Prince of Wales’ Infectious Disease dream team

Prince of Wales Hospital is home to a crack team of experts, working around-the-clock to diagnose and treat infectious diseases on site. In response to the COVID-19 virus, the pandemic has brought about a new way of working for this dynamic team.

Associate Professor Jeffrey Post, who heads up the department, said his team has taken on a vast range of responsibilities to tackle the pandemic, saying he is most proud of everyone “chipping in” to get the job done.

“Some of us worked on setting up the COVID-19/Flu Assessment Clinic, others are in charge of providing test results to patients, there are staff caring for COVID-19 positive patients in our hospital as well as patients in isolation and the rest are quietly and efficiently running the remainder of the service,” Professor Post said.

“We’ve also been advising the hospital on the latest clinical approaches and instructing how to do business in a world with physical distancing, as well as taking everyone’s questions at all times of the day and night – thanks to our on-call team.”

Whilst COVID-19 has brought about new challenges and “no rest time”, the pandemic has only strengthened his devoted team, according to Professor Post. 

“I want to say thank you to everyone in my team who stepped up – often working 16-hour days during the peak. We couldn’t have done this without great teamwork.”

“I also want to thank the teams that we’ve worked with that helped make the response easier. A special thank you to our nursing colleagues in infection control and the isolation wards, as well as the hospital executive.” 

The team has also been working closely with the Public Health Unit, to carry out contact tracing and advise the hospital on personal protective equipment. Recently, they banded together with the Clinical Engineering team to rapidly install new Draeger monitors to enhance remote monitoring of patients with COVID-19 and reduce potential exposure for staff on the ground.

Pictured: Dr Kristen Overton (Staff Specialist & Medical Lead, COVID-19 Clinic), A/Professor Jeffrey Post (Staff Specialist & Department Head), Belinda Andrews (Nurse Manager, Infection Prevention & Control), Dr Martin Mackertich (Director of Clinical Services) & Louise Barclay (Nurse Unit Manager, COVID-19 Clinic).