Covid-19: Westmead Hospital declares a crisis as it struggles with Covid

Staff at Westmead Hospital have been told the facility has been stretched to breaking point as it battled to deal with Covid-19 cases.

A major Sydney public hospital at the epicentre of the state’s deadly Covid battle declared an internal emergency yesterday amid bed shortages.

Westmead Hospital activated a code yellow emergency as an influx of Covid patients stretched the facility to breaking point.

In an email to staff, hospital management said it would reduce Covid arrivals from ambulances for 24 hours, relocate critical care patients to other Sydney hospitals and instigate an “urgent review” of how it manages its virus care.

A view of the Emergency entrance to the Westmead Hospital. Picture: NCA Newswire /Gaye Gerard

Acting general manager Jenelle Matic wrote the drastic measures were in response to “an internal disaster management response given the current increase in Covid cases and presentations to the facility”.

“We acknowledge that we are no longer operating in a business as usual environment and careful assessment and response is required to manage future demand,” she wrote.

There are currently more than 600 people with Covid in hospitals in NSW and 107 in intensive care.

NSW reached the milestone of six million vaccinations on Tuesday as it recorded a slight dip in new Covid cases to 753.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian will announce on Thursday or Friday greater freedoms for vaccinated people now that NSW has reached the milestone.

However, Ms Berejiklian would not say whether people suffering under the toughest restrictions in local government areas of concern would enjoy any extra freedom.

“We’re having those conversations now,” she said.

The Premier refused to answer questions on whether a vaccine mandate will be introduced for schoolteachers in a bid to get children back to the classroom faster.

“In all categories of workers that we’ve encouraged back to the workplace, we’ve said you have to be vaccinated,” she said. “But I don’t want to pre-empt what we say about schools until later this week.”

Premier Gladys Berejiklian won’t say whether a vaccine will be mandated for teachers. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

Meanwhile, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she reserved the right to impose lockdowns on her constituents to control future outbreaks, even if 80 per cent of the state’s population was fully vaccinated. Ms Palaszczuk said Queenslanders were already largely free of restrictions in response to a swipe from Prime Minister Scott Morrison, where he declared “we can’t stay in the cave forever”.

“You can go to work, you can go to school. You can go watch sport, you can play community sport. You can go to a restaurant, you can go out,” Ms Palaszczuk said.