Tired and overworked health care workers in New South Wales had no choice but to help reduce the isolation rules for asymptomatic staff, which is considered close contact with COVID-19 cases.
Key Point:
- Experts say it makes perfect sense to reduce the isolation of asymptomatic medical staff
- The president of the medical union states that patients will not be at risk as a result of the changes.
- He also says health care workers weren’t the first in the head of the government
Under the exemption from the Public Health Order signed by Health Minister Brad Hazard on Friday night, these staff members can now be ordered to return to work.
Tony Sarah, Chairman of the Australia Sarah Lead Medical Officer Federation (ASMOF), New South Wales, said the hospital staff was in short supply and the pressure on the system was enormous.
During the latest reporting period, 901 people needed hospital care. This has creeped up in the last two weeks and is expected to reach 1,000 soon.
“We are loading COVID-positive patients who need to be admitted to the hospital,” Dr. Sarah said.
“Therefore, we needed to relax the ISO requirements. I disagree, but basically, if the medical system does not collapse, we, the nurses, and HSU [Health Service Union] — There are not many options other than agreeing.
“We need to make sure that we provide the services we need not only for COVID patients but also for normal patients.”
ASMOF, which represents thousands of doctors, said COVID removed nearly 2,000 healthcare workers per day from the system and the change to quarantine was about “catch up.”
Dr. Sarah said it was a measured change that did not put the patient at risk of infection.
“New South Wales staff will wear full PPE depending on the situation, which means face shields, masks and gowns,” he said.
“I don’t think you need to worry about the staff because it will be a P2 mask within 1.5 meters from the patient.”
This is a view shared by Professor Robert Buoy, an infectious disease expert at the University of Sydney.
He said the new quarantine strategy “would make perfect sense.” Too many people were absent from work either because they were laid off or because they were “too careful.”
He said some facilities, such as West Mead’s Children’s Hospital, are already operating along similar routes.
“For the past few weeks, if you have a close relationship, you will have a rapid antigen test every morning before you come to work,” said Dr. Buoy.
“To make sure it’s not infectious, it’s less likely to get infected. This makes perfect sense.”
Concerns about workers spreading the virus in hospitals were alleviated by “many protective layers.”
“People not only get to work with a negative test, they also have no symptoms and wear personal protective equipment,” he said.
Opposition blamed Prime Minister Dominique Perotet for failing to implement a strategy to deal with fallout from Omicron and increase resources.
Walt Secord said the shift from encouraging people to isolation to now trying to get them back to work is evidence of a stressful health system.
He said the workers were exhausted and the prime minister was not completely ready.
“We need to be in the context of healthcare professionals, such as nurses, doctors, emergency medical personnel, and even cleaners,” says Secord.
“The rules are changing rapidly and are not communicated without consultation. It is absolutely unfair, but it also puts the community at risk.”
For Dr. Sarah, the government’s decision to completely lift the regulation on December 15 may be questioned, but for now he focuses on preventing the workplace from losing more staff. I’m guessing.
He said experts warned about the infectivity of Omicron variants and the potential for overloading the system.
“I’m dissatisfied with what happened in the last few weeks. Members are dissatisfied with Dr. Chant’s advice and seeing where we got there,” said Dr. Sarah.
“Over the last few years, doctors and nurses have had a hard time. They are tired, looking forward to Christmas and are now back at work.
“This is not an ideal situation, and it seems that the needs of front-line healthcare professionals were not initially considered in the minds of the government.”
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