Chief Executive COVID-19 Update: 3 June

Message from the Chief Executive

As of today, we have:

• No COVID-19 positive inpatients
• No employees with COVID-19
• 33 employees in precautionary quarantine

In this update, we cover:

• Extension to current restrictions
• Personal Protective Equipment
• Vaccination
• Priority vaccination access for residential aged care and disability care workers
• Opportunities to join our COVID-19 vaccination workforce
• Looking after yourself

At 11.59pm tonight, Victoria will move to the restrictions outlined yesterday.  In Melbourne, those restrictions are:

• Five reasons to leave home. Shopping, care and caregiving, work, getting vaccinated, exercising.
• People can travel to an expanded 10-kilometre radius.
• Students in years 11 and 12 and starting units three and four of the VCE will be back at school on Friday.
• A number of jobs will be added to the authorised list.
• Other restrictions, including mask-wearing, will stay the same.

There are currently over 370 public exposure sites in Victoria, and it is important that you check the list daily. Victorians are responding to the call to get tested, and testing numbers are high – more than 57,000 tests were completed in Victoria yesterday – again, my thanks to our testing and pathology teams.

During this time, as always, it is critical to make your safety and that of our patients your highest priority.

To ensure you protect yourself and those around you, always adhere to our standard precautions for infection prevention. Standard Precautions are the minimum infection prevention practices that apply to all patient care, regardless of the suspected or confirmed infection status of the patient.

Simply put, please remember:

• Hand hygiene.
• Use appropriate level of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
• ​Always take a moment to risk-assess the situation before any patient contact.

Search ‘Standard Precautions’ on LATTE for the e-course module.

Personal Protective Equipment
Our Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) requirements vary, depending on the work you are doing and the location you are doing it in.

If you are working in a location where you are in contact with people who have not been screened for COVID-19 (e.g. a home visit, at a screening clinic etc.)
Wear an N95 mask with a face shield.

Please note: COVID-19 screening is in place at site entrances and employee attestations are considered screening.

If you are working in a location where you are in contact with people who have been screened for COVID-19.
Please refer to our PPE Compulsory Standards to ensure you’re using the correct PPE for the specific situation.

Remember to risk-assess the situation before any patient contact. If you can’t assess the situation, it’s better to be over prepared: “if in doubt, don’t go without”.

Vaccination
Nearly 24,000 Victorians were vaccinated yesterday; over 4,200 at Monash Health clinics alone. If you have not yet been vaccinated, you can book at any one of our clinics or attend our vaccination centres at Cranbourne and Sandown, where you can show your employee ID for priority access.

Priority vaccination access for residential aged care and disability care workers
A state-wide, five-day vaccination blitz for residential aged care and disability care workers is underway. All residential aged care and disability care workers can present for priority COVID-19 vaccination in our high-volume vaccination centres at Cranbourne and Sandown.

Join our COVID-19 vaccination workforce
We are seeking applications from part-time employees who wish to apply for casual shifts at any of our vaccination clinics.

There are a range of positions available, from concierge and administration, to COVID-19 immunisers. These roles are open to Monash Health employees, including medical, nursing and allied health students.

If you or any of your colleagues are interested, find out more about the roles and the process for registering with ShiftMatch once you’ve spoken with your manager regarding suitable shifts.

If you know anyone outside Monash Health who would like to work at our vaccination centres, they can also apply by visiting the Monash Health careers page.

Looking after yourself
An extension to the current restrictions will be hard on many people. Please look after yourself, go easy on the alcohol, try to get some exercise and, if you’re having a hard time, please don’t suffer alone. Talk to your teammates, your manager or our support services.

To those working in our screening clinics, pathology labs and vaccination centres who are working hard to meet the increased demand, to those in our care teams who continue to provide excellent care in challenging circumstances, and to those whose work supports the ongoing operation of our health service – thank you for your ongoing effort and dedication.

Andrew Stripp
Chief Executive