Advice from Eyre & Far North Local Health Network:
11 February 2022
Pop-up COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic Update
The mobile COVID-19 vaccination team will be circulating through the Eyre Peninsular for the rest of the month.
Locations include:
Cummins Institute: February 17 and 18
To book, go to: www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/covidvaccine
For assistance with bookings call 1800 253 787.
COVID-19 Testing Clinic Update
To meet increased demand for COVID testing, testing clinics in Port Lincoln and Ceduna have moved.
As of Monday 17 January, the Port Lincoln COVID-19 testing clinic is located at Ravendale Sporting Complex and the Ceduna COVID-19 testing clinic is located at the Ceduna Sports Club.
These new sites will allow us to significantly increase testing capacity in both communities.
Port Lincoln COVID-19 testing clinic - Ravendale Sporting Complex
Open seven days a week:
8.30am-4pm, Monday to Friday
9am-1pm on weekends
Enter via Windsor Ave and exit to the left only onto Stamford Terrace.
Ceduna COVID-19 testing clinic - Ceduna Sports Club
9am-12pm, Monday to Friday
Weekend testing available at the Ceduna Hospital Accident and Emergency 1.30pm – 2.30pm
Enter via the main entrance and proceed around the oval.
To book, call 1300 334 222 8am-4pm, 7 days a week.
Please be aware wait times may vary, our staff are working tirelessly to deliver the best care so your patience is acknowledged and appreciated. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
To meet increased demand for COVID testing, our testing clinics in Port Lincoln and Ceduna have moved.
As of Monday 17 January, the Port Lincoln COVID-19 testing clinic is located at Ravendale Sporting Complex and the Ceduna COVID-19 testing clinic is located at the Ceduna Sports Club.
These new sites will allow us to significantly increase testing capacity in both communities.
3 December 2021
A Message from Chief Executive Officer, Verity Paterson:
South Australia’s borders reopened on 23 November 2021 and already there is local transmission of COVID-19 in the community in Adelaide.
The best defences against COVID-19 remain:
- Getting vaccinated
- Wearing masks
- Maintaining good hand hygiene
- Maintaining social/physical distancing
At this time, Cummins has among the best vaccination rates in the Eyre and Far North and are doing well against State averages too:
- 91% of the population 16+ have had a first dose
- 83% of that population have had a second dose.
Don’t forget to have your second dose.
Evidence from across the world shows that people are at much higher risk of severe illness or even death, if they remain unvaccinated and contract COVID-19.
There is a lot of misinformation being spread about COVID-19 and about vaccinations. All COVID vaccines in use in Australia have to go through a formal approvals process to be allowed to be supplied to the public and are only approved if the benefits outweigh the risks.
There are still opportunities to get vaccinated, including at the Lower Eyre Family Practice in Cummins, or the Bayview Medical Service in Tumby Bay or the Port Lincoln COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic. Go to www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/covidvaccine to check appointments and follow the EFNLHN Facebook page for updates about our mobile vaccination team clinic visits.
SA Health has put in place a COVID Response Plan for the State, which sets out that:
- 85% of COVID cases will be safely managed at home
- 10% will recover at supervised COVID-19 facilities (not hospitals)
- 5% will be cared for in hospital
This is to ensure there is capacity in the State’s hospitals to care for those who become seriously unwell.
The majority of people who test positive for COVID-19 are planned to recover at home, monitored by a team in Adelaide using technology and regular checks, and supported if they deteriorate, to receive care and treatment.
In cases where people cannot recover safely at home, for whatever reason, there are plans to set up supervised COVID-19 facilities. These are not hospitals but places where people can recover with some support.
At this point in time, the nearest facilities to Cummins are planned to be in Port Lincoln and Port Augusta, and there are also medi-hotels in Adelaide where some people may go.
Eyre and Far North Local Health Network has developed a local COVID-19 Response Plan, working with local General Practitioners, the SA Ambulance Service, the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOS) and District Councils.
As the local health service, our top priorities are to:
- keep our communities and staff safe
- protect our vulnerable, elderly residents living in our aged care facilities.
We will do all we can to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to those vulnerable, elderly residents.
Under our local plan, Cummins Hospital will not be accepting COVID positive patients.
Three hospitals have been designated as COVID hospitals – Port Lincoln, Ceduna and Coober Pedy.
Our three COVID hospitals will be separated into COVID (red) and non-COVID (green) zones. Red zones will be restricted to essential personnel only and staff will wear full Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at all times.
Patients and staff in each zone will be separated to reduce any risk of transmission.
If there is a COVID outbreak in Cummins or surrounding areas, anyone who comes to the hospital’s Emergency Department will be treated as potential COVID positive patients. They will undergo a risk assessment to determine if they are a high COVID risk or are COVID positive.
Patients who do not require admission but are still considered high risk, will be referred for a COVID test, discharged and advised to quarantine at home until they receive their test results. Many people who test positive are expected to be able to recover at home with home monitoring.
Anyone who requires admission will be taken to one of the three COVID hospitals, most likely Port Lincoln in this case.
However, any COVID-19 positive patients who become unwell will be transported to Adelaide for treatment; they will be cared for at a COVID hospital while awaiting transport.
You can find more information about SA’s COVID response at: SA.GOV.AU: COVID-19 | SA.GOV.AU: COVID-19
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Advice from Lower Eyre Family Practice:
7 January 2022
