AMSANT boss John Paterson says a state of emergency needs to be declared in response to the remote NT Covid outbreak

The boss of a top Aboriginal medical body says a state of emergency needs to be declared in response to the NT’s remote Covid outbreak.

UPDATE: A STATE of emergency must be declared in response to the NT’s remote Covid outbreak, according to the boss of the Territory’s Aboriginal medical body.

Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT chief executive John Paterson told the ABC the declaration was necessary to relieve the current workforce out in remote communities.

“We have a lack of housing, workforce capacity and we really need the support and the assistance of all levels of government to assist us,” he said.

“We’ve got our current workforce who are doing an absolute tremendous job but they starting to fatigue, they’re starting the tire.

“I’m hearing from some of our member services, as recent as this morning, I’ve been in touch with a couple of them and they’ve put out an urgent call that we need a backup of surge workforce, preferably nurses and those that are accredited to undertake the vaccination administration processes and to just give some of those that are out there that have been full at it for the last couple of months and more recently in the last couple of weeks a bit of a break.

“We’ve got Christmas fast approaching upon us. People do want to have some time off and spend with family but we need a surge workforce that are able and willing to come in and just give some of those current workers that are tiring a bit of respite.”

Mr Paterson said he was “very concerned” with the Covid situation in Robinson River and Rockhole.

“We’re waiting to get the results back from the tests that have been undertaken given that Aboriginal people are very transient people, so there would have been a lot of movement,” he said.

“The positive case went undetected for about a week in Katherine. We’re still getting positive cases, water testings and all those sorts of results coming back.

“We need to seriously start addressing the overcrowding and the lack of housing here in the Northern Territory.”

EARLIER: ABORIGINAL leaders have again expressed concerns at the NT government’s changes to quarantine after claiming they were not consulted.

Changes announced to quarantine for interstate arrivals in the NT was announced by Chief Minister Michael Gunner on Saturday but Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT chief executive John Paterson said his peak body or member organisations were again not consulted.

“We were not involved in the decision about the date to move to no quarantine,” Mr Paterson said.

“We do need to be involved in how to reduce the risk to our people moving forward.”

With border controls eased as of Monday, Mr Paterson said the need to vaccinate remote communities has become “seriously urgent.”

“We really need to ramp up the vaccination in all our communities next week,” he said.

“We are asking the NT and Commonwealth governments to work urgently to provide us with a crisis surge vaccination workforce in all low vaccination communities that have significant staffing shortages.”

Mr Paterson said some additional surge workforce was coming in the next three weeks but with timelines shortened that would be too long to wait.

Health Minister Natasha Fyles said her department had been collaborating closely with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHOS) in the NT but couldn’t confirm if additional staff would be supplied.

“NT Health vaccination teams are supporting ACCHOS with expert advice and supply of vaccine doses in their communities,” she said.

“For example teams have been on the ground supporting Sunrise Health in Barunga, Beswick, Bulman, Mataranka, Jilminggan, Minyerri and Ngukurr.”

However on Sunday, a joint statement from the Northern, Tiwi and Anindilyakwa Land Councils and AMSANT revealed key leaders had called an urgent meeting in response to the growing remote Covid cluster.

The NT News understands the meeting was held to discuss concerns about the borders, quarantine, vaccinations and the lack of consultation from the government.

A spokesperson from the Chief Minister’s office however said the involvement of any community organisation was the Chief Health Officer’s decision.

“His view on whether stakeholders should have a seat at the table is a decision which is ultimately based on the best expert medical advice, not politics,” the spokesman said.

Mr Gunner said there was high levels of co-operation with the Rockhole and Binjari communities and the local Wurli-Wurlinjang Health Service as they were thrown into a hard lockdown on Sunday.

“That Wurli-Wurlinjang Aboriginal Health Service on the ground will be able to recognise if anyone needs any special kind of assistance on top of that (Covid response),” Mr Gunner said.

Mr Gunner said 38 close contacts had been transferred out of the remote communities.

“Moving to Howard Springs is about providing them the best care and support that they need,” he said.

Chief Health Officer Charles Pain said there had been no requests made by the close contacts to remain on Country for their quarantine period.

“Communities generally do want those who have contacts or cases to be outside of the community so the potential for spread is reduced,” Dr Pain said.

In an effort to dispel misinformation, AMSANT has worked with local designer to create a series of vaccination posters in Kriol and English for community.