COVID-19 update 311 | 04/01/2022
Louise O’Riordan Metro North Health Incident Controller
Dear Colleagues,
Today we have 5,699 new COVID-19 cases in Queensland. I’d like to touch on a few key points today:
- Fever clinic demand and workforce shortages
- Working from home
- Staff COVID-19 swab collection service
Fever clinic demand and workforce shortages
With rising COVID-19 cases across greater Brisbane, Metro North Health is seeing huge demand for testing at its fever clinics.
We are aware the current demands for testing, in conjunction with increased COVID-19 vaccine booster presentations and COVID-19 positive cases, is putting a strain on our workforce. Please be assured we are currently discussing operational steps to ease this demand and will share a revised plan shortly.
Managers should escalate workforce shortages as early as possible, so solutions can be implemented that have minimal impact on our staff and patients.
We are very grateful for your ongoing support for Metro North and its patients at this time.
Working from home
Working from home is now more critical than ever as our facilities continue to see more positive cases of COVID-19. Please consider how you can implement working from home arrangements in your team and ensure you are supporting this where possible.
If you have staff who can assist in essential COVID-19 support areas, please contact your local EOC.
Staff COVID swab collection service and wait times
The Metro North Health staff COVID swab collection service at the RBWH Education Centre is open from 9am to 4.15pm each weekday, including public holidays. The wait time is currently at just over two hours.
If you’re attending the collection service please bring a water bottle, wear a hat and sunscreen, and bring a snack if you need it.
Any Metro North Health employee and members of their household can attend (noting the facility cannot test children aged 12 years or under). This facility cannot process staff from other HHS or private facilities. The staff member must attend and bring staff ID and their Medicare card.
Kind regards,
Louise O’Riordan
Metro North Health Incident Controller
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Current Metro North Health tier activated – Tier 3
Helpful links
- Upload evidence of your vaccine
- Qld Health contact tracing list
- Register for your vaccine
- Qld Health general COVID-19 page
- Metro North COVID-19 extranet
- COVID vidcast recordings on QHEPS
Metro North HHS – overview of cases*
| Patients managed by HHS | Fever clinics | ||||||
| Total in-patients | Virtual ward/ HITH/ similar | Deaths** | No. of clinics | Presentations | |||
| Total | ICU patients | Total^ | |||||
| ICU not ventilated | ICU ventilated | ||||||
| 56 | 2 | 1 | 362 | 4 | 3 | 1878 | |
Norfolk Island – overview of cases****
| Patients managed by HHS | Close Contacts in quarantine | ||||||
| Total in-patients | Virtual ward/ HITH/ similar | Total cases including recovered | Deaths | ||||
| Total | ICU patients | ||||||
| ICU not ventilated | ICU ventilated | ||||||
| 23 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 190 | |
*As at the above date
**Metro North Health has four recorded deaths (one person a return traveller into NSW, who passed away in NSW)
*** These numbers reflect the cases being managed by Metro North Health.
**** As part of an Intergovernmental Agreement, from 1 January 2022 Metro North Health is providing a number of health support services to Norfolk Island. This includes advice and support to staff on island in terms of managing COVID patients. The numbers in this section of the table refer to COVID patients who remain on Norfolk Island and are receiving direct care by staff on Norfolk Island.