COVID-19 update 326 | 18/01/2022

Louise O’Riordan Metro North Health Incident Controller

Dear colleagues,

• Tier 4 – what are the changes? 
• PPE stock management  
• Vaccination boosters 

Today there are 15,962 reported new cases of COVID-19 in Queensland.

Tier 4 – what are the changes? 

Today Metro North has moved to Tier 4 of our COVID-19 response plan. In each tier of the plan we expand on the actions of the previous tier.

For Tier 4, one of the biggest changes is enacting contracts to move non-COVID patients to private hospitals to create bed capacity in our facilities. Each of our hospitals is reviewing bed capacity and identifying patients who could be transferred. We need to create enough capacity to be ready for the anticipated peak at the end of January.

Key points from Tier 4:

• Emergency and category 1 and 4 planned activity only
• Utilise other facilities such as residential and other health care facilities for patients still requiring medical care, eg Brighton
• No volunteers or consumers engaged on site
• Consider recruitment of non-clinical staff to assist with clinical load where appropriate
• Students vaccinated and fit tested, supporting or participating in clinical activities
• Fit testing of all new staff
• Visitors per Chief Health Officer direction
• Increase cleaning services where appropriate to meet demand. Initiate HHS-wide cleaning rapid response team.
• Engage additional security where required.
• Traffic control – increase resources to meet demand
• Ensure concierge services are in place
• Increase and/or reallocate staff in fever clinics, COVID inpatient wards and emergency departments
• Investigate locations to move fever clinics away from hospital sites
• Expansion of emergency department spaces to other locations as required
• Increase Virtual ED capacity
• Increase COVID Virtual Ward capacity
• Increase COVID ward capability at each facility with an emergency department
• Staff surveillance program for relevant areas
• Increase Hospital in the Home capability include virtual capability
• Utilise over census beds
• Ensure COVID Care at Home pathway is active
• Utilise private hospitals for surge capability
• Frequency of meetings reviewed
• Virtual meetings only
• No face to face training, essential training delivered virtually
• At the elbow education support in clinical areas to support junior staff
• Working from home arrangements where safe and productive
• All staff wearing PPE as per PPE risk matrix
• Develop staff teams and minimise contact between teams
• Staff where able take breaks outdoors
• Discourage congregation in tearooms and other shared spaces
• Twice weekly all staff vidcasts

Tier 4 also gives us the ability, where it is necessary to deliver critical services, to direct staff to return to work to support COVID activities. This will be considered carefully and will be done on a case by case basis only, not as a whole of organisation position.

PPE stock management 

The PPE taskforce meets daily to coordinate stock management and movement of PPE across the HHS. The group works with supplies staff to ensure stocks are moved and ordered as needed and there are currently no masks that are not in supply.

We are prioritising fit testing for staff working in critical areas who have only one available fitted mask. Please contact your local fit testing team if this is you. If your preferred mask is not available, please escalate to your line manager so an appropriate mask can be provided or alternative working arrangements can be made if required.

Vaccination boosters 

As we approach the anticipated COVID peak late next week, now is the time to get your vaccination booster. Evidence shows the vaccination booster plays an important role in protecting yourself, your family, and your colleagues and patients from COVID.

If you are eligible for your booster (4 months since second dose), you can attend any of our vaccination clinics to get your third dose. Members of your household can come with you for vaccination via the staff line as well.

Note, our staff vaccination clinics are not vaccinating children. We are vaccinating children aged 5-11 at Kippa Ring and all ages from 5 up at Caboolture Square and the Kallangur First Nations pop up clinic. We are currently looking at options to expand our vaccination services for families.

If your little ones are anxious about needles, our colleagues at Children’s Health Queensland have released some advice today about how to support your children getting their vaccination.

Thank you and kind regards,

Louise O’Riordan

Metro North Health Incident Controller

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Helpful links

• Register your positive RAT result
• 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*

Norfolk Island – overview of cases****

*As at the above date

**Metro North Health has six 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.