A Tertiary Hospitals Response to a Pandemic

Ms Terri Butcher¹

¹Western Health, Sunshine Hospital, St Albans, Australia

Background:

Western Health (WH) incorporates some of the worst affected COVID-19 areas in Melbourne.  Many hospital staff live in the local community and were faced with risk of infection both in the community and at work.  Over 400 people, including both staff and patients, were affected by COVID-19 in 2020 at a time when the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) was over run by COVID-19 cases within Victoria

Method:

Preparedness: identification of Infection Prevention gaps within the healthcare network and development of and implementation of strategies to address this.

Instigation of an in-house contact tracing team to prioritise management of staff and to work with the DHHS

Results:

Throughout the healthcare network routine practices were challenged and changed, including the definition of “appropriate PPE”, patient placement and effect of air exchange in wards.

Conclusion:

An in-depth review of practices, cases and outcomes was undertaken.

Communication strategies, mask fit testing, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) supply processes, patient placement and use of air scrubbers have all been reviewed and changes adopted as a result. The incorporation of a Local Public Health Unit in to Western Health has also occurred since Victoria’s second wave of COVID-19 and strategies for these teams to work together are being developed

Biography:

Terri commenced working in Infection Prevention in 2000 and moved to the Western Public Health Unit in 2021.