Keeping patients and staff safe from COVID-19

Five of these staff are not linked and believed to have acquired the virus in the community. Three were picked up through contact tracing and asked to self-isolate. Currently, no patients have contracted COVID-19 within in the hospital.

Chief Executive Professor Andrew Way has urged the community to unite with health workers and minimise the spread of COVID-19.

“Alfred Health, and our community, appreciate the work staff are doing to care for patients with COVID-19, and we take every measure to keep them safe,” Professor Way said.

“I have confidence in the rigour of our cleaning and waste removal process. We now have a 24/7 response to any cleaning issue that arises. Feedback from staff is essential in this effort and we encourage frontline staff to raise their concerns directly, which they do.

“As a community we must take collective responsibility for ourselves and others. We need everyone to follow the stringent protocols in place; they are there to keep us safe. We cannot afford to become complacent. And as this pandemic demonstrates - behaviour really matters."

Infection prevention measures in our wards include:

• Staff are supplied with appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and receive extensive training on how to use it correctly
• All  staff in all clinical area wear surgical masks, to reduce their risk of contracting or spreading COVID-19
• All staff caring for patients with a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19 wear full PPE. These patients remain in isolation until they are cleared of COVID-19
• On the Infectious Diseases ward, there is a log to record all staff visiting the ward and concierge arrangements at the entry ensure we ensure compliance. The general public and visitors do not have access to the ward 
• Alfred Health has doubled its cleaning resources in infectious diseases wards.  There is a 24/7 escalation point for immediate action and daily touchpoint cleaning audited by clinicians.  The same team audit compliance for donning and doffing – daily
• Any staff member who has close contact with someone who tests positive to COVID-19 is immediately furloughed from work and tested, in line with Victorian Health guidelines
• We are supporting our staff through these challenging times. For staff with vulnerable family members at home, we offer the option of staying in a hotel.

New arrangements are in place for visitors to Alfred Health campuses:

• We have restricted visitors to one per patient per day, for a maximum of one hour. Visiting hours are from 3pm to 7pm
• All visitors are required to wear masks when entering one of our hospitals
• Every person must have their temperature checked, and is then asked questions about their health.

There is a COVID-19 screening clinic on site at The Alfred and we request all staff and members of the public be tested if they feel unwell.