Cairns Hospital: Omicron Covid-19 variant outbreak fears for health facility
Health bosses say Cairns Hospital is ready for a spike in Covid-19 outbreaks despite critical upgrades falling up to a year behind schedule.
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HEALTH bosses say Cairns Hospital is ready for a spike in Covid-19 outbreaks despite critical upgrades falling up to a year behind schedule.
Construction of a $70m new mental health unit was supposed to be finished by February 2022 but a builder is yet to be chosen.
Mental health patients will still be using precious hospital spaces just as the borders open and the likelihood of Omicron variant outbreaks spikes in the Far North.
Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service (CHHHS) chief finance officer Steve Thacker said construction firm tenders were being evaluated.
“There are a small number of beds currently being used for mental health patients other than those designated for mental health acute patient use,” he said.
CHHHS Covid-19 health incident controller Rudi de Faveri assured residents the hospital had the resources to meet the forecast demand.
“There is significant evidence that people who have had both doses of Covid-19 vaccination are much less likely to become seriously ill and require hospitalisation,” he said.
“Our Covid-19 response plan outlines what services we may have to suspend or change to create capacity as case numbers increase.
“Our response when there is a local outbreak will require teamwork across our hospitals, services, partners and community.
“However the more people in our community that get vaccinated, the less impact there will be on our health system.”
Mr De Faveri said the Cairns South Health Facility was not in current plans for surge capacity use if Cairns Hospital was overrun.
“It is currently being kept available for its intended purpose as an interim emergency centre in the event of a significant weather event or disaster which may impact on Cairns Hospital,” he said.
An expansion of the “virtual hospital” program has been added to the plan following its successful implementation during outbreaks in 2020.
“This program enables people who meet specific criteria to be cared for at home, via virtual monitoring and regular contact with doctors and nurses,” Mr De Faveri said.
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Originally published as Cairns Hospital: Omicron Covid-19 variant outbreak fears for health facility
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