State says Geraldton hospital is ‘prepared’ for COVID despite email leak of ‘critical’ staffing shortage

WA health bosses claim Geraldton Health Campus will be able to cope with a COVID outbreak despite a leaked internal memo revealing a desperate shortage of medical staff. The leaked email from WA Country Health Service chief executive Jeff Moffet reveal the hospital was only able to fill 12 per cent of its emergency department medical roster with local staff earlier this month. But experts have assured the Mid West all country hospitals would be equipped to manage COVID patients after State borders reopened on February 5. In an internal memo on New Year’s Eve, Mr Moffet warned colleagues the Geraldton hospital ED faced a “critical medical staff shortage” with the potential to “impact significantly on service continuity and safety”. Though WACHS managed to backfill shifts through its rapid deployment pool, the letter makes for troubling reading. “Endeavours to fill shifts have been exhausted within the Mid West and within WACHS,” Mr Moffet wrote. “This is a busy essential emergency service seeing approx 35,000/year and service continuity and safety are at risk with ordinary medical coverage reduced to 12-30 per cent of usual over two critical weeks. “The roster is normally 11 doctors (per) 24 hours and has managed at seven lowest. For the imminent period Monday 10 — Friday 23 of January the medical roster coverage is down to two shifts of 11 filled, and three of 11 at other times.” MORE NEWS Leaked emails reveal “critical” staff shortages at Geraldton ED Health service refutes “incorrect” staffing figures Postnatal services resume after midwife shortage shut maternity ward Mr Moffet requested his message be escalated to metro health service providers to try to recruit two doctors for each week in that fortnight, a task WACHS accomplished. In a statement addressing the leaked correspondence, Mr Moffet said hospitals were “more exposed in the bush” to global workforce shortages made worse by the pandemic. “Attracting and maintaining residential staff in regional areas has always been difficult — despite competitive salaries and generous incentives. It’s also hard to attract GPs to the regions which can increase pressure on regional hospitals,” he said. “But we’re working with the Department of Health on staff deployment partnerships and have our own rapid redeployment pool we can call on in times of need. “That’s not to say healthcare staff don’t continue to work under significant pressure — I acknowledge they’re performing the extraordinary in what are very difficult circumstances for the entire health system.” Member for the Agricultural Region Steve Martin had been “shocked” by the severity of the staffing shortage at the Mid West’s primary tertiary hospital. “For WACHS to be putting that in an email tells me the situation at the Geraldton hospital is very dire,” he said. “We are seeing emails like this when there is no COVID in Geraldton, so goodness knows what that looks like when the virus arrives.” Mr Martin said it was disappointing regional hospitals were resorting to backfilling medical rosters when scores of health professionals looking for work were being refused G2G passes into WA. “It is extraordinary the timing of this, on one hand you have got the government not being able to cope at a significant regional hospital and on the other they are apparently keeping out those valuable staff from WA,” he said. “If people are applying and they are qualified and vaccinated, we need to streamline the process and get them in. “Our health system is groaning and creaking at the seams and the staff must be exasperated with the government’s inability to find staff. It is time to act.” Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said staffing pressures in Geraldton were exacerbated by doctors taking leave over the festive season. “We were hit with a double whammy over Christmas because we had GPs take leave over Christmas and new year which meant we had a lot more people walk in through the doors of those regional EDs,” she said. But Ms Sanderson said country hospitals like Geraldton Health Campus would be “as prepared as metropolitan hospitals” to manage COVID patients in the event of community transmission. WACHS principal health officer Dr Helen Van Gessel said 330 COVID preparedness drills have been completed over the past six months at country hospitals, including Geraldton Health Campus. “In Geraldton, our teams learned some lessons following a protocol breach (involving a COVID-positive seafarer in July) — but importantly, it’s meant we’ve been able to learn, refine and make sure it doesn’t happen again,” she said. “Country hospitals continue to be well equipped with personal protective equipment and a program of formal fit testing is under way to ensure clinical teams are equipped with masks individually fitted to each user to provide safe and effective seals.” Australian Medical Association WA president Dr Mark Duncan-Smith said even with emergency back-up, he was concerned quality of care could be compromised at an understaffed Geraldton hospital. He said issues in Geraldton were part of a long list of problems plaguing country hospitals. “It’s something I’ve been wanting to address the WACHS board about for some time but at this stage I’ve not been allowed to do that,” he said. “It’s greatly concerning that WACHS can hardly do business as usual, let alone the increased workload that COVID will represent.” Geraldton MP Lara Dalton said Geraldton was not immune to the workforce pressures facing health systems across the country and the world. “Despite the difficulties, I am advised all critical services continue to be provided at Geraldton Hospital. This has been achieved through redeploying metropolitan staff,” she said. “I would like to thank all staff for their continued efforts as health authorities work to manage workforce issues related to the pandemic. Our hospital staff do a wonderful and we are all grateful for everything they so.”