Thursday, 31 August 2023

COVID-19

Tim READ (Brunswick) (17:21): (337) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Health, and the action I seek is for the minister to require and financially support Victorian hospitals to maintain high standards of COVID control, including routine testing of patients, N95 masks for staff and paying staff to remain at home when infectious. While the publicity has ended, the impact of COVID on vulnerable Victorians and on the health system has not. Around 2000 Victorians have died of COVID already this year and hospitalisations peaked at over 500 cases in June. Hospital numbers look much better right now, but it is clear that COVID waves will periodically return to slow our ambulance service and slow down our hospital system.

I have been contacted by constituents who are distressed by the decline in preventive activity from the government. Some of these people have a long COVID while others, if infected, are at risk of severe complications. The latter group find themselves taking responsibility for avoiding infection, unlike previous years, when prevention was a collective responsibility. One place in particular where we should not drop our guard against COVID is in our hospitals. Between 15 and 20 per cent of hospitalised COVID infections are acquired in hospital, and these have higher mortality – up to 10 per cent higher – because many of those infected are already vulnerable. I have heard from hospital staff that some hospitals no longer require staff to wear masks, while others do. Similarly the protocols for COVID screening of patients now vary from hospital to hospital, and today the government is ending paid special leave for COVID-infected staff needing to stay home so they do not infect their patients. Now, I understand there may be negotiations with health unions around this, but the bottom line is we must not have a situation where infectious staff attend work.

Infection control has been permanently altered by COVID. Gone are the days when we would accept someone coughing unmasked in a medical waiting room. What we have learned from COVID should not be thrown out because it is inconvenient. Preventing the spread of influenza is a priority in healthcare settings, and so it should be for COVID, given the higher incidence and mortality. Supporting our hospitals to retain high standards of infection control and improve the overall functioning of the healthcare system will prevent cases of long COVID and save lives.