Introduction of the Hospital Surge Support Allowance
As of today, we have:
- 121 COVID-19 positive inpatients
- 19 employees with COVID-19
- 43 employees in precautionary quarantine
Thank you as the state heads towards 90% COVID vaccination
Over the weekend, as the Premier and Health Minister outlined the next steps towards opening up, I feel we should all be very proud of the role we’ve played in supporting our community towards the 90% vaccination rate for the state.
While there may be some trepidation about what the changes mean for the number of COVID-19 admissions into our health service, we have made sure we are prepared. The Health Minister echoed that as he thanked all health workers for their incredibly hard work over the last 21 months. As he said, all Victorians owe you thanks and should keep you in mind as we move towards more freedoms, by being cautious and following the mask and other restrictions still in place to keep everyone safe.
Details of the Hospital Surge Support Allowance
The State Government has established a new allowance to support patient-facing healthcare workers who are providing direct care in public hospital services over the next four months.
The new ‘Hospital Surge Support Allowance’ is in place from 11 October 2021 until 10 February 2022.
If you are eligible for the Allowance, you will receive payment as part of your pay each fortnight, which will be back paid to 11 October 2021.
Who is eligible for the Allowance?
Monash Health employees working patient-facing shifts, providing direct face-to-face care to patients in a healthcare setting may be eligible for the Allowance.
These work settings include:
- Caring for patients in Intensive Care Units in COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 streaming areas
- Caring for COVID-19 patients in other hospital ward settings (including hospital in the home face-to-face care)
- Caring for non-COVID-19 patients in other hospital ward settings (including maternity and acute mental health)
- Emergency departments and maternity assessment services in hospitals
- Ambulance Victoria callouts and patient transfers
- Caring for patients in SCOVID areas
- Urgent care centres
Employees may be employed on a full-time, part-time, or casual basis.
Who is not eligible for the Allowance?
Employees in the following work settings are not eligible for the Allowance:
- Testing and vaccination roles or sites
- Working from home or providing telehealth services/virtual care while working remotely
- Employees working in specialist clinics
- Administrative, office management, communication, clerical, research and other functions that are not patient facing
- When ‘on call’ but not recalled to work
- Workers who are not direct employees of Monash Health, e.g., contractors or volunteers, non-emergency patient transport contractors and workers who are employed through third-party agencies
The Hospital Surge Support Allowance will not be payable during periods of leave or where an employee is otherwise absent from work.
Payment of the Hospital Surge Support Allowance
The amount of the payment depends on your employee group and work environment. It ranges between $15 and $60. For a full breakdown of the eligibility for payments, please read the FAQs online.
If you are eligible for the Allowance, your manager will enter a surge support paycode in Kronos and you will receive payment as part of your pay each fortnight.
The Allowance will be back paid to 11 October 2021. Managers will need to put in a Kronos amendment form for the period between 11 – 24 October 2021.
If you believe you are eligible and the pay code is not present, please talk to your manager.
Information for employees
More detail on the Hospital Surge Support Allowance is available here.
We are finalising information for managers and it will be sent shortly.
Infection Prevention – food sharing leads to risk of employee furloughing
While our furlough numbers are starting to come down, there have been some recent cases of furlough which have occurred due to food sharing.
As we enter into a new normal in our business and personal life, we would like to remind all employees that Monash Health remains a higher-risk setting than home or other locations. For this reason, our no shared food policy, introduced in March 2020, remains in place.
It is a reminder of the importance of several elements of our infection prevention measures. Following appropriate PPE and practice has protected us and our patients well with outbreaks. But we do still need to follow the directions around food sharing and checking in to shared spaces.
Although restrictions are easing for our community, we are a health service with vulnerable people entering our care and must remain vigilant; precautions stay in place to protect you and your colleagues, even if you are vaccinated.
Paralympians join us to talk about resilience
This Thursday we will have a special employee wellbeing forum, featuring two of Australia’s Paralympians, Ellie Cole and Grant Patterson, speaking about their insights of how to build resilience and celebrate the small wins.
In partnership with Mental Health Australia, the Tokyo Paralympians join us as part of Mental Health Month.
On-site Converge support
Our Employee Assistance Program provider, Converge International, is onsite to provide counselling support at Clayton, Casey, and Dandenong for the next two weeks.
If you feel this would be of help to you, please book in for a session as soon as you can. Details of times, dates, and how to book are available on the intranet and the COVID-19 website for employees.
Remember that you can always access support through the offsite EAP service at any time. To make an offsite appointment, please call 1300 687 327 or email customerservice@convergeintl.com.au.
Thank you for the care you provide every day.
Andrew Stripp
Chief Executive
All managers are requested to share these updates with their teams and discuss at stand-ups and handovers. Please print a copy and display it in communication books and on employee noticeboards.
As advice and information evolve, please consult the latest updates and visit the Department of Health and Human Services and Monash Health COVID-19 website for employees regularly for the latest.