Dear colleagues,
Mandatory vaccination for healthcare workers is imminent so we’re providing more opportunities for staff to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Details below.
Total of 770,000 doses administered
With younger people now eligible for vaccination, it is encouraging to see strong first-dose vaccination increases in Melbourne’s north and west. Melton and Wyndham – along with Hume and Whittlesea in the north – recorded some of the biggest increases in first-dose rates over the past week. Our vaccination hubs are certainly seeing strong demand – we administered 10,000 doses yesterday, bringing us to a total of 770,000 doses. Great numbers and something we should all be proud of.
Mandatory vaccination for healthcare workers
We’re awaiting details from the Chief Health Officer Directions but we can confirm vaccinations will become mandatory for healthcare workers. The definition of a healthcare worker will likely include all people, irrespective of role, that work within a health service, including students and unpaid workers. Healthcare workers will need to have had their first dose by 15 October or provide evidence that they have an appointment to be vaccinated before 1 November. Medical exemptions will likely apply where this is relevant. If you haven’t yet booked your vaccination, please don’t delay. Details of new pop-ups and walk-in services for staff are listed below.
New walk-in service at Sunshine Hospital
To support our staff getting vaccinated, a new walk-in service is now available for staff at our Sunshine Hospital vaccination hub. Just turn up any time with your ID badge. We will prioritise staff but wait times may still apply. If you experience any issues with access on the day, please ask to speak to the NUM (or ANUM on weekends) to help with resolution.
Please note, it is also worth checking the online booking system throughout the day as appointments become available due to some people not attending or cancelling their appointment. We put these vacant bookings onto the system to allow people to book in throughout the day.
If you need to cancel an appointment made through the Western Health call centre, please email covidvaccination@wh.org.au. If you booked an appointment through the online booking system, please cancel your appointment on that website.
Priority booking for staff and household contacts
We’ve seen great demand for our priority booking for staff and household contacts since we launched the service two weeks ago. We expect to exceed 3,000 bookings today and we’ve received 2,682 emails to date. We appreciate your patience and can assure you we will respond to your request if we haven’t yet done so.
Upcoming pop-up clinics for staff
We’re holding a pop-up vaccination clinic for staff at Footscray Hospital this Thursday 23 September from 12pm in Outpatients, Level 2, Room 9. Three will be limited doses available, so it is ‘first in, first served’. We’ll offer this service again at Footscray Hospital on 4-5 October which coincides with the second dose timing for staff previously vaccinated at Footscray Hospital. Our Outreach Team has also done recent pop-ups at our Williamstown and Bacchus Marsh sites.
Regards,
Shane Crowe
Executive Director Nursing and Midwifery