Nurses on way to help in Victoria

ALMOST 30 Queensland nurses are on the ground in Victoria to lend a hand as the coronavirus crisis in Melbourne deepens.

It comes as the Sunshine State recorded its ninth straight day of zero new cases.

Springsure Hospital Director of Nursing Gillian Robbins said she was proud to lead the Queensland team.

“We’re coming to lend our mates a hand, knowing full well we could very easily be in this situation ourselves,” she said.

“Victorians and Queenslanders often pay out on each other but when it’s time to get a job done, we’re in it together.”

Chloe Kiely, a registered nurse at the Princess Alexandra Hospital since March, will spend four weeks away from her husband and two children, aged 8 and 10 – but did not hesitate to volunteer.

“Like everyone else, I’ve been watching the numbers rising in Victoria with some trepidation so when the opportunity arose for me to help, I put my hand up,” she said.

Registered nurse Donald Gillespie recently returned from a deployment helping Central Queensland respond to the confirmed case at the North Rockhampton Nursing Centre.

Mr Gillespie, who works on the Darling Downs and at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, said this experience, along with a desire to contribute to the national COVID-19 response effort, prompted him to volunteer.

“Queensland and Queensland Health have been leaders in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

“This will be a great opportunity to represent Queensland Health and assist Victoria to get on top of this crisis.”

Premier Anastasia Palaszczuk said Queensland’s enviable position allowed a team of its health workers to make the trip south to Melbourne.

“We want to help,” she said.