Information on COVID-19 for Patients

Information will be updated, as it comes to hand.  Please review regularly.

 

As you are aware, we take our responsibility for keeping you safe, very seriously. We do this by:

• Wearing full personal protective equipment, including full-face shields (in areas of community transmission);
• Being fully vaccinated against COVID; and
• COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) symptomatic team members.

However, we also have a responsibility to keep our nursing team safe in their workplace (i.e. your home).  To do this we:

• All patients (and family or friends who remain in the area where you are being treated) are to be symptom-free;
• If you have symptoms, please perform a COVID-19 RAT, and notify us of a POSITIVE result; and
• If the result is positive, we will discuss whether or not to delay your treatment with your Specialist.

We will continue to monitor and modify our approach as needed.

 

CONTINUING ADVICE: COVID-19 GENERAL INFORMATION

 

This information is provided by View Health to help guide our patients on:

• recommendations for keeping well;
• the best way to prevent infection with COVID-19;
• what to do if you think you, or a close contact, are at high-risk or have been exposed to COVID-19;
• what to do if you develop flu-like symptoms such as a fever, sore throat, cough, sneezing, runny nose, or shortness of breath (which is new or worsening), regardless of whether you think you have been exposed to COVID 19 or not; and
• vaccination (PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION).

 

People having cancer therapies such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy and people with medical conditions requiring immunotherapies, such as infliximab, vedolizumab and ustekinumab for Inflammatory Bowel Disease, natalizumab and ocrelizumab for Multiple Sclerosis, and infliximab, tocilizumab, abatacept, and rituximab for Arthritic conditions are at increased risk of infection, including COVID-19*. Infection with COVID-19 in these people may result in hospitalisation, serious complications, or death.

 

COVID-19 is spread from person to person through:

• Direct contact with a person whilst they are infectious;
• Contact with droplets when a person with a confirmed infection coughs or sneezes;
• Touching objects or surfaces (such as doorknobs or tables) that were contaminated by droplets from secretions coughed or sneezed from a person with confirmed infection, and then touching your mouth or face; or
• Aerosols (virus carried by air particles).

Close contacts of a person with a confirmed infection (such as people staying in the same house or sharing a closed space for a prolonged length of time) are most at risk of infection.

 

Current recommendations in Australia:

• Make an appointment through a vaccination centre or specific GPs to receive to receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster.  Recommendations for who may need a booster are available here COVID-19 booster vaccine advice | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.
• Make an appointment with your GP or Community Pharmacist to get the seasonal influenza vaccine as a matter of priority. More information can be found at Influenza vaccination | Influenza vaccination | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.
• Follow State and Territory Government advice.

To prevent infection:

• Wash hands frequently with soap and water. If you do not have access to soap and water, use an alcohol hand rub.  Guidance on the correct handwashing technique can be found in the following Queensland Health video https://youtu.be/NpmB80pWUsk;
• Do not touch your mouth, nose, or eyes (this is harder than it seems!). If it is necessary to touch these areas, like when eating, make sure to wash hands first;
• Prevent contact with symptomatic people;
• Follow the guidelines in each state including any restrictions and isolation; and
• Use reasonable ways to limit the time spent in hospitals, day units, clinics or GP surgeries as these areas are likely to have the greatest number of infected people. This can be done through health professional home visits (View Health, home doctor) and telehealth services using Facetime, Whatsapp, etc (bulk-billed Medicare item numbers have been created to cover the cost of these).

#Note: please keep up-to-date with mask requirements within your State or Territory. If you are in a high-risk group you are encouraged to wear a mask. If you wear a mask it is important you wear it properly (over your mouth and nose) and do not touch your face to make adjustments, which may potentially increase the risk of infection.

 

COVID Preparedness and Management

 

LONG COVID

Most people who test positive for COVID-19 recover completely, but some people may develop Long COVID.

The symptoms of Long COVID differ from that of COVID-19. You can experience:

• extreme fatigue (tiredness)
• shortness of breath, heart palpitations, chest pain or tightness
• problems with memory and concentration
• changes to taste and smell
• joint and muscle pain.

Sometimes these symptoms can last weeks or months.

Learn more about Long COVID.

Further information is available on the following Federal and State Health Department websites.

Australian Government Department of Health

https://www.health.gov.au/health-alerts/covid-19

Western Australia

https://healthywa.wa.gov.au/coronavirus

South Australia

COVID-19 health information | SA Health

Victoria

Introduction | health.vic.gov.au

New South Wales

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/diseases/Pages/coronavirus.aspx

Queensland

COVID-19 in Queensland | Health and wellbeing | Queensland Government (www.qld.gov.au)

 

*Please note this list of medications is not exhaustive, it merely outlines the types of treatment View Health routinely administers.  Other medications may affect the immune system as well.