Sue Flockhart is leading a team giving Ballarat Health Service's more than 4000 staff have the best chance to avoid infection with COVID-19.
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With health care professionals becoming infected while treating coronavirus patients on the front line, and many dying overseas, keeping hospital workers healthy so they can treat new patients and maintain rigorous cleaning practices is a high priority.
Ms Flockhart is manager of infection prevention, control and workforce immunisation at BHS, a vital role that has even more importance in a contagious pandemic.
The staff are amazing; they are just uniting in the way they are working to make sure everyone is doing the right thing.
- Sue Flockhart, Ballarat Health Services
Ms Flockhart and her team are ensuring all staff stick to strict infection control procedures and has boosted support for staff to quickly provide answers to any questions or situations that arise.
With more staff than ever wearing full personal protective equipment throughout their shifts, Ms Flockhart and her team have made a video on how to correctly "don and doff" their PPE.
"The staff are amazing; they are just uniting in the way they are working to make sure everyone is doing the right thing," she said.
"Our emergency department are on the frontline. They always do an amazing job ... but then there are our cleaning staff, people doing temperature checks to monitor anyone coming in to the hospital, workers at our COVID-19 clinic and many more ... everyone has stepped up.
"Our cleaning staff certainly play a significant part in making sure frequently touched surfaces are cleaned regularly because we know this is where the virus can sit and potentially infect others."
Ms Flockhart's department has also immunised about 2500 staff against influenza so far, to minimise the number of cases in the coming flu season.
Ms Flockhart praised staff who have changed roles during the COVID-19 crisis, with staff from departments seeing fewer patients quick to volunteer to take on other tasks.
"Everyone has pulled together and everyone has been working feverishly to make sure there are clear messages going out to staff every single day."
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