COVER FEATURE
ON THE FRONT LINE Our small town has a key role to play in stopping the spread of coronavirus, 2508 reports.
Clad in full PPE and wielding testing swabs, local health workers are stepping up to fight the spread of coronavirus. Their battleground is prosaic – a parking lot behind Parkes Street General Practice – but their actions are part of an extraordinary nationwide effort to test thousands of Australians for Covid-19 every day, isolate the sick early and help prevent community transmission. Run by local GPs and funded by the Federal Government, Helensburgh’s new Respiratory Clinic opened on May 11 in a temporary building set up behind Parkes Street General Practice. The owner of Parkes Street General Practice, Dr Cindy Htet, is managing the clinic too. Dr Htet said she was excited about the challenges ahead. “Everything is going well,” she told 2508 District News. “At present, we are seeing up to 25 patients per four-hour daily and since the opening date, we haven’t had positive cases so far. “We have done 234 tests till today (May 25).”
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The clinic offers Covid-19 assessment and testing for anyone with any symptoms, including a fever, runny nose, cough or ear infection. “We treat all patients holistically,” Dr Htet said. “We don’t only do the swab and let the patient go home, we treat all respiratory symptoms. “As the test result is available by SMS within 24 to 36 hours (at present within 24 hours), it is a great benefit to our community.” Anyone who is tested must self-isolate until their test results come in. Dr Htet kindly took time to answer questions. Please tell us about the new clinic. Parkes Street Respiratory Clinic provides free short-term care of respiratory illnesses. Our clinic is located at the back of our General Practice to provide the safest environment for assessment, treatment and Covid-19 testing. There is a separate entry and no internal access to the general practice.