A report into an outbreak of coronavirus at the North West Regional Hospital has highlighted the vulnerability of the North-West health system says the Australian Medical Association.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
AMA Tasmania president John Burgess said the North-West hospital system and community were vulnerable from the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The report describes a vulnerable regional healthcare system that was overwhelmed by events and a broader governance and public health response that always seemed days behind the curve in its communications and interventions to crush emerging local outbreaks and maintain hospital services," Professor Burgess said.
He said the report provided little insight or evidence of system introspection as to the roles higher level bureaucratic processes, communication and responsiveness played in the genesis and progression of the outbreak.
"There is no clear insight provided into the governance and public health policy and process reforms required to prevent a similar outbreak occurring in the future," Professor Burgess said.
In Parliament Question Time, Labor leader Rebecca White said the report painted a concerning picture of a hospital system under-resourced and under-prepared to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
"It is clear that there were multiple systemic failures that led to this outbreak including patients being transferred from the NWRH to the Mersey Community Hospital, despite the declaration by the health minister on April 1 that safeguards were in place to keep the Mersey free of COVID-19," Ms White said.
Coronavirus: All the latest updates on COVID-19 for Tasmania
Ms White said infectious Ruby Princess passengers went all over Australia but no other jurisdiction was forced to close two hospitals, quarantine thousands of people and call in the military.
"There can be no doubt Tasmania's ability to respond to the Ruby Princess cases exposed the healthcare setting under pressure, with the report identifying failures across infection control, movement of patients and staff," she said.
But Premier Peter Gutwein rejected the assertion Tasmania's health system was not prepared for the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Gutwein said the state's health system was as prepared as any other for the pandemic.
"Our health system employs more people than it has before. It has more funding than it ever had before," Mr Gutwein said.
"This is a highly infectious disease. This is a disease like nothing we've ever had to face in this country before."
In other news:
Greens leader Cassy O'Connor questioned if Mr Gutwein would be speaking to Federal Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton about the decision to allow the Ruby Princess to dock in Sydney after a nationwide ban on cruise ships was in place.
Mr Gutwein said it was a leap to immediately point to Mr Dutton or any particular minister to blame for the crisis.
"The circumstance regarding the Ruby Princess is now being considered by an inquiry in New South Wales and it would be best to let that inquiry take its course," he said.
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Tasmania secretary Emily Shepherd welcomed the report and said ultimately learning and taking action was the most important outcome of the report, not laying blame.
"We are particularly pleased with the findings that prioritise local level infection control as a priority, including infectious disease specialists, infection control nurses and clinical nurse educators," Ms Shepherd said.
"This includes the governance processes at the local level, along with position descriptions for the Outbreak Management Team to improve local support and communication with staff and the Emergency Control Centre.
"What has been further enforced is that we cannot underestimate the virulence of COVID-19 and the ease with which it can spread."
Our COVID-19 news articles relating to public health and safety are free for anyone to access. However, we depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.