Taranaki hospital doctors to prepare for Covid 19

More than 80 Taranaki doctors have put their hands up for a one-day training course at Taranaki Base Hospital to help fight the coronavirus.

Taranaki Base Hospital intensive care unit (ICU) head of department Jonathan Albrett said Hawkes Bay intensive care specialist Ross Freebairn had developed a Covid-19-specific training course to help introduce ICU concepts to doctors who don’t usually work in ICU.

‘‘If a lot more kiwis are hospitalised with Covid-19 the likelihood that extra clinical staff will need to step in to help out in ICUs across New Zealand is possible and Taranaki is no exception,’’ Albrett said.

Hawkes Bay ICU specialists ran the first course on April 1.

Albrett, and ICU nurse educator Briget McDonald were trained as BASIC instructors so they can continue teaching intensive care concepts in Taranaki District Health Board (TDHB) hospitals.

Both clinicians, together with local ICU staff will run BASIC for Covid-19 courses weekly for doctors and senior

ICU nurses.

A BASIC for nurses course will start this week for nurses with less ICU experience.

TDHB doctors participating in the training included house surgeons, registrars, and senior doctors from ED, anaesthesia, Ha¯ wera, general surgery, orthopaedic surgery, general medicine, paediatrics, dental, obstetrics and gynaecology.

Albrett said that the hope was to put 100 TDHB senior and resident doctors, and 60 ICU and other nurses through the training course over the next few weeks.

‘‘It’s great for the morale of our ICU staff to know that so many of their colleagues are prepared to pitch in and help should the hospital need it.’’

TDHB chief executive Rosemary Clements said it was incredibly positive to know that so many of the doctors and nurses, all with their different specialities, were prepared to help out should they be needed.

‘‘All the work achieved sends a clear message that Taranaki’s hospital facilities and staff are prepared,’’ she said.