“Things have never been busier at Bass Coast Health”, according to CEO Jan Child.
There has been unparalleled demand in the Urgent Care Centre, the Cancer service, the Emergency Department, the Maternity service and in the wards.
“We are seeing more patients and sicker patients. This has been capped off by extraordinary demand for testing, and a keenness for us to boost our capacity in the vaccination clinic at the Wonthaggi Town Hall,” Ms Child said.
“Our staff have been true heroes and they have kept everything going as best they can, but we have made a decision today to close the testing tent at Cowes for the next week because we have simply run out of staff.
“We are one of the only sub-regional services in the state running two testing tents. Unfortunately, we do not have enough staff in the short term to run our services, plus vaccination, plus two tents.
“Our staff are very fatigued; some need to have a break. Others are still holding the fort doing as much as they can in terms of overtime and additional shifts. We had requested staff from Melbourne to assist but we have not had the response we had hoped for because of testing demand in the city.”
Work will occur tomorrow (Friday) from 5am to expand the tent at Wonthaggi and add additional cooling units so that BCH can run greater numbers through Wonthaggi. Some of these changes are also being made to prevent testing staff standing out in the sun as they support those needing to be tested.
“BCH has also had staff from the sub-regional services come to assist in both our Vaccination Centre and our Wonthaggi tent, and this support will continue to provide the sub-region with both testing and vaccination capacity,” Ms Child said.
“I am anticipating changes to the testing rules over this week and the coming weeks that will reduce demand for asymptomatic testing and move some categories of testing from PCR tests to Rapid Antigen tests, such as for interstate travellers. These changes will be very welcomed by all.
“Our staff are doing an amazing job and we urge the community to continue to come to Wonthaggi if they have been identified as needing PCR testing or are symptomatic. The community response – by visitors and locals – has kept our community safe but I ask everyone to continue to be patient when queueing for testing and vaccinations, and to be kind to our staff when they meet them.
“They are working in hot and uncomfortable personal protective equipment to continue to provide these services to local residents as well as visitors, in hot and hectic conditions. It is sad that some people take their frustrations out on our staff who are doing their very best.”
COVID testing numbers at Wonthaggi and Cowes reached a peak of close to 500 a day every day for a while, but Ms Child expects these numbers to diminish with the changes to testing rules.
“Many of these tests were for people travelling to other states and so we expect to get back to usual numbers of a couple of hundred a day soon,” she said.
“People should still get a test if they have been asked to do so or if they have symptoms. As the number of cases continues to rise in our local community, the number of people with symptoms will grow and it is really important that these people are prioritised.
“There are many exposure sites across Bass Coast and South Gippsland every day, and when we combine our local population with the significant number of visitors to our region, that means our case numbers will rise quickly and the number of people who need our services will increase.
“We all know that COVID is in our community and we can all act to reduce our risk of getting COVID by minimising our movements, gathering and dining outside, wearing a mask inside where appropriate, staying 1.5m apart from others and avoiding crowds.
“Above all, vaccination is your best defence against this virus so if you haven’t been vaccinated, then please make the time to do so - at your pharmacy, at the GP’s or at the Wonthaggi Town Hall. If it’s been four months since your second vaccination dose, then you are due for a booster and should get it to ensure you have an optimal level of protection against COVID.”
For current testing and vaccination centre times, please check Bass Coast Health’s Facebook page.
To book an appointment for a COVID vaccination, call 1800 675 398 or online, https://portal.cvms.vic.gov.au/