VICDOC Winter 2022 - Magazine - Page 47
Leading a 24/7 emergency department, a pregnancy
and managing a pandemic in Geelong, Victoria the experience of COVID-19 from St John of God
Geelong Hospital’s Director of Medicine
Dr Georgina Hayden
I
n February 2020, Dr Georgina Hayden was
celebrating with her colleagues the extended
opening hours of Geelong’s only private
Emergency Department to 24/7.
There had been a handful of cases of COVID-19
in Australia at this point but it had not yet been
declared a pandemic. That would change mere
weeks later.
Dr Hayden, who is St John of God Geelong
Hospital’s Director of Emergency Medicine, said
opening the Emergency Department 24/7 was a
massive change for the hospital’s clinicians and
nursing staff who now needed to be prepared for
whatever walked through the door any time of the
day or night.
And that very quickly included COVID-19.
“To put it in context, our hours were initially
limited to 8am to 10pm but we were finding the
community wanted more access to our care.
Some were telling us they would have chosen our
hospital if the ambulance was able to take them
there in the early hours of the morning, and some
were hanging out until we opened in the morning
and were desperately unwell,” she said.
“So in September 2019 we announced the
Emergency Department would open 24/7 and that
took effect in early 2020.
“At that stage, we were focused on getting our
visiting medical officers (VMOs), nurses and other
service providers used to the new operating model
and employing more doctors and nurses to cover
the night shift, and then, suddenly, the borders
shut to everyone.”
The recruitment obstacles, which have
continued for all health care providers across
Australia, were just the start of the issues
Dr Hayden and her team faced when the
pandemic broke out in Australia.
“The challenge of COVID-19 at the start was
the unknowns. We didn’t know much about the
virus, how it was going to present, or who it would
present in and we were rapidly learning treatment
options,” she said.
“We were pulling together what we needed
and how we, as a region, would respond. What
I particularly liked is that as a region, Geelong
came together — St John of God Geelong Hospital,
Barwon Health, and Epworth — to work out how we
were going to deal with this virus, what our bed
capacity was, and other resources we would need.
“This started early in 2020 and the conversations
and relationships continued in 2021 which was a nice
approach. We were collaborating, meeting weekly,
sharing data and communications, including with
Ambulance Victoria, as one health service entity.
“Of course it wasn’t as smooth as that but it
was a really strong response.”
In addition to the unknowns regarding the
virus itself, the fear and worries that the hospital
caregivers were experiencing was all consuming
particularly in the early days.
“When COVID-19 first hit the staff anxiety was
huge,” Dr Hayden said.
“I worked really closely with our nurse unit
manager and we felt we were on the same page
with our communications, but the nature of this
pandemic meant that what we were sharing in the
morning from the authorities had often changed
by the afternoon. We needed to share information
promptly without overwhelming our teams.
“We were lucky we did not have any workplace
infections in the first year of the pandemic but
we advocated strongly for improved ventilation
in the department as well as the construction of
a COVID-19 zone in the department which was
a welcome move to keep both the patients and
caregivers safe.
“Clinically, we were doing things like making
a COVID-19 area and designating cubicles for
suspected patients and addressing evolving
requirements in terms of personal protective
equipment (PPE). Initially we were just wearing
it for suspected patients, at one stage we were
wearing it for all for patients, and now using
eyewear and N95 masks for all patients and
full PPE for respiratory patients.
VI CD O C WI NTER 2022
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