Private hospitals adapt to COVID-19 challenges

Adapting to a world with COVID-19 has been a challenge for everyone, and private hospitals have been no exception.

Changing the way staff work, dealing with differing advice from governments, and working with the public system have all presented hurdles for the private sector.

For some staff, it has meant going back to the frontlines of medicine.

Dr Bronwyn Webster is an anaesthetist with Epworth HealthCare, who volunteered to help in any way possible during the pandemic.

For the past month, she has been working as a doctor on a COVID-19 ward, primarily responsible for coronavirus-positive patients from residential aged care facilities.

"Epworth sent around a survey asking what we'd be happy to do and I just ticked every box because I was happy to muck in wherever I was required," she said.

"It's been 20 years since I worked on the medical ward as a junior doctor. This is week four of work on the ward and it feels like I have been here forever now."

Dr Webster said her big transition was "terrifying".

"When you are a specialist, you are used to doing your own thing perfectly and being the boss, so having to step into a role where I'm not a specialist in this area, and I am used to being the boss, it involves being humble and being told what to do."

Dr Webster has enjoyed helping people as one of Epworth's dedicated Resident Liaison Officers. Family members can call a mobile number and have direct access to information about their hospitalised relatives.

"I like talking and communicating, which is not something I do as much as an anaesthetist, because our patients are generally asleep," she said.

"It's something I really like about this job because I have built up a relationship with a lot of families who I speak with every day.

"Sometimes I don't have a lot to tell them. It might be that your mum is well and she's not requiring extra oxygen and she doesn't have a fever. They just like to hear that and they like to hear it from a doctor who they know has seen their loved one every day."

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The global group's Australian CEO Danny Sims said Ramsay was "willing and able" to work with the state healthcare workforce.

"The size, capacity and locations of our facilities in Victoria are significant and will assist the public hospital system to curb the virus.

"All our staff have undergone thorough training and all our facilities have implemented pandemic response plans, to ensure the workforce is ready to assist people who are at greatest risk during the pandemic," he said.

APHA's key role in COVID-19 response

While the pandemic continues around the world, Mr Roff said he was happy with the response of APHA and its members.

"Thankfully the leaders in the industry all pulled together in a time of crisis," he said.

"I'm grateful that the APHA Board and a range of our task forces were all willing to meet much more regularly than normal, sometimes on a daily basis, as things were moving so rapidly.

"Given our national membership, we were quickly able to exchange information about what was happening in each state and work together for the benefit of the sector."

Mr Morrison, who is also on APHA's national board, said negotiating state agreements was an "enormous" amount of work, but the structure of the organisation had been a huge help.

"With the structure of the APHA at a state and national level, having that in place and working with state governments and the federal government, it was really seamless.

"In South Australia we had about 60 day surgeries and hospitals we had to make deals with, and being able to do that with one organisation and a centralised approach, that all happened way quicker than it would have otherwise," he said.

Mr Roff said he was pleased APHA had played such an integral part in Australia's ongoing response to COVID-19.

"We didn't really have time to think about how we had to change the way we did things – everyone just got on with the job and pitched in together to get the best outcome possible for our membership," he said.

"The viability deal means that all private hospital staff have remained employed and are available to provide care for our own patients, in addition to assisting state governments with pandemic-related care, particularly in Victoria."

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