Staffing the NSW Biocontainment Centre – how do we keep staff actively engaged?
Patricia Ferguson1,2,3, Mary Wyer1,2,3, Catherine Priestley1,2, Alice Polak2,4,
1Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, Australia2New South Wales Biocontainment Centre, Westmead, NSW, Australia3Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia4The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, NSW, Australia
Introduction
The NSW Biocontainment Centre (NBC) is a new high level isolation unit (HLIU) at Westmead Hospital for adults and children with high consequence infectious diseases (HCIDs). A deployment staffing model exists, with invited medical and nursing staff from Western Sydney Local Health District and Sydney Children’s Hospital Network (infectious diseases, critical care, infection control) attending ongoing HCID training.
An impact on staffing HLIUs has been noted following the COVID19 pandemic. This study assesses retention of staff training at NBC.
Methods
Training records from 2019–2023 were reviewed, including reasons for withdrawing from training.
Results
Since 2019, 150 staff have attended: 95 (63%) nurses, 54 (36%) doctors and 1 scientist.
Currently, 71 (47%) staff remain actively training, 13 (9%) are on hold with plans to re-join, and 66 (44%) have withdrawn.
Higher proportions of doctors remain active than nurses (57% and 42%).
While emergency department (ED) nurses were the largest group trained (32/95 nurses, 34%), only 7/32 (24%) remain active.
Nurses from the infectious diseases ward comprised 21% trained (20/95), with 60% (12/20) active.
Infectious diseases had the largest medical group trained and 20/28 (71%) remain actively training, compared to 41% of ED physicians (7/17).
Reasons provide for withdrawing:
-Moving or changing job
-Pregnancy, leave entitlements
-Substantive role too demanding, lack of manager support
Discussion
More than half of all HCID trained staff are no longer actively training, with the greatest impacts on emergency staff.
More creative and targeted solutions are critical to maintain a deployable, safe workforce.
Biography
Trish is an infectious diseases physician with interests in infection prevention, patient and staff safety and systems improvement.