Charlotte Varcoe
THREE Covid-positive patients have been transferred to Adelaide hospitals following the “temporary” closure of the Mount Gambier and District Hospital Covid ward.
The ward was closed on May 18 when a ‘Code White’ was put in place for the hospital due to lack of staffing, the second time in recent weeks.
The Limestone Coast Local Health Network (LCLHN) confirmed in a statement the Covid ward remained closed despite the latest ‘Code White’ being lifted early on Monday after being in place for nearly a week.
The LCLHN did not specify why the Covid ward remained closed after the ‘Code White’ was lifted, despite being questioned by The Border Watch.
With the ward remaining closed until further notice, Covid-positive patients requiring any hospital treatment would be transferred to main hospitals in Adelaide instead of being treated locally.
It was the second ‘Code White’ put in place at the hospital in less than a month, with a three-day code being in place at the end of April.
The LCLHN confirmed the latest ‘Code White’ was called with up to 10 per cent of hospital staff absent, mainly due to Covid.
“Due to staffing challenges at the Mount Gambier Hospital and the high demand on the health service, we have temporarily shut the hospital’s Covid ward for further admissions,” the network statement said.
“Since mid-last week, new Covid-positive patients requiring inpatient treatment have been transferred to the Flinders Medical Centre and the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.”
Patients in the ward prior to the Code White being called were able to remain at the Mount Gambier hospital until their treatment was complete.
The LCLHN said it would remove the measure when “deemed appropriate”.
During the ‘Code White’, the hospital’s emergency department continued to operate and staff continued to assess and provide care to patients according to the clinical care needed.
According to SA Health’s Covid heatmap on Wednesday, there were more than 1300 positive cases recorded across the Limestone Coast.
Speaking with The Border Watch on Tuesday, LCLHN chairperson Grant King said hospital officials felt it was best to close the Covid ward until sufficient staff were available to return to work for the “safety of patients and security of service”.
“We have established a safe and secure site in Mount Gambier for managing Covid-positive patients but in this case we felt it was necessary to close the ward and uplift anyone needing inpatient care for Covid to Adelaide while we were under pressure of staff,” Mr King said.
“I have not been advised there were any patients needing to be lifted to Adelaide [during the ‘Code White’] but that is what we were prepared for if we got to that point.”
According to Mr King, there has remained an average of seven to ten patients in the Covid ward at any one time, which was the expectation of the local health network should there be a significant number of Covid-positive cases in the region.
Mr King also said he was not aware that other hospitals within the Limestone Coast took on Covid-positive patients during the closure of the ward.
He said once a sufficient number of staff returned to work it was expected the ward would be reopened.
“The impact of Covid-positive staff members has impacted the hospital to the extent where we felt it was important to put the ‘Code White’ in place until people were able to return to work,” Mr King said.
He said despite not being made aware as to whether there was an increased demand in the emergency department during the ‘Code White’, there continued to be “constant demand”.
“We are making sure people are treated according to their clinical condition and if people are seriously ill to the point they need to be uplifted to Adelaide that is what we will do,” Mr King said.
Minister for Health and Wellbeing Chris Picton said he and his office had been in regular contact with the health network regarding the continued pressure on staff.
“SA Health is doing everything possible to bring in additional staff from elsewhere in the State but the reality is it takes time to recruit to address the long-term lack of staff,” Mr Picton said.
“We are seeing a culmination of the existing staff shortages and the impact of people being away because of Covid.”
Mr Picton said there was no doubt transferring Covid-positive patients from the region to Flinders Medical Centre would put more strain on Adelaide hospitals – which were already under significant pressure.
“It would have been far better for additional preparation to have been in place over the past two years under the previous Government,” he said.
“But that wasn’t the case so everyone is doing their best to manage with what they have available.”
