At the employee forum on Tuesday, we heard from Jeroen Weimar, the Victorian Department of Health’s COVID-19 Response Commander, who shared some valuable insight into the state’s COVID-19 response.
Over 1,000 employees tuned in as Jeroen expressed his concern for how the Delta variant is moving through the community. He described the current situation, including the latest outbreaks in Shepparton and at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, as nail-biting.
‘Delta is a beast and we’re genuinely concerned about how rapidly it’s spreading.’
Jeroen thanked everyone at Monash Health for their hard work over the past 18 months. He noted that all his interactions with our organisation have been fantastic, including when he received his first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine at the Cranbourne Turf Club earlier this year.
When asked what the biggest challenge was for the next few weeks, Jeroen explained ensuring compliance from understandably restless Victorians was a key focus.
However, he said recent direct engagement with community leaders had been successful and left him feeling optimistic for the management of future outbreaks.
‘We’ve had phenomenal results by working through other organisations. Public health teams have been using local leaders to talk to their communities about getting tested and isolating, as people tend to listen to those that they trust- these include school principals, church leaders and community leaders.’
When responding to questions about the potential of mandatory vaccination, Jeroen explained he felt that eventually, policymakers would use every lever available to them to increase vaccination rates, leading us closer to a new-normal lifestyle.
‘Vaccination availability will start to change the language around lockdowns and restrictions, as now everyone can play their part in doing something useful.’
‘I can’t see why we wouldn’t want to be vaccinated in healthcare settings so we can be protected and get on with the rest of our healthcare journey.’
Jeroen also acknowledged the toll the pandemic is having on the community’s mental health and wellbeing and shared his approach to self-care.
‘My advice would be to surround yourself with amazing people, especially colleagues who can keep you going. The people I get to work with across the health services are amazing.’
Getting a good night sleep, staying active where possible and leaning into the support of his family were other ways he keeps himself grounded.
You can watch Jeroen’s presentation and the full employee forum here.
For all the up-to-date information, resources and advice please visit the Monash Health employee COVID-19 website.
Approved by David Bloxham.