Haigh’s and trivia helping our nurses on the Vic frontline
South Australian nurses working in Victoria are in good spirits, buoyed by Haigh’s and a trivia night, as they help out in Melbourne’s nursing homes with care including palliative care.
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South Australian nurses helping out in Victoria’s COVID crisis are providing treatment, including palliative care, to residents of two aged-care homes in Melbourne’s northern suburbs where there have been significant outbreaks.
Team leader Rebecca Badcock said the nurses had been in good spirits as they took on their difficult and risky work.
Ms Badcock said they had been well received by their Victorian counterparts.
“We have been assisting in two aged-care facilities in the northern suburbs of Melbourne where there have been significant COVID-19 outbreaks/clusters,” she said.
“It is a super-humbling experience and our team of nurses are doing such an amazing job in pretty tough circumstances.”
Ms Badcock said South Australia “should be really proud”.
“The contribution and impact of our team has been recognised by the Commonwealth with an acknowledgment that South Australia is ‘punching above its weight’.
“The team have been involved in providing direct care, supporting facility management, establishing operational systems, delivering PPE education and providing palliative care expertise.”
The first four nurses in the leadership team were joined by 11 nurses on July 31 and another five on Thursday. All volunteered for the assignment.
The latest group took Haigh’s Chocolates from the Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN) to boost morale.
To further maintain good spirits Ms Badcock, the executive director of nursing at CALHN, organised a fun trivia night on the one night the nurses all had off together – it was played by online video link due to Melbourne’s severe lockdown laws preventing group gatherings.
Up to 50 SA nurses will go to help in Victoria, working on rotations of two weeks, then facing two weeks mandatory isolation on return to Adelaide.
The work includes wearing full personal protective equipment as well as face masks on flights. CALHN chief executive Lesley Dwyer said she was proud of the nurses, who had volunteered from local health networks across the state as well as CALHN. “I look forward to speaking with them and hearing of the lessons learned which will continue to help us with planning our response,” Ms Dwyer said.
“We received some amazing feedback from the former chief medical officer Dr Brendan Murphy and the Australian Government Health Minister Greg Hunt, who have sent their thanks and appreciation, and commented that South Australia has really stepped up to the plate.
“When we were asked to help Victoria, we were asked for people who could role their sleeves up and get on with it – well they certainly did that. My message to all of our team currently in Victoria is to look after themselves and each other.”
Meantime, hospitals are rolling out signs advising of new rules restricting patients in emergency departments and outpatient clinics to one support person.