstable; displaying significant Behaviours of Concern (BOC score >2); with infection prevention contact or droplet precautions.
Changes to COVID staff testing hours
From Monday, 7 March there will be changes to the operating hours of the staff COVID testing clinics at Footscray Hospital and Sunshine Hospital. The operating hours will be as follows:
- Sunshine Hospital COVID Testing Clinic – open 8.45am-4:45pm. During these hour both asymptomatic and symptomatic staff may present for testing. Testing of household members of staff will continue to be available between 10.30am-4pm.
- Footscray Hospital – asymptomatic PCR testing and rapid antigen tests will be available in the Private Consulting Rooms on Tuesdays and Fridays, between 7.15am-4pm. On other days, rapid antigen tests will be available for collection for eligible asymptomatic staff from the Main Reception Desk between 8am-7pm daily.
The Footscray Hospital testing location is also piloting a booking system for COVID testing. Use the following link (use an up to date browser such as Microsoft Edge) to book your appointment and have your test prioritised: Footscray Asymptomatic Staff Testing COVID-19. During the pilot phase, walk up testing will also continue to be available.