Following today’s announcement by the Victorian Government that it now regards the entire Greater Sydney area as a red zone for COVID-19, Western Health is implementing further changes to its procedures.
It is important to note that the Greater Sydney region, for the purposes of this advice and these new guidelines, includes all of Sydney and Sydney’s Northern Beaches but also the Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Illawarra Shoalhaven (Wollongong and part of the South Coast) region. Maps outlining these geographic areas and showing the towns and main centres in each, are located at the base of this bulletin.
Any staff who were in the Greater Sydney region on or since Friday 11 December 2020 are asked to not attend work and contact COVID Staff Enquiries at whscovid-19staffclinicenquiries@wh.org.au
Please note the addition of the new regions around Sydney and if you have been in those regions since 11 December, please do not attend work and if you have not already done so, notify the the COVID Staff Enquiries team whscovid-19staffclinicenquiries@wh.org.au
As part of COVID Screening, all patients, outpatients and visitors should be screened prior to entry (where possible) and asked whether they have visited the Greater Sydney region since 11 December – noting the additional areas.
All inpatients who have visited the Greater Sydney region since 11 December should be quarantined in a single room for 14 days since they last visited those areas.
If a patient, outpatient or visitor discloses that they have visited the Greater Sydney region since 11 December, please contact the De-isolation HMO on 8395 9048 or on switch 8345 6666 so further risk assessment can be conducted. Visitors who were in those red zones will not be allowed entry.
We encourage any staff members who have recently visited NSW and may have concerns or are showing even the mildest symptoms to attend for testing at Sunshine Hospital Respiratory Assessment Clinic. Operating hours for the Sunshine Hospital Respiratory Assessment Clinic are 10am-5.30pm, 7 days a week. Western Health staff may continue to access the clinic via the Pod 1 entrance via the main hospital (outside lifts 16 and 17 of the Acute Services Building).
We appreciate that many staff may have travel plans to NSW over the holiday period and we remind you that travel to the Greater Sydney region should NOT take place at this time and be extremely mindful of the possibility that this could be extended to other areas. There is now clear guidance from the Victorian Government on this matter and staff will be required to inform themselves of these new directions.
If you have travelled anywhere in NSW in the period since 11 Dec, please maintain extreme vigilance on any changes to DHHS guidance regarding the current outbreak. If you have any concerns or doubts about a risk of exposure, please contact the COVID Staff Enquiries team whscovid-19staffclinicenquiries@wh.org.au
Regards
Shane Crowe
Greater Sydney region
Shoalhaven, Illawarra and Nepean Blue Mountains Regions
