Interim chief executive Robyn Lindsay said ERH would provide care for COVID-19 positive patients that were within its capability to care for.
This excludes paediatric and maternity patients who will continue to be transferred to specialty hospitals.
“This will mean that people who require COVID-19 care can be supported in both a community and in-patient environment by ERH unless the complexity of their illness dictates transfer to a higher acuity facility (such as Bendigo or Melbourne),” Ms Lindsay said.
“It is an important change that local people will be able to be cared for locally. It is also significant recognition of the capability of ERH to complete such work.”
ERH has also activated a health service-wide pandemic stand-by Code Brown.
The decision to activate this stand-by Code Brown plan is in response to increased hospital presentations due to COVID-19 and the pressure the pandemic has placed on the workforce.
This follows an announcement on Tuesday, January 18, that a co-ordinated pandemic Code Brown response for public health services in Melbourne and regional Victoria would come into effect the following day.
A Code Brown, or stand-by Code Brown, is called by a health service or facility when additional capability and capacity is needed to receive an influx of patients due to an external emergency.
ERH has enacted a number of strategies to ensure the safe and continuous access to emergency, acute and residential care services, which include a reduction in elective surgery to decrease patient numbers and allow for staff redeployment; engagement of alternate workforces to support in-patient and residential care areas; and daily incident management meetings to ensure a rapid response to changes in circumstances.
“ERH is very proud of the role it has been able to play in supporting our community during the past two years and, while the next few weeks may bring some additional challenges, we are well placed to respond,” Ms Lindsay said.
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