Keeping Tasmanians safe and secure is our highest priority as we continue to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak in the state’s North West.
Today, I’m pleased to announce we have welcomed back the first round of returning staff to the North West Regional Hospital as we begin to reopen health services for the North West community.
The Australian Defence Force and AUSMAT team handed over operation of the Emergency Department back to the NWRH this morning.
This comes as staff have finished their quarantine period and are ready to return to work.
There is a comprehensive return to work program for all staff exiting quarantine to ensure the safety of our staff, patients and the community as we reopen the hospital.
This includes COVID-19 testing and additional training to support all staff members to return to work safely.
We are continuing to deep clean our hospital facilities and implementing stringent protocols to protect our staff and patients.
We are being careful to ensure services are ready and safe to operate before reopening. This is happening through a staged approach.
I want to ensure all North West Tasmanians that we are upholding the highest infection control protocols and that all our hospitals are safe for patients and staff.
Our first priority was staffing the Emergency Department, and we will progressively reopen other services. Pathology, pharmacy and radiology will also be available to support the Emergency Department.
I want to thank the AUSMAT and ADF teams for their service to Tasmania in an unprecedented time, providing essential medical services to our community.
I also thank our highly valued cleaning staff who are working very hard to ensure our facilities are clean and safe.