The Maze Phase- COVID-19

On the tail end of Victoria's second wave of the COVID 19 pandemic, GP Bianca Forrester speaks again with infectious diseases physician Deb Friedman and fellow GP Bernard Shiu about our current priorities and next steps. What have we learned as a health care system? What would we like to see for the future of regional public health and primary care? And what needs to change to make that happen?

Bernard mentions the Mental Health initiative headtohelp:

https://westvicphn.com.au/about-us/latest-news/new-headtohelp-mental-health-support-now-available-in-western-victoria/

Bianca mentions the MCRI report:

https://www.mcri.edu.au/sites/default/files/media/covid_in_schools_report_final_25sept_execsum_1.pdf

Deb mentions the Hierarchy of controls:

https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/infection-control-guidelines-feb2020.pdf

In Victorian primary care, as we witness the failure of a controlled suppression strategy, GPs are increasingly becoming involved in providing interim advice to patients in regards to how and when to isolate while waiting to hear from the Public Health Units and contact tracing teams. GP, Dr Bianca Forrester speaks with regular contributor A/Prof Deb Friedman to get tips for communicating advice to patients and contacts in their household and workplaces. They also open up the topic of COVID monitoring and care.

01.40- Advice for Positive cases

06.40- Advice for Positive cases in advising their close contacts

08.20- GP role in regards to notification and informing regional contact tracing teams

close contacts

09.50- Advice for close contacts

12.20- Advice for the household members of close contacts

15.40-Monitoring close contacts and facilitating appropriate testing

17.30-Considering the contacts of close contacts

21.30-Advice for people in high risk settings/weakspots in the community

25.30- Advice regarding asymptomatic testing for those in high risk settings

28.20- New directive regarding isolation after asymptomatic testing

30.10- Incubation periods for testing...how to educate anxious contacts about obtaining a reliable and well timed test

33.10- Where are we now and what are the key priorities in regional Victoria going forward. (*trigger warning...it's not great news and it's absolutely up to everyone to work to suppress this virus in whatever role they play) Thanks for listening and get in touch on twitter @DrBForrester

Feeling lost at sea, GP Bianca Forrester speaks with regular guest, Infectious diseases physician, Deb Friedman. Two months on from the last pod-conversation, we've arrived exactly where we had discussed we'd be, but nevertheless encountering the difficulties adjusting to the reality of our situation. Welcome to Adaptation.

In this episode, GP Bianca Forrester speaks with assistant Principal Paul Dawson, who describes the transition to remote learning and what he'd like to see happen in preparation for heading back to school. Infectious diseases physician A/Prof Deb Friedman describes the overall pandemic strategy in Australia and unpacks the science informing the decision making. We hear from a 13 year old student was willing to join me in the studio in order to get an exemption from his last lesson on a Friday afternoon. Enjoy!

In this episode, GP Bianca Forrester speaks with Dr David Corbet about how how his clinic has been transitioning to new models of care during the COVID 19 pandemic. Infectious diseases physician A/Prof Deb Friedman describes where we are at, how we got here and where we are headed next in the pandemic response, in Australia. Settle in for a long play episode of The Maze Phase. *Spoiler alert* We are not going anywhere quickly....so, you've got time.

In this weeks episode, GP, Bianca Forrester and Infectious Diseases Physician, Deborah Friedman, take a step back and examine the Pandemic Emergency response from a distance. What is a Pandemic? Why is the Australian community being asked to socially distance and self isolate in this way? Can we tell, at this stage, if these efforts are making a difference? What does the road ahead look like in the short, medium and long term? The COVID 19 Pandemic- How can the healthcare system and the community help?

What are GPs, nurses and support staff (in Primary care) struggling with currently as of the last week of March 2020 in a regional town in Victoria, Australia? What are our pain and pressure points? What dilemmas are we facing and need quick answers to? How can we work together, as systems of care, across primary and the tertiary sector, now and as the Pandemic Response steps up. Local GP, Bianca Forrester asks Associate Professor Deborah Friedman to answer questions from GPs about how to put constantly changing policies, guidelines and emerging evidence into day to day practice. She also asks for Deb's insights into what's on the horizon for health the service system landscape in the short term in our local area.