Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service says there’s no Covid lockdown at Bundaberg Hospital

Health chiefs have responded to claims surgical patients shared a bathroom with a Covid-positive case at a Queensland hospital where security guards were called in and bins used to block off a ward.

The Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service has responded to claims surgical patients were housed near and shared a bathroom with a Covid-positive patient at Bundaberg Hospital, only to be met with security staff after demanding testing.

Social media messages from patients staying in the hospital referred to “secret squirrel stuff”, saying there was confusion over whether a patient who had tested positive to Covid while receiving treatment in the room next-door to them had remained in the ward or whether the patient had been moved upstairs.

The messages, sighted by the Bundaberg NewsMail, also contained a photo showing security guards who were brought into the ward.

The women exchanging the messages allege they had been sharing the ward’s bathroom with a Covid-positive patient and became upset when they asked to be tested after alleging their initial request was denied.

Photos from inside Bundaberg Hospital's surgical ward taken this week. This image appears to show security guards observing the surgical ward.

One of the patients, in a message sent from her hospital bed, said everything then “went crazy”, with the ward being quarantined and the shared bathroom closed off.

She says that's when she and the other woman in the ward received Covid tests, both of which returned negative results.

A spokesman for Bundaberg Hospital, said while it wasn’t appropriate to breach patient confidentiality by going into detail, there were cases where locals would test positive while in hospital for other reasons due to the large amount of community transmission.

“Positive Covid-19 patients are managed within Covid-19 wards at our hospitals which have their own ventilation and facilities,” he said.

“They are separate from other inpatient units.

Bundaberg Hospital.

“Patients who present to emergency are screened for Covid-19 symptoms and if they have any symptoms they are cared for via a different team and zone than our other patients.”

The spokesman said sometimes people who didn't show symptoms or test positive early, would test positive later.

“There have been cases where existing patients or staff start to develop symptoms or are identified as close contacts of a known positive,” he said.

“This is not surprising due to the level of community transmission and we’re confident that our staff have followed our robust procedures to protect the safety of patients.

“This includes isolating a patient or staff member and Covid-19 testing any of their contacts within the hospital.

“Extra protection is offered by our tightened staff PPE requirements.”

Photos taken by patients from within the surgical ward showed sections cordoned off by hospital bins this week, as false rumours swirled online of a lockdown in the ward.

A family member of another patient in the surgical ward this week said she believed the hospital was doing its best and that nursing staff had a job that was “harder than people realise”.

Speaking to the Bundaberg NewsMail, the woman said she believed the Covid-positive patient had tested negative to earlier tests and that it was only once they were again checked after surgery that they tested positive and were promptly moved out of the surgical ward, which was closed for cleaning.

Large bins on wheels are used to section off a part of the surgical ward at Bundaberg Hospital earlier this week. The actions prompted discussion of a lockdown in the ward, which the hospital has denied.

The spokesman said there were tight restrictions in order to keep the community safe, and social media reports of lockdowns were incorrect.

“There is no lockdown at Bundaberg Hospital,” he said.

“We’ve had tight visitor restrictions and extra workplace requirements, such as an additional level of personal protective equipment, for our staff across all our hospitals and services for a number of weeks due to the community transmission of Covid-19.

“If a patient or staff member tests positive, or is identified as a close contact, we follow procedures to protect our patients and our staff.”

This week, new figures were released that showed the rise in Covid cases across the Wide Bay, with 354 in Gympie, 635 in Bundaberg and 885 on the Fraser Coast.

The hospital spokesman said as of Wednesday, there were eight Covid-positive patients in Bundaberg Hospital, but said some patients would be hospitalised for other issues and happen to have Covid at the same time.

Bundaberg Hospital did not comment on the security guards.

The spokesman also addressed Covid cases in Hervey Bay, saying one patient was in intensive care and on a ventilator.

Commenting on Hervey Bay Hospital‘s capacity, he said plans were in place to action increases as needed.

“We have planned for the event of increased ICU Covid-19 demand and when needed will create two separate units for Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 patients,” he said.

“Covid-19 patients at Hervey Bay Hospital who do not require ICU support are being cared for in a separate 10-bed Covid-19 inpatient ward.

“This ward was recently extended from six beds to 10 beds and we have the ability to further increase Covid-19 bed numbers.”

A spokeswoman for Gympie Hospital said as of Wednesday there were no hospitalisations or Covid and no lockdowns or quarantines.

Covid testing clinic at Gympie Hospital.