Mrs Leanne Coulson1, Ms Sarah Niven1, Mrs Samantha Butenko1
1SA Health, Adelaide, Australia
Background: The South Australian Riverland agricultural industry participates in the Seasonal Worker Program and Pacific Labour Scheme. During the COVID-19 pandemic, support was required from SA Health COVID Operations Infection Control Service (COVID Ops ICS) to implement health measures, as per supervised quarantine directions.
Method: As part of the overall supervised quarantine measures, Paringa Resort (located 2 hours from Adelaide) was identified as a suitable supervised quarantine facility that was also (and importantly) culturally appropriate.
An operational plan was developed taking into consideration governance, quality assurance, incident management, pre departure work up, transport, logistics, procurement and stock, site selection, style of accommodation, security, suitability for a “wellness” model of quarantine, education and training of staff and access to worksites and health services for workers.
COVID Ops ICS provided direct support including infection control (IC) advice, written resources, personal protective equipment (PPE) training for staff, clinical safety officer support for arrivals and departures at Adelaide Airport and Paringa Resort, quality assurance audits, collaboration resolving issues and PPE and IC breach risk assessments.
Results: Between April and June 2021, 808 seasonal workers completed quarantine at Paringa Resort, with a major key outcome of no identified COVID-19 transmission. Infections endemic to the workers place of origin, i.e. cutaneous diphtheria, were also identified and managed as a part of this program.
Conclusion: Successful quarantine pathways and IC processes were established, enabling seasonal workers to work during the pandemic and reduce the pandemic related economic impact on the South Australian Riverland agricultural industry.
Biography: Currently the Infection Control Nurse for the Royal Flying Doctor Service in SA/NT, Sarah is a clinical nurse/midwife who started working in infection control in COVID operations in SA. She is passionate about infection control and delivering high quality care to regional and remote communities.
Leanne has worked in infection control roles for more than a decade. She is a Nurse Consultant who took a secondment from her full time role as Infection Control Coordinator with SA Ambulance Service to support COVID operations in SA. She has a special interest in applying infection control principles outside of the hospital setting.