Message from the Metro North Health Incident Controller – COVID-19 update 382 | 1/04/2022
Dear colleagues,
- Current Tier 3 situation
- Protect yourself
- Record your booster
Today we have 1006 staff away from Metro North, either with COVID-19 or as close contacts. There are 10,722 new COVID cases reported in Queensland.
We remain on Tier 3 of our COVID-19 response plan.
Current Tier 3 situation
We currently have a significant number of staff not in the workplace due to COVID and increased community demand for our services.
We are in Tier 3 of our COVID response plan which allows us to allocate resources where they are needed. This includes postponing all non-urgent planned care and moving outpatient appointments to virtual wherever it is clinically appropriate.
This is essential to create capacity for care delivery.
Non-essential meetings should be cancelled or postponed and other meetings should be virtual. Training and education that is not mandated should also be postponed. This does not include safety and quality or EOC meetings.
Over the next two weeks you will also see your leadership teams on the floor assisting as needed.
Our Queensland Ambulance Service colleagues are similarly under pressure and facing high demand. If a rapid transfer of care is requested, please comply and assist QAS staff to get back on the road as soon as possible.
Protect yourself
As we head into school holidays, please remember your COVID precautions. No one wants to spend their holiday in isolation.
Please remember to:
- Practice hand hygiene and mask-wearing, ensuring you check your mask fit before each shift.
- Remain socially distant where possible and wear a mask in the community when you can’t.
- Stay home if you are unwell and get tested if you have any COVID-19 symptoms.
- Ensure you have been fit tested if you are in a patient-facing role. You can find out more on the COVID extranet fit testing page.
- Get your COVID booster (and record it).
The Critically Essential Worker requirements are still in effect for close contacts. There is a process that needs to be followed to return to work under this arrangement, so speak to your line manager in the first instance.
Record your booster
Booster vaccinations are mandatory for all staff, volunteers and contractors entering a residential aged care facility. This includes any Metro North staff who don’t usually work in but may attend Cooinda and Gannet House.
Evidence of your booster must be uploaded to the Queensland Health COVID-19 Vaccination Hub. This is quick and easy:
- Download your COVID digital certificate from your myGov account
- Go to the COVID-19 Vaccination Hub
- Choose the +Booster Vaccination option
- Add your booster details
- Upload or drag and drop your certificate
- Save
Boosters are highly recommended for all staff. There will be pop up vaccination clinics throughout the school holidays, so you can take the whole family along. Find your nearest clinic on the Queensland Health website.
Kind regards,
Louise O’Riordan
Metro North Health Incident Controller
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Current Metro North Health tier activated – Tier 3
Helpful links
- Register your positive RAT result
- Upload evidence of your vaccine or booster
- Vaccination locations
- 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 | Yesterday | |||||
| ICU not ventilated | ICU ventilated | ||||||
| 76 | 5 | 1 | 651 | 55 | 3 | 272 | |
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 | ||||||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 149 | 0 | 17 | |
*As at the above date
**Metro North Health has recorded deaths (one person a return traveller into NSW, who passed away in NSW)
*** 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.