Bass Coast Health (BCH) is providing priority services to the community as the health service enters the fourth week of its Code Brown Pandemic Plan.
Dialysis and maternity are among the many services continuing to operate as per normal to ensure renal patients have access to life-saving treatment and families can continue to give birth in a COVIDSafe setting close to home.
BCH is also offering Emergency Department, Urgent Care Centre, Category 1 and Caesarean Theatre capacity, Cancer services, Inpatient Services, Hospital in the Home (HITH), Residential Care, District Nursing, Residential In Reach, COVID testing and COVID vaccinations.
Dialysis patient Donald Mackie is among those community members accessing services unimpeded by the Code Brown, receiving dialysis three days a week as he has done for the past two-and-a-half years.
“This is such a great service. The nurses work hard to look after you and they’re so attentive. We’re so lucky to have this dialysis unit,” he said.
“Dialysis has made such a difference to my life. I feel better within myself and I can enjoy life. I didn’t know how valuable the health service was until I got into the system.”
BCH enacted its Code Brown Plan after the COVID pandemic resulted in staff shortfalls, with some staff becoming infected with COVID and being close contacts of COVID cases and needing to isolate.
The health service has established a COVID Response Team to work with staff to ensure they are well supported and helped to return to work as quickly as possible - within current rules that permit certain workers deemed contacts to return to work to assist health services to operate.
“We are reassuring the community that we are here for them and enabling people to access health services locally despite the pressures of the pandemic,” BCH CEO Jan Child said.
“The support our health service has been shown by the community during this recent COVID surge has been tremendous and we’re so grateful for it. Our staff know this and that’s why they are working so hard and long to care for their community. I’m so proud of the fabulous staff that we have here at Bass Coast Health.”