Coronavirus Northern Territory: Top health professionals demand urgent action to help fight disease

EXCLUSIVE: Six of the Territory’s top health professionals have written an extraordinary letter to the Territory’s chief health officer demanding immediate action on coronavirus.

A copy of a letter has been sent to Professor Dianne Stephens (second from right)

SIX of the Territory’s top health professionals have written an extraordinary letter to the Territory’s chief health officer demanding immediate action on coronavirus.

The NT News has obtained the letter written by Director of Anaesthesia Dr Andrew Fenton, Director Division of Emergency Medicine Prof Didier Palmer, Medical Co-Director Division of Women, Children & Youth Dr Kathryn Roberts, Medical Co-Director Division of Surgery & Critical Care Dr Mahiban Thomas, Director ICU Dr Paul Goldrick and Medical co-director Division of Medicine Prof Nadarajah Kangaharan.

The letter, sent on Tuesday, is addressed to Chief Health Officer Dr Hugh Heggie and copies were sent to Health Department CEO Prof Catherine Stoddart, Deputy Chief Health Officer Prof Dianne Stephens, Northern Region Medical Group chair Prof Len Notaras, Top End Health Service acting chief operating officer Dr Charles Pain and Royal Darwin Private Hospital executive director Allison Grierson.

Director Division of Emergency Medicine Prof Didier Palmer, pictured with Health Minister Natasha Fyles, was one of the signatories on the letter

In the letter, the group of professionals list 13 “immediate” actions that need to happen to ensure the Territory is protected from any coronavirus outbreak.

“The NT population is doubly vulnerable and its critical care resources more finite than any other Australian jursidiction,” the letter states.

“We currently have the advantage of a few weeks lead time to consider our options. The best option to preserve the most vulnerable in our population and to maintain a functional health workforce is to reduce the risk now.

“Once we see active COVID respiratory failure in (Royal Darwin Hospital) and in ICU, we will be a short number of weeks from exceeding capacity.”

Among their list of 13 actions are suspending all community outreach programs and suspending all elective surgery excecpt urgent life/limb-preserving elective surgery (including Darwin Private Hospital).

They also say all meetings with interstate representatives should be suspended and that the hospital needs to prepare and train for a “30-bedded ICU”.

It says health care workers aged 49 and over should not be on intubation teams, those aged over 59 should not work in COVID zones and those aged over 69 should not see any patients.

They have also called for the medical school to be stood down.

The NT News has also obtained Prof Stephens’ reply to the group.

She wrote “further social distancing measures” were being discussed.

“...no other country has put in place the early and aggressive measures that Australia has used so the modelling based on other countries is inaccurate.”

Prof Stephens ended her reply with: “Continue to prepare and find solutions — response is not required immediately given we have no cases - this will change when we do get cases - when is the known unknown.”