Page 701 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 5 April 2022
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With COVID-19 now circulating widely in our community, it is not surprising that Canberra families are worried about what might happen if their loved ones, and children in particular, contract the disease. We have seen that most children who test positive for COVID-19 have only mild symptoms, such as a runny nose and fever, and recover within a couple of days. Others have no symptoms at all. Very few children experience severe illness requiring medical intervention or hospitalisation. Our hospitals have seen some children present with respiratory and abdominal symptoms. However, they have not experienced very unwell children in the inpatient wards.
The paediatric COVID Care@Home program was established as part of our response to the evolving COVID situation in Canberra and is run in conjunction with the Canberra Health Services’ COVID Care@Home program for adults. The paediatric COVID Care@Home program is staffed by experienced paediatric nurses and a paediatrician who provide telehealth virtual clinics to the children and families to assess their clinical condition. All low-risk children are called every three days. All children who are deemed moderate risk or high risk are called daily. The paediatrician will review every high-risk child daily and treatment plans are made accordingly. Each family is given a phone number as a single point of contact to call if they are concerned.
In addition, the paediatric COVID Care@Home program provides families with information packs on how to manage their symptoms such as dehydration, fever or sore throat. It also includes a thermometer and some paracetamol and Hydralyte. These packs are delivered to the family home.
The program also has a clear escalation pathway for clinical deterioration in a paediatric patient. The patients, as well as the COVID Care@Home team nurses, are supported by a COVID Care@Home team paediatrician in-hours and the paediatrician on-call after hours. The paediatric COVID Care@Home program has promoted community engagement and trust in the paediatric services of Canberra Health Services. It has also promoted teamwork and collaboration within the organisation.
New oral treatments for the early management of COVID-19 have been made available to the territory through the national medical stockpile. These treatments can significantly reduce the severity of symptoms and the likelihood of hospitalisation and death if given in the first five days after a person becomes symptomatic.
These treatments are currently dispensed through the Canberra Hospital pharmacy. Pharmacists work closely with the COVID Care@Home program and speak to consumers by telephone to take medical histories to ensure there are no significant drug interactions with the proposed COVID treatment. Patients are advised on the correct administration of the medicines and possible side effects. Treatments have been made available to patients seven days a week via several avenues to maximise convenience and safety, including drive-through collection and home delivery. Canberra Health Services is also engaging with community GPs to further expand oral treatment prescribing.
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