Positive Covid cases frustrated by Public Health hotline delays

Tasmanians have vented their frustrations after waiting days on end trying to connect with the Public Health hotline after testing positive for Covid-19.

Tasmanians have vented their frustrations after waiting days on end trying to connect with the Public Health hotline after testing positive for Covid-19.

Launceston man David, who asked to remain anonymous, got his positive diagnosis on Wednesday and spent much of the day on the phone being left on hold by Public Health.

He said he was referred back and forth between different operators a total of 11 times, receiving contradictory advice each time.

On each occasion he was asked to re-explain his situation: that he was unable to remain in quarantine because he had just left surgery a week ago and was at risk of infection.

“After three calls, each of them with 20-30 minute wait times, finally someone said they’d escalate the request,” David said.

“But what they ended up doing was escalating the request for another Covid test, even though I’d already had one.”

When he explained he’d already tested positive for Covid, they forwarded his inquiry onto a nurse, who forwarded his inquiry onto a GP, who asked him to explain his situation again.

He said he’s had to explain his situation over the phone a total of seven times, since none of that information was passed on between referrals.

“Everyone just keeps passing on the responsibility to somebody else,” David said.

“They’re just not consistent at all.”

Hobart woman, Jemma, who asked to remain anonymous, said it took almost an entire week to get her case processed by the Covid@home team.

She discovered she was a close contact on Christmas, took a PCR test on Sunday, and missed a phone call from Covid@home on Tuesday evening.

She tried to call back three times, and after waiting on hold for an hour she eventually connected to an operator who said they weren’t authorised to confirm the results of her test.

Instead, the operator took her details and said somebody from Covid@home would call her the following day.

After an “anxious” night of sleep Jemma did get a call from Covid@home, who confirmed her first test had come back positive and that a home testing kit would be sent to her that day.

Thursday night she received a call from Covid@home asking why she hadn’t sent her home testing kit back, and she informed them she’d never received one.

“Pretty much it was all a bit of a mess,” Jemma said.

“No one seems to know what’s going on. My friend, who I got it off, was saying the same thing.”

Eventually her testing kit came through and she received a call from Public Health on Saturday, seven days after she first came into contact with the positive Covid case.

A Public Health spokesperson said they received almost 33,000 calls over the Christmas and New Year period with an average wait time of just over 3 minutes.

The spokesperson said the Covid@home hotline has a dedicated team rostered on 24/7, but that wait times can vary depending on the time of day or night.

“Unfortunately, at some times peak demand can lead to longer than the average wait times and we thank Tasmanians for their patience,” the spokesperson said.

“The PHH will continue to provide a high level of service to the Tasmanian community, as it has done since the start of the pandemic.”

[e-mail]

Originally published as Positive Covid cases frustrated by Public Health hotline delays