Good afternoon all,
A short bulletin from me today. COVID numbers continue to trend down across the state, which reflects our experience at Western Health. We have 40 COVID positive in-patients, we are supporting 124 people through our Community Monitoring Program and 92 staff are currently furloughed.
Rapid antigen surveillance testing for inpatients daily for 72 hour after admission
From 16 February, Western Health is implementing rapid antigen surveillance testing for all in-patients aged five and over. Patients will be tested daily for 72 hours after admission. This additional testing is a precaution to help keep other patients, staff and visitors safe by identifying potential infection early and reducing the risk of patient-to-patient transmission, as well as patient-to-staff transmissions. Wards will be able to access the rapid antigen tests via the PPE team. Further information regarding the testing process and requirements are found in the ‘Routine surveillance testing for inpatients using Rapid Antigen Tests’ QRG here. Information on how to document the result of a Rapid Antigen test in the Electronic Medical Record is available here.
Regards
John
Executive Director Operations (Acting)