WA Country Health Service prepares for impact of COVID-19

The infectious diseases expert leading regional WA’s COVID-19 response has reassured country communities on the WA Country Health Service’s (WACHS) COVID preparedness.

WACHS Principal Health Officer Dr Helen Van Gessel said while there were undoubtedly tough times ahead for the organisation, it would be no different to what other rural health service providers around the country have faced.

“We’ve been kept safe from the obvious impacts of COVID-19 for around two years now,” Dr Van Gessel said.

“But the pandemic has caused secondary issues for WACHS and we’ve always been very upfront on our workforce pressures and longstanding reliance on interstate and international workforces.

“That said, our preparatory work is thorough – we’ve optimised ventilation and air-circulation at our hospitals, established COVID positive pathways and plans to keep patients and staff safe and completed hundreds of drills and assurance exercises.

“We’ve also successfully managed vessel outbreaks and high-risk exposure to COVID at the state border.”

Dr Van Gessel said while WACHS’ planning aligned with the Department of Health’s system-wide response, it also needed to factor in circumstances unique to country WA. 

“As part of our planning, we have needed to address what we will do at our more remote, more vulnerable sites,” she said.

“For example, we’re working on contingency plans in the event someone working at a remote hospital unknowingly contracts COVID while out and about and all of their colleagues become close contacts.

“And we’re talking to our staff on it, on what care looks like in these circumstances.”

Dr Van Gessel said it was important the organisation considered “what if” scenarios – especially in areas where COVID may heavily impact day-to-day operations.

“This level of planning forms part of a suite of preparedness measures,” she said.

“Any temporary service change will only be called upon when we have exhausted every other avenue – including our own rapid deployment pool and support from our metropolitan counterparts.”

Here, WACHS will communicate openly with Local Government Authorities and the community on the impacts of COVID-19 – including any support they may be able to provide.

“We aren’t closing country hospitals,” Dr Van Gessel said.

“On the contrary, we’ve spent the last decade investing hundreds of millions of dollars increasing service capacity with things like Telehealth technology, cancer treatment, renal support and palliative care.

“It’s our job to put the welfare of our staff and patients first and prepare for every possible outcome - and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”