Following on from yesterday’s operations bulletin, I thought it was worthwhile sending through a summary of the changes we have implemented in line with the five day reintroduction of Stage 4 restrictions effective today. These are the same range of measures we had in place during the previous period of Stage 4 restrictions.
PPE:
• Face masks mandatory at all times.
• Tier 1 PPE mandatory (surgical masks and eye protection – face shields where practical- are now required in all clinical settings
• Tier 2 PPE- as per standard precautions
• Tier 3 PPE- when treating patients suspected of or confirmed COVID
Staff, patient and visitor screening:
• This continues daily. It is important that all screening includes reference to current Department of Health exposure sites. .
• In addition, daily attestations and screening now include a question on whether staff, patients or visitors have worked in or volunteered at a hotel quarantine site and/or other port of entry (including the airport) in the last 14 days.
Visitors:
• No visitors are permitted into health care settings, except for care, support and compassionate reasons, as a support partner for birth, or a parent to accompany a child.
• Different rules apply for Joan Kirner Women’s & Children’s as per previous stage 4 guidelines.
Please go to V for updated Visitation information in the Quick Reference Guides to read the latest guideline.
Elective Surgery:
• Limited to Category 1 and urgent category 2 cases
Outpatients:
• Where possible, telehealth is encouraged
Student Clinical Placements:
• Currently on hold
Those of you who were deemed to be able to work from home during the Stage 4 restrictions, are asked to once again work from home during this lockdown period.
Hand hygiene and physical distancing must be meticulous across all of our sites. Remember the outdoors are the safest place to be too.
I want to thank everyone who has assisted in implementing these changes overnight and thanks to all staff for keeping an eye on and following these updates.
Regards
Natasha