Tamworth Hospital: COVID-19 second wave preparation, BHI results show 516 more presentations in emergency department this quarter

Pre-operative hand washing has become regular practice for regular people, but beyond that the outbreak has brought with it fundamental changes to Australian hospitals and an extraordinary quarter in healthcare.

Couple a global pandemic with a horror bushfire season and hospitals faced the perfect storm for longer hours and busier emergency departments.

Bureau of Health Information (BHI) results show that there were 516 more presentations in the Tamworth hospital emergency department this quarter compared to the same time last year.

That represents a significant 4.9 per cent increase, Hunter New England Health regional health executive director Susan Heyman said, but despite it all waiting times remained stable.

"January and February is when we first became aware of COVID-19, and from mid-March the government made changes to the way we do things," she said.

"There was a steady increase in ED's across the board during that period and a whole range of factors that contribute to that, like access to GP's or increasing respiratory problems related to bushfires.

"Either way, people are confident in our hospital and the care they will receive."

Restrictions have eased but as hospitals prepare for a possible second wave, public practices are here to stay.

Regional hospitals were at an advantage in the first outbreak, without floods of COVID-19 positive patients and experience with the delivery of tele-health services.

An arrangement was made with the University of New England to bring fifth year medical students on board in the case where extra hands in the workforce were indispensable.

That back-up is still in place, Ms Heyman said.

"If we needed them in the workforce we were prepared to call on them," she said.

"Of course they come in for their training, but to have them as part of the paid workforce separate to their training is a very unusual occurrence.

"I really think we need to acknowledge and congratulate how well the staff and hospital did, including the people behind the scenes who planned for different scenarios if it went as bad as it did overseas."

Personal protective equipment (PPE) use was monitored to make sure it was saved for where it was needed most.

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Extra equipment was ordered, but only one COVID-19 positive patient was serious enough to be placed in the Intensive Care Unit and there has not been a new case since April.

The more the public social distance, avoid touching surfaces and sneeze into their elbows, the less likely the community will see a repeat in Tamworth, Ms Heyman said.

"We are prepared for a second wave, we maintain that in the case we had a cluster we could manage them but everyday that goes by it becomes less likely," she said.

"The more we observe the rules the less likely we will have a resurgence or cluster here."

The BHI report showed 207 babies were born this quarter, down 25 from the same time last year. Whether or not the city can expect a COVID-19 baby boom is something we'll have to wait to find out, Ms Heyman said.

"That's a good question, more people are at home so maybe we will have a baby boom in nine months time," she said.

It's good news for expectant parents as the hospital loosens some of its strict visitor rules.

For now, two people can visit a patient, or one person twice daily as cases drop across the state.

The real outcomes will be seen in the next quarterly results, Ms Heyman said.

"I think it will be interesting to see what happens, this has been unprecedented," she said.

"Nobody has been through this before so it will be interesting to see what the data says.

"It's been a really busy time, it's been really hectic and the staff have done an amazing job even though we haven't had a lot of COVID positive people."