Doctors will pick who to save and retired nurses brought back to work: The extreme WARTIME measures that will be implemented in hospitals if the worst case coronavirus scenario happens in Australia
- Intensive care workers are being prepped for the worst case COVID-19 scenario
- Retired nurses will be asked to return to work, while volunteers could be called in
- ANZICS told its members they may have to pick and choose who they can save
- All elective surgeries could be cancelled or delayed if there is a shortage of beds
- Old hospitals and equipment may be brought back in service to meet demand
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
Hospitals will have to choose who they can and can not save if the worst case coronavirus scenario happens, a leading Australian medical body has told its members.
Retired nurses could also be rushed back to work and volunteers pulled off the street and given key jobs, such as looking after and informing the families of patients.
The Australian and New Zealand intensive care specialists (ANZICS) released the new COVID-19 guidelines as the situation around much of the world continues to worsen.
Some experts have predicted 60 per cent of Australians could contract coronavirus, which at a death rate of one per cent would claim as many as 150,000 lives.
In the document circulated to ICU staff across Australia, ANZICS outlined a series of wartime measures that include tough calls on prioritising patients if it reaches that.
ICU staff across Australia could be forced to make hard calls on which patients to treat if the worst case scenarios being forecast for coronavirus come to fruition, a report by a leading Australian medical body has revealed
‘Senior Intensive Care medical staff… should consider the probable outcome of the patient’s condition,’ the guidelines read.
‘The burden of ICU treatment for the patient and their family, patients’ comorbidities and wishes, and likelihood of response to treatment.’
The recommendations put together by experts include everything from how to treat patients with the disease to ensuring enough staff and medical equipment.
One of the biggest fears of a rampant coronavirus outbreak is that there will not be enough hospital beds or ventilators.
According to the ANZICS guidelines, the answer could be in recommissioning old or abandoned hospitals.
If there is a shortage of beds in ICUs because of the number of coronavirus patients, elective surgeries could be cancelled, delayed or carried out at private hospitals.
The guidelines also recommend that in the worst case scenarios, ICUs should move to ‘prioritise meeting the minimum standards’ for staffing.
Hospitals are also being urged to identify non-nursing staff members who can help on the ICU ward in a time of crisis.
The Australian and New Zealand intensive care society (ANZICS) released the guidelines to its members this week. The include a series of recommendations for hospitals on what to do if the coronavirus cases spark to the worst levels – with some experts predicting up to 150,000 lives could be lost in Australia
Under the measures only family members would be allowed in to visit patients, while retired nurses would be called back to work (Pictured is a queue of people waiting to be tested at Royal Melbourne Hospital)
They include nurses who have been ‘redeployed, (are) in administrative or non-clinical roles, (or) recently left the workforce’.
Staff could also be moved up and into roles they are not accustomed to doing.
This would leave lower open level roles such as receptionist or family liaison, which the guidelines suggest could be filled by ‘volunteers’.
Visitors to confirmed coronavirus patients would be restricted to ‘immediate family’, but may need to be ‘further restricted’.
Protective equipment should also be worn at all times the guidelines warn due to the airborne threat the virus poses.
It is also recommended that staff have their temperatures checked before and after a shift.
There are 609 confirmed coronavirus cases in Australia, with 307 of those in New South Wales alone. So far six people have died as a direct result of the virus
ANZICS also recommends that health care workers are given ‘priority’ testing for the virus.
Should school closures be enforced across Australia there are predictions that up to 30 per cent of the nation’s medical workforce could be off work to care for children.
In this instance, ANZICS recommends hospitals provide ‘appropriate’ support so that ‘they can still attend work’.
‘This could include access to additional paid leave being provided to partners of health care workers,’ the guidelines read.