Items

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  2020-08-11

  Nurse handover Emergency Department, St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne

  This photograph was taken in August 2020, the time when daily and active cases in Victoria's second wave were at their peak with hospitals adapting services and protocols in response. The photograph shows a nurse handover in the hospital's Emergency Department. The red line on the floor marks the boundary of the "hot zone" area dedicated to the care of patients regarded as infectious. Staff wear prescribed Level 4 PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) of gowns, face protection and N95 masks.
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  2020-06-08

  Australian Health Worker quote on not being valued

  There's a bit of a feeling, from a nursing perspective, that we're just numbers. You know that we're not. We're not. Quote from Female aged 42, Intensive Care Nurse. Image created by the Health Worker Voices project: https://mspgh.unimelb.edu.au/healthworkervoices
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  2020-07-23

  COVID-19 Contact Tracing Notice - Healthcare Worker

  This was an email sent to my brother, who is a third year Doctor of Optometry student at the University of Melbourne. One of his classmates had tested positive for Covid-19, and he had been in the same lab room doing practicals together during this time. His whole class was asked to self-isolate for a two-week period, and his exams for the semester were pushed back as well. Although he does no directly deal with Covid-19 related patients, as a healthcare worker, he must come in close contact with people on a greater basis than almost any other profession. He isolated for the required period and was tested twice, thankfully with a negative result both times. Each test required 1-2 days turnaround. This object shows the steps organisations are taking to ensure proper contact tracing and in taking care both their patients and students. It also shows how healthcare workers, who come in close physical contact with others, are inherently at high risk and need to be extra careful not to catch or spread diseases. HIST30060.