Plans in place for staff

STAFFING in our region’s hospitals will be closely monitored as almost a thousand cases of two potentially-deadly viruses have been detected in just over two weeks.

Between June 1 and June 17, there have been 428 cases of RSV detected in the region and 537 cases of Influenza A were detected during those times.

As hospital staff continue to work through the pandemic and a chaotic flu season, staffing arrangements will be altered to cater to any challenges.

A Darling Downs Health spokeswoman confirmed the organisation has plans in place to manage an already difficult flu season.

“We are cautiously monitoring the rise in influenza cases and have plans in place to manage the expected increase across both our community and staffing capacity,” they said.

“The start of this year’s flu season has been challenging, however our staff at Darling Downs Health continue to go above and beyond.

“Our people really are extraordinary and should be immensely proud of their efforts every single day.”

Dr Liam Flynn from the Darling Downs Downs Public Health Unit said the peak of flu season was still two months away, despite a high number of cases.

4-plex testing is being used in hospitals to differentiate between diagnoses.

“We know there are different viruses active in the community at the moment, and this test helps to identify some of the more common culprits,” he said.

“Not only is it important to identify what virus a person has, but it’s also critical that we protect other patients and staff within our hospital settings.

“Since 4-Plex testing started in December 2021, there have been more than 5000 tests conducted across Toowoomba, Warwick, Dalby and Kingaroy laboratories.”

The Darling Downs has recorded 52 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, and 96 per cent of the community are fully vaccinated.