24 August 2021 General Practice referrals to Tauranga’s Emergency Department Message from PHO Clinical Director’s Dr Andrew Corrin and Dr. Fiona Whitworth On behalf of Western Bay of Plenty PHO and the DHB, we wish to express our appreciation for the prompt and agile response demonstrated by primary care practices and teams in response to the sudden move to nation-wide level 4 lockdown on Tuesday 17th August. Your capacity to respond to the associated demands when the sector is already under pressure is highly valued, and the PHO wishes to extend, not only thanks, but also support to continue the high standard of primary healthcare to our communities. Please continue to engage in communications across the platforms available including local social media websites and daily PHO Alerts and reach out to the General Practice Liaison team for support, which includes information on service availability, redeployed nursing resources to assist your teams, and Covid-19 swabbing and vaccination updates. Tauranga Hospital ED has been under significant pressure in recent days, with many patients attending and referred in who could be appropriately managed in the General Practice environment. We encourage you to make use of virtual triage and consulting strategies, as well and PPE-protected in-person assessment and treatment to best manage your patients and reduce the burden on ED at this time of excessive demand. Of course, Tauranga Hospital and its clinical staff remain available and responsive to patients who require secondary care services. The RNZCGP has provided advice to assist General Practice to continue operating at the lockdown levels, albeit in a different to normal way, whilst maintaining safety for staff and patients. In particular, at level 4, virtual consulting is encouraged and supported, with a target to reduce in-person consults by 70%. The following link provides extensive advice to enable patient care to remain appropriate at the various levels. https://www.rnzcgp.org.nz/Covid19/Clinical/COVID-19_levels/Covid19/Clinical/COVID19_levels.aspx?hkey=aaf8f775-b47a-4c38-babd-e30c73c6da33 Nga Mihi Dr Andrew Corrin
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