‘We need to be ready for Covid in community’

A Southern Health Co-ordination Centre has been established as Southern District Health Board and WellSouth continue planning for Covid-19 in the community.

But while the agencies will support Covid-19 patients isolating at home – together with Māori and Pacific health providers – the board’s Quality and Clinical Governance acting director Dr Hywel Lloyd warned the public need to be prepared.

‘‘They need to think about how they look would after themselves and their family, how would they get food, medication or look after pets,’’ he said.

Almost all of Public Health South’s ‘‘business-as-usual’’ activity has ceased as staff have been supporting the current Covid-19 outbreak elsewhere in the country on a seven-day roster.

In a report, due to be tabled at the DHB’s community and public health advisory committee meeting on Monday, acting executive director of Population/Public Health Rory Dowding said the team had been assisting with case investigations and risk assessments for the Auckland outbreak, sometimes managing up to 10 new cases a day.

The experience would help improve services when there were cases in Southland and Otago, he said.

An official Covid Response team has been established, but new staff will be recruited to ensure staff don’t get burnt out.

‘‘Over the past few weeks it has become clear that the Covid-19 situation is changing, and additional long-term capacity is needed to manage Covid-19 locally and to continue to support the current outbreak,’’ Dowding writes.

Under Ministry of Health guidance, the Southern DHB should be able to provide accommodation for five to ten bubbles if required, until the end of March 2022.

Currently, the Southern DHB can provide nine accommodation bubbles across Dunedin, Invercargill and Queenstown.

A local transport provider is working with the Infection Prevention and Control team to develop a plan for safely transporting patients to hospital all alternative accommodation, Dowding says in his report.

Rural Hospitals have signalled the need for timely access to hospital transfers for Covid-positive patients and this was being worked through, he said.

Based on demand and volume of welfare requests seen in Auckland, Dowding expected the response would need support from the wider Southern DHB to ensure welfare needs of Covid-19 patients were met in Southland and Otago.

Public Health South is currently recruiting for two fixed-term cultural connector positions, to help the Covid-19 response team deliver culturally appropriate services to Mā ori and Pacific patients.

In a report due to be presented at Tuesday’s Southern DHB board meeting, chief executive Chris Fleming said they would build strong relationships with providers and the community and ensure the response team address equity concerns.

In early November, the DHB indicated that all Covid-19 patients in Southland and Otago who need hospital care would be sent to Dunedin.

In Tuesday’s board report, Fleming noted that nursing vacancies in Dunedin Hospital’s intensive care (ICU) and highdependency (HDU) units meant it could only operate eight ICU and six HDU beds.

Due to recent resignations, only 53 per cent of nurses who worked in these units were qualified in a post graduate certificate for Critical Care, Fleming said, but this number was expected to grow to 65 per cent by the end of the year when 14 additional nurses qualify.

In a statement yesterday, Dr Hywel Lloyd said: ‘‘the most important message is to get vaccinated if you haven’t already, and make sure you get your second shot or booster if it’s due. It’s also important to scan in wherever you go, get your vaccine pass, wear a mask and stay at home and get tested if you have any Covid19 symptoms, even if they are mild.’’

As of yesterday morning, 95 per cent of the eligible population in Southland and Otago had had one dose of the vaccine while 89 per cent.