Welcome to your COVID-19 update. In this edition, celebrate Michelle Beets award winners and LHD achievements, watch video guides on RAT and needles, and the launch of a new domestic and family violence strategy.
The NSW Government has updated the roadmap for easing restrictions after the State reaches the 95 per cent double dose vaccination target or 15 December, whichever comes first.
Adjustments to previous settings scheduled for this milestone include:
Read the media release
For children with anxiety, needle-phobia or behavioural issues, vaccination can be a distressing and challenging process - for everyone involved.
So how do you help your child sit still long enough to have one, and how do you help alleviate their fears?
With COVID vaccination available to kids 12 years and over, never have these questions been more important.
While there's no one size fits all solution, we asked Sydney Children's Hospital Network Child Life Therapist Janet Burke for her top tips to help parents prepare their child (and themselves!) for vaccination.
Parents and vaccines
Fantastic team work is the foundation of the South Western Sydney Local Health District Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), described as the 'engine room' of the areas COVID-19 response.
In a new video produced by the LHD, key staff reflect on the crucial role of the EOC, including care, vaccination and testing.
The District's COVID-19 Incident Controller Sonia Marshall said the EOC provided the governance, coordination and direction of the pandemic response in south western Sydney.
"Our staff have provided their utmost care for our community, whether it has been in the community, in the PHU on the phone doing the contact tracing, in our inpatient settings, our ICUs, our EDs, our vaccination centres, and testing. We've done a whole lot here to keep our community safe.
"To the staff of the Health District, my heartfelt thanks go to each and every one of you.''
Deputy Incident Controller Brian Lane reflected on the outstanding contribution of staff.
"What has made us get through it and made us do this as well as we possibly can is the teamwork. People have wanted to be involved and make a difference,'' he said.
As a health worker, you have likely had family and friends asking when and how they should be using rapid antigen tests.
Rapid antigen tests are quick and easy and allow NSW Health to help find COVID-19 in people who do not have symptoms. They are effective but the standard PCR (nose and throat swab) test remains the most accurate way to diagnose COVID-19.
Read more about rapid antigen tests
How to do a rapid antigent tes for COVID-19
At the peak of the pandemic when no visitors could come to our hospitals, South Eastern Sydney Local Health District's social work teams led a beautiful program to keep patients connected with their loved ones.
The Holding Hearts initiative involved giving donated knitted and crocheted hearts to patients and their loved ones; the patient kept hold of one heart and the family or loved one kept the matching heart.
Anastasia Anastasiou, Acting Head of Social Work at St George Hospital, said the initiative was warmly received by all involved.
"For patients who can't have visitors this has been such a nice way for them to have a connecting bond with their family members and this is definitely heartfelt healthcare," Anastasia said.
The hearts were initially given to patients in the ICU, cancer and renal wards and they are still offering holding hearts to those in COVID wards, as these patients unfortunately still cannot have visitors.
The initiative has been emotionally supportive for families of end of life patients.
"We had a cancer patient, who sadly passed away, and we are still in touch with his wife, who has told us she still holds onto her holding heart," Anastasia said.
"This program shone a light on the good will and kindness of people from the community who wanted to contribute and help. We had hearts sent to us by a seven year old girl who knitted them with her grandmother, it's just beautiful."
Sutherland Hospital have also begun sharing the holding hearts with end of life patients and their families, providing comfort through a difficult time.
"The holding hearts are a lovely way for families to feel connected and will provide comfort even after a loved one passes away," said Emma Middlemiss, Head of Department, Social Work Sutherland Hospital.
Peggy Yeomans, the Deputy Head of Social Work for the Prince of Wales and Sydney/Sydney Eye hospitals said the initiative was warmly received by families who were unable to visit their relatives in hospital. "The hearts were like an invisible string connecting people during a very vulnerable time in their lives."
There are two Keeping safe in the workplace during COVID-19 documents available this week. Both documents are reminding health workers to stay safe while working in personal protective equipment (PPE):
The advice Keeping safe in the workplace during COVID-19: Fit checking and Extend use of PPE are from the Health Care Worker Expert Panel, responds to key lessons on COVID-19 exposure risks. View the documents: on the CEC website.
Our regional and metropolitan nursing staff have been rewarded for their commitment to providing high quality patient care.
The Humpty Dumpty Foundation announced the winners of the Michelle Beets Award for inspirational paediatric care.
The awards honour the memory of Michelle Beets, a devoted and highly respected nurse who worked at Royal North Shore Hospital and tragically lost her life in 2010.
Clinical Nurse Consultant, Bernadette Goddard of John Hunter Hospital was this year's metropolitan winner for her innovative, family-centred approach to building better health experiences and services to treat and care for children with asthma.
Bernadette is recognised for pioneering the development of a severe asthma clinic at John Hunter Hospital which has delivered extraordinary results, including reduced hospitalisations, paediatric intensive care unit admissions and the duration of hospital stays for children with asthma.
Wagga Wagga Base Hospital's Diabetes Educator and Clinical Nurse Specialist Mark Taylor was the regional winner in recognition of the positive difference he makes to children in the region with diabetes.
Mark's work has been integral to supporting peers and families managing this challenging condition. Devoting time to complex diabetic cases to optimise health outcomes, Mark provides education outreach to peers, schools, and community pharmacies, and strives to keep these children out of hospitals.
Highly Commended recipients included:
The recently launched NSW Health Strategy for Preventing and Responding to Domestic and Family Violence 2021-2026 will provide strategic direction and guide practical action for NSW Health to strengthen our role in preventing and responding to domestic and family violence.
The effects of domestic and family violence on physical and mental health mean that health services are an important gateway to care for people experiencing domestic and family violence. The Strategy recognises all staff in the health system are likely to encounter people experiencing domestic and family violence in the course of their work.
This Strategy identifies six Strategic Directions, each with key priorities and specific actions to ensure NSW Health staff have the support they need from the public health system to prevent, respond to, and end the harmful effects of domestic and family violence.
NSW Health's response to domestic and family violence is informed by the World Health Organisation's call for a public health response. A public health model aims to prevent problems from occurring in the first place by targeting key risk and social factors at a whole population level through a cross-disciplinary and multi-agency approach.
The strategy also supports the delivery of the Premier's Priorities to 'reduce domestic violence reoffending' and 'protect our most vulnerable children.'
All NSW Health staff are encouraged to use the strategy to review, plan, and deliver improved services for people who have experienced domestic and family violence, and contribute to NSW Health's prevention efforts in the multi-agency response.
If in immediate danger, call Triple Zero (000). For support and advice, including support to make a safety plan call:
Gathering of Kindness online events held earlier this month were popular among NSW Health staff.
Susan Pearce, Deputy Secretary Patient Experience and System Performance, inspired the audience, providing insight into her authentic and empathetic leadership style.
Susan joined the conversation on the importance of kindness, compassion and how to cope amidst a global pandemic.
"We all come to work every day with other stuff going on in our lives, and I think that's been one of the keys that we've got to remember about each and every one of our staff because you never know what's happening in someone else's private life," she said.
"It's absolutely incredible the lengths people have gone to, to show those small acts of kindness, both to one another as staff, and I think that comradery amongst staff is probably a significant thing that keeps us all going, but also kindness to patients and their loved ones during the most difficult of times that we certainly could have imagined."
The conversations are available to watch now:
We would love your feedback if you participated in the Gathering of Kindness and what you would like to see in the future
The Critical Intelligence Unit COVID-19 Monitor provides a snapshot of topical information and graphs – generally drawn from international and national sources. This week the Monitor provides updated data on COVID-19 cases, variants, vaccines, hospitalisations and deaths.
In the past week, the Critical Intelligence Unit (CIU) Daily Digest has included a range of new articles.
The Daily Digest is available via the Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI) website. To receive the Digest each morning, sign-up by emailing Critical Intelligence Unit.
The Critical Intelligence Unit continues to provide:
We hope you stay well and continue to follow the rules and restrictions that apply to where you live and work.
The COVID-19 Update is sent directly to all employees across the health system to keep you informed of important clinical, workforce and government updates. Email story ideas, suggestions or feedback.