A very happy Wednesday to you all.

Work continues to progress well to reduce the infection rate of COVID-19 across Metro North.

As I mentioned yesterday, we are beginning to recommence some of our clinical services across the health service with category two and five surgeries in the first instance. This will begin again on Monday 27 April, and planning is currently underway to ensure that this can happen.

I want to stress that this does not mean we are relaxing restrictions or taking our eye off the issue at hand. Everyone has done a tremendous job to prevent the spread of this virus and it is crucial we continue to remain vigilant and maintain the current trajectory. Let’s keep up the good work and keep our patients, colleagues and communities safe!

What this means for our patients is that those who have been waiting for surgery will be able to have it done, provided we continue to see the downward trend of COVID-19. We will maintain a watchful eye over all aspects of care provision and this includes not only looking after our COVID-19 patients but others who need to be provided care in our wonderful HHS.

Today I want to discuss:

• Virtual ED Service launch
• COVID-19 Queensland data website launch
• Staff flu shots

Virtual ED Service

This week Metro North launched the Virtual ED Service which will provide clinician to clinician support and aim to limit the numbers of people who would have ordinarily sought care in emergency departments.

The service provides a virtual platform for clinician to clinician consultation between an emergency medicine consultant and a general practitioner. It is supported by audio-visual technology to enable a face to face consultation if required. In the first phase, it is a service for GPs to use and call in for direct advice and to determine the best course of action required for the patient on a case-by-case basis. Nursing staff will also work within this virtual environment and we are very excited to offer this new service to the patients in Metro North working collaboratively with the GPs.

Our Virtual ED will be available to Metro North catchment General Practice community in the first phase, with a plan to include Community and Oral Health (COH) services and Queensland Ambulance Service in the not so distant future. Well done to everyone who helped to make this happen – it’s a great new service for Metro North and one which we hope will change how we do business in the HHS.

COVID-19 Queensland data website launch

In case you missed it, the Queensland Government today launched a new COVID-19 data website. This website will be a useful tool if you need to know the number of COVID-19 cases within a specific area of Queensland and features useful information such as:

• Total Queensland cases
• New COVID-19 cases recorded in Queensland over the last 24 hours
• COVID-19 mapping around Queensland and cumulative graphs

The website is updated each day around midday to capture the correct number of COVID-19 cases.

Staff flu shots

I know I spoke about this on Monday, but this is so important it warrants raising again! The flu vaccination is available in all directorates now and is being offered to frontline staff as a matter of priority.

Today I organised for the flu vaccination cart to come and visit us in the Metro North Emergency Operations Centre. There’s nothing quite like knowing you’re protected against this year’s flu, and even more importantly, there’s nothing better than a free lollipop!  The team who provided the injections did an amazing job and I can honestly say it was completely painless.

In MNHHS we are committed to keeping our staff healthy and this is one strategy that will enable you to do just that. Remember this is a free service for staff so take advantage of the service and roll up your sleeve!!!

We all need to do our part to make sure that our health system remains strong. Getting your flu shot will ultimately help to reduce the severity and spread of this year’s seasonal influenza. Protecting yourself and your family from the flu with a vaccination will also help reduce the strain on health resources and maintain the health of our frontline health providers.

As if that wasn’t enough of a reason, nobody wants to get sick, so please visit the Metro North website to find out the times and locations of the staff flu vaccine program at your facility.

That’s it from me today. Back to my EDNMS role for the next couple of days, returning to the MNEOC on Sunday. Dr Elizabeth Rushbrook will be here for the next few days in the Incident Control position. Liz and I greatly appreciate the hard work and commitment that our staff do every single day. Keep up the good work and remember to keep looking out for one another during these unprecedented times!

My quote for today is one I found on social media…so I have no idea who said it but “Talking about our problems is our greatest addiction.  Break the habit…talk about our joys”. 

Kindest regards,

Adjunct Professor Alanna Geary

Metro North Health Incident Controller

Metro North HHS – Overview of Cases*

Confirmed COVID-19 Cases
Virtual Ward	Inpatient Ward	Inpatient ICU	Recovered	Fever clinic presentations over 24 hours
34	6	4	278	238

*With effect 1000 22 April 2020
**Metro North has three recorded deaths (one person a return traveller into NSW, who passed away in NSW)
*** These numbers reflect the cases being managed by Metro North