Sydney firefighters and more paramedic graduates are on standby to bolster the NSW COVID-19 response as the state prepares for the biggest surge in cases since the start of the pandemic, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian expecting a peak in the next fortnight.
The state recorded 1431 cases on Friday and 12 deaths, the highest numbers recorded in a 24-hour period since the pandemic began. Ms Berejiklian foreshadowed the healthcare system would probably operate differently in the near future.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said NSW should prepare for “difficult days” ahead, with hospitals preparing for the worst. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
In an email to staff seen by the Herald, NSW Ambulance chief executive Dominic Morgan said contingency surge workforce plans developed last year were now being reviewed.
“Given the potential for continuing increased demand, we are likely to see increased numbers of patients transported to hospital with Covid-19,” Dr Morgan said, adding some options include accelerating more graduates into the workforce, cancelling annual leave and partnering with other emergency service organisations.
A Fire and Rescue NSW spokesperson said “it does not have medical transport capabilities” but is preparing to provide other assistance.
“Fire and Rescue NSW is working with the State Emergency Operations Centre should we need to provide any additional assistance, such as a humanitarian response, similar to the operational support we provided to the Ruby Princess in Port Kembla last year, including tents with utilities, decontamination areas and other facilities,” a spokesperson said.
The Premier said all available modelling indicated October would be the most challenging month for hospitalisations, with cases set to peak in the next fortnight before increased vaccination rates take effect. The state government will release modelling on how hospitals will cope next week.
“We will be able to present in very good detail next week on all the preparation work that has been happening in the last 18 months, to make sure that everyone can feel confident,” Ms Berejiklian said, adding people who need medical treatment will still receive “the best care possible”.
NSW Health said there were 979 patients with COVID-19 in hospital on Friday, including 160 in intensive care. More than 25,000 cases have been recorded in NSW since June 16, as Sydney completes its 10th week of lockdown.
The Premier said it was likely “different procedures”, such transporting patients to hospitals further from their home, would need to be used as cases increased.
“Just because you hear about something being done differently, I don’t want people to be concerned by that because that is what is in our pandemic plan,” she said.
Transmission has continued to occur in Sydney’s hospitals. Investigations are under way after an unvaccinated midwife and a new mother at Northern Beaches Hospital were diagnosed with COVID-19. Two close contacts of the patient have also tested positive and 20 staff are in isolation.
One of the 12 dead was mother-of-four Jamila Yaghi, aged in her 30s, who died at her Guildford home. Another, a woman in her 70s, died after she acquired her infection at Westmead Hospital.
While the state was working to triple its ICU capacity to 1500 beds in coming weeks, Ms Berejiklian said she did not expect it would all be used.
Alison Hodak, president of the Australian College of Critical Care Nurses this week said: “We need to look at different ways of managing the increasing cases, sharing the load of the patients across the whole system in NSW. That way we aren’t overloading one particular hospital or one particular workforce.“
A Liverpool Hospital COVID-19 ward and intensive care unit staff member, who spoke to the Herald on the condition of anonymity, said about 20 operating theatre nurses have been moved to staff these units.
“Theatre nurses provide critical care but many don’t do bedside nursing,” she said. “ICU nurses have a complete understanding of the intensive care treatments, ventilation, oxygenation systems and they can recognise quickly when a patient is deteriorating. They have a very particular skill set.”
The nurse said theatre staff were given three days’ training, including “refresher” online courses, to work in the ICU.
A NSW Ambulance spokesperson said 33 new full-time surge staff members had been deployed to Sydney’s west and south-west this week and 30 new crews would start on September 11.
Since the beginning of this outbreak, NSW Ambulance has responded to more than 3500 suspected or confirmed COVID-19 positive patients.
About 1000 Rural Fire Service volunteers and staff have been deployed to the pandemic effort, Police Minister David Elliott said, with “many more on standby”.
They have worked at vaccination centres and testing clinics, as well as distributing personal protective equipment and delivering hampers to people in isolation.
“There is also a major logistical operation under way to deploy and establish the RFS base camp at Wilcannia to house medical staff working in the area,” Mr Elliott said.
More than 1000 State Emergency Service workers have also been engaged, establishing and working at pop-up testing clinics, including one at Orange, as well as at the emergency operations centre in Bass Hill, in Sydney’s south-west.
Ms Berejiklian said on Friday she sensed a recent shift in the attitude of state and territory leaders towards the reopening of Australia, despite her Queensland and West Australian counterparts threatening to push back against national cabinet plans.
“I think most state leaders and chief ministers are coming around to what the experience has been in NSW. I’ve sensed, certainly, a shift in how people think delta will coexist with us in Australia, and I’m very optimistic about that,” she said.
“I think people are realising what we realised, because we were confronted with what we were in NSW, that delta is a game changer. That COVID is here to stay for the foreseeable future.”
The mayors of the 12 COVID-19 hotspots met Health Minister Brad Hazzard and Local Government Minister Shelley Hancock on Friday morning to voice concerns from the heavily restricted communities. The group was given an email address for the Office of Local Government to direct their queries.
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2021-09-03 12:15:36Z
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