Infected staff mingling with other workers and treating patients

Read the 17 recommendations made to the North-West hospitals after the deadly COVID-19 outbreak which forced military intervention.

THE report into Tasmania’s North-West outbreak details hospital workers mingling with patients, and then again with medical staff.

It continues, stating health care staff continued to work at the NWRH hospital despite showing respiratory symptoms.

READ MORE ABOUT THE REPORT HERE

And finally it says outdated work safety culture needs to be changed to stop further outbreaks.

The report offers 17 recommendations to mitigate further outbreaks.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

1: Reduce movement of staff between facilities (the NWRH, the private hospital and the Mersey Community Hospital) particularly during outbreaks and those providing care to known COVID-19-positive patients.

2: Invest in specialist infection prevention and control services in the North West including hiring a dedicated physician to work across the NWRH and MCH for at least the next six months. Employ a full-time clinical nurse educator to develop infection control training.

3: Clearly describe the structure, roles and resources required for the Outbreak Management

Team and ensure members are skilled in rapidly managing outbreaks including finding and quarantining close contacts of infected people.

4: Introduce better staff and visitor screening to ensure those who enter Tasmanian health facilities are not sick. This screening may include taking temperatures.

5: Govern patient transfers between facilities. If a patient must be moved, the clinical and infection control risk should be assessed and proper precautions taken.

6: Develop a formal Outbreak Management Plan that can be applied rapidly and consistently should other outbreaks occur in Tasmanian hospitals.

7: Develop better processes to trace and manage contacts for patients, staff and the community. This will allow relevant staff to be trained in contact tracing and ensure each facility has a nominated “on-the-ground” liaison.

8: Clarify statewide Return to Work processes for COVID-positive and quarantined contacts. While a process has been established for North West staff returning from quarantine, there needs to be a broader system set up tin case there is another outbreak elsewhere in Tasmania.

9: Move away from the use of paper – and towards computer programs – in hospitals for clinical records, rosters and records of staff and patient movement. The report showed the reliance on paper systems hampered the timely management of potential close contacts.

10: Improve social distancing and proactive rostering. The outbreak may have been exacerbated by staff not practising social distancing in the workplace. Anecdotally, similar challenges exist in other hospitals too. A framework is needed to guide social distancing during clinical handovers, ward rounds and during team meetings and meal breaks.

11: Identify why workers feel they need to attend work even if unwell. The report showed health workers were presenting for shifts despite having respiratory symptoms.

12: Conduct regular Infection Preventions and Control audits in Tasmania’s hospitals. This will help identify where more training is needed such as using PPE and how often environmental cleaning needs to be done.

13: Strengthen local and statewide Infection Prevention and Control networks and culture

14: Better Communication about transmissions in the health workforce. Concerns were raised during the outbreak that staff became aware of disease transmission through social and other media before they had heard from their employer.

15: New mandatory training and education package brought in with a focus on infection

control, PPE use, and better communication with staff. A “PPE coach/buddy” system to be set up to make sure staff and putting on and taking off PPE properly on every occasion.

16: Maintain a strong communications strategy to keep staff informed.

17: Introduce a staff wellbeing program.