Pop up clinics are making a real difference to the COVID testing rate in the North West.
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Dr Karen Murphy, Chief Executive for NWHHS said pop clinics were established across the North West not only at Mount Isa hospital but at remote centres also.
"The Mount Isa Hospital front door clinic is open 7am to 7pm every day of the week where we do 20 to 50 people a day, but we also have a viral clinic inside the emergency department for people presenting with symptoms," Dr Murphy said.
"They can come to that clinic 24 7".
Dr Murphy said people didn't need to show symptoms to present at the front door clinic.
"In reality it is part of our continuing restrictions on people coming into the hospital," she said.
"We also have had a lot of pop-up clinic in many of our remote sites.
"In fact we coincide our remote pop-up clinics with the Rex flight so the result comes out the next day."
Dr Murphy said more than 80 people turned up to the Mornington Island clinic and they had similar numbers elsewhere,
"I'm really pleased the community think this is a positive thing to do," she said.
Dr Murphy said continued testing was vital in ensuring hotspots were identified early.
"This is a virus where many infected people have no symptoms," she said.
"They could be in the community spreading the virus transmitting it into the community so it is really important the testing continue."
Dr Murphy is encouraging people to get tested though admits in the early days many were reluctant.
"There was a lot of confusion about whether the test hurts and whether they had to quarantine for 14 days but our testing results are coming through in two or three days and the test itself is not that invasive." she said.
"In fact it's exactly the same as the way we get swabbed for flu, and Queenslanders are the best people in Australia for getting their flu jab each year and this is the same test."
Dr Murphy said symptomatic people should not be going to work and people should continue social distancing and practising good hygiene.
"Social distancing: that virus cannot transmit if you are 1.5m away from the next person even if they are symptomatic," she said.
"Secondly good hygiene, do not cough or sneeze into your hand and then touch your face or touch a surface like a shopping trolley. This virus can live on plastic and stainless steel for up to 72 hours."
Following these steps, she said, helps slow the transmission of other viruses though there is currently an uptick in the number of people presenting at the hospital for other respiratory conditions like colds and flues.
"This is winter so we normally have a resurgence of these types of illnesses at this time of the year," she said.
"What we found was because of the restrictions in movement, normal respiratory conditions were not presenting to the emergency department.
"But now people are moving more freely and travellers are coming out this way, we've noticed an increase in the colds and flu presentations."
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Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
