Despite the recent outbreak of COVID-19 cases in South Western Sydney, to this point there is limited community spread from an unknown source in the rest of the state.
Contact tracing and testing efforts have been increased and we have adequate supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE).
However, this outbreak is a reminder to all of us to remain vigilant. Keeping our staff, patients and community safe is our highest priority.
Our PPE stockpile is well resourced and I am confident we are equipped to manage increased demand if required. We continue to improve controls for PPE ordering and supply management across local health districts to ensure staff have the equipment they need to stay safe.
In the next fortnight, we will share the NSW Health Personal Protective Equipment Strategy. This documents in detail how PPE will be managed over the next 12–18 months, building on the key lessons learned from our response to the pandemic so far.
The Clinical Excellence Commission (CEC) and the Health Education and Training Institute (HETI) have done a huge amount of work to develop and update guidelines and training modules on PPE to ensure your safety as clinical staff.
If you have not done so already, or would like a refresher, please access the PPE training module on My Health Learning using course code 294450660.
Thank you again, for your ongoing commitment in these challenging times.
