Deakin to support rural hospitals through the coronavirus

DEAKIN University has helped create and implement guidelines for emergency coronavirus treatment facilities across rural and regional Australia.
Researchers from Deakin’s Centre for Rural Emergency Medicine (CREM) have contributed to the Australian College for Emergency Medicine’s COVID-19 Toolkit.
The toolkit gives practical advice and safety solutions to smaller regional and rural hospitals.
CREM director and clinical associate professor Tim Baker said COVID-19 remained a major challenge for Australia.
“In Australia, where we may have avoided an unmanageable peak of COVID-19 cases so far, local outbreaks are still possible.
“There has already been an outbreak in rural Tasmania, which serves as an important reminder that regional areas are not immune to this pandemic. The possibility of one case at a regional location becoming a COVID-19 cluster is just as real as in a city, so there must be plans set in place to ensure rural emergency departments aren’t overwhelmed.”
Dr Baker said it is was thus important for people in regional and rural Australia to be proactive in stopping the spread of the virus.
“Despite fewer hospital patients in total and very few rural COVID-19 patients, every rural patient with a cough, fever or shortness of breath must be treated as a possible COVID-19 patient.
“This means that extra personal protective equipment and procedures are required, and also a plan for how work can be spread among rural emergency facilities, should an outbreak occur.”
CREM recently received a research grant from the Western Alliance to examine the effects of COVID-19 on small rural emergency departments.
In the past months, the centre has also been advocating government committees to see equity in the resources given to urban and rural areas.
Despite the extraordinary circumstance with the virus, Mr Baker said CREM has been in a position to provide plenty of support.
“With 10 years of experience in rural emergency care, our Centre has been well placed to help rural hospitals through the COVID-19 pandemic.”