health & safety
GUIDE TO HEALTH AND SAFETY
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Being in quarantine and isolation can impact our mental health and wellbeing. It’s normal to feel anxious, stressed or unsettled.
To support you through your quarantine, we have put together information about staying well and getting help if you need it.
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The Wellbeing Victoria program is an online series of tailored wellbeing videos including activities that can be done within your Howard Springs room. Select from the categories below to get started.
These exercises are designed to assist people in quarantine to stay active.
Staying Active in quarantine
If you have questions or concerns please talk to 24/7 AUSMAT Medical 0427 051 089
INTRO (© MAP DATA; GOOGLE, TerraMetrics)
00 Before you start
01 Child Pose
02 Cat & Camel
03 Thigh Stretch
04 Side lying trunk rotation
05 Hip Bottom stretch
06 Seated hamstring
07 Neck stretch
08 Upper back stretch
09 Standing Calf stretch
10 Groin stretch
11 Standing Stretch
12 Wall pushups
13 Dips in chair
14 Dips off chair
15 Bridging
16 Single leg bridge
17 Standing March
18 Heel Raises
19 Heel raises Level2
20 Sit to stand
21 Forward lunge
22 Squat
23 Wall sit
24 jumping jacks
25 squat jumps
26 Run on the spot
- If you need urgent medical assistance, call 0427 051 089. Please provide your room number, name and a brief description of the medical issue. If you can't get through, call the Telehealth team on number 08 9544 6500 or 0480 031 500 The senior health clinician will call you back.
- Our primary aim is your safety to get you through the quarantine period and returned to your homes.
- Screening is extremely important. This is how we detect signs and symptoms of the virus, which can occur at any time within the 14-day period. We will be monitoring your health and we ask you to contact us as soon as you begin to feel unwell. From an AUSMAT perspective, we uphold the highest standards of hygiene during this time, to protect others and ourselves when we return to our own homes. That is why you will see us wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) every time we interact with our guests in quarantine.
- A key principle is of quarantining is minimising contact between people. This is why you are placed into groups on arrival. We aim to keep these groups as separate as possible to decrease the risk of cross contamination.
- Residents can use their in room iPad to call or their own personal device.
- Remember transmission of the coronavirus is by droplets – if you wear a mask you significantly reduce the chance of any transmission. If you are talking to someone else, and both people wear a mask and standing >1.5 m away, the risk of transmission is reduced even further.
- We are screening and testing even the smallest sniffle, this is to reassure everyone that we are able to identify any potential risk as early as possible, to protect everyone at staying and working at Howard Springs.
- The aim of all of this is NOT to keep you confined to your rooms. You are welcome to sit on your veranda and walk around your zone. However, you must not gather in groups and you must always keep a distance of 1.5m between people.
- Please do not hesitate to ask one of your friendly AUSMAT team members for further information.
- We are privileged to get the opportunity to help you and want to get you home safely.
The COVID pandemic has been a challenging time for everyone, but your children may be finding it particularly scary and confusing. It is important that your children feel safe during this transition into quarantine. In addition, some children have not have had a swab before and may be scared of what will happen.
Here are some resources that may help them understand what to expect.
There is a resuscitation tent on site at Howard Springs that will be used in the event of a medical emergency. The clinical team are made up of doctors and nurses experienced at stabilising medical emergencies. If required, a resident may be transferred to the Royal Darwin Hospital by ambulance.
There are dedicated clinical spaces in assigned for each flight. These can be used for private consultations or a physical examination if required.
24 EMERGENCY MEDICAL HELP LINE: 0427 051 089
There is a medical team on site 24 hours a day available for EMERGENCIES.
For non-urgent medical issues, you can seek assistance through a telehealth appointment with a general practitioner.
Please gather together your medical records and medicine lists before the consult. Awaiting information on how to send information prior to an appointment.
- If you already have a GP, you are encouraged to continue your care with that GP, as they know you the best and can provide you with the most appropriate advice.
- If you do not have a GP in Australia, you can make a telehealth appointment with the practices below. Be sure to let them know that you are in the Howard Springs Quarantine Facility.
1. Palmerston Superclinic ph: 8919 8919
Bookings can be made on the website https://www.fcdhealth.net/online-appointments over the phone (8919 8919).
The standardised fee for this service is $87.50.
A rebate of $38.75 can be arranged through Medicare.
2. Top End Medical Centre
Top End Medical offers bulk-billing for telehealth appointments for residents that have a current Medicare card.
Bookings can be made online: https://topendmedicalcentre.com.au/contact/
Or over the phone:
Top End Rosebery Ph: (08) 8997 6500
Top End Gateway Ph: (08) 7922 8000
PHARMACY
You can call the pharmacy to arrange over the counter medications, or your doctor can send a script to the following:
PALMERSTON SUPER CLINIC PHARMACY (PREFERRED ON WEEKDAYS)
OPENING HOURS: Monday to Friday: 8am to 6pm – will deliver same day if order is before 12pm.
Saturday and Sunday: 9am to 2pm – no automatic delivery, you would need to flag with your telehealth consultant to determine when the next delivery can be organised.
Please email palmerston@iinet.net.au (preferred method of contact)
or call 8932 6060 to organise filling of prescriptions or other pharmacy items.
Please include a contact number so that the pharmacy can call to organise payment before the order will be processed. Palmerston Super Clinic Pharmacy will deliver same day (weekdays only) if an order is received before midday and the item is in stock. They are open 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to 2pm weekends.
Scripts can be emailed and then physically sent with courier, over the counter items can be ordered also. Orders will not be processed without prior payment over the phone.
Residents will need to email guestshopper-hsv@delawarenorth.com and give authority for Howard Springs staff to collect the order. Please ensure that residents room no is included for prompt delivery.
24 EMERGENCY MEDICAL HELP LINE: 0427 051 089
Screening is one of our most important jobs whilst you are at Howard Springs. We conduct screening in several ways to ensure that we are able to identify any COVID positive guests as soon as possible and provide an appropriate level of care to prevent transmission.
- Wearable medical monitor (read more)
During your stay, you may be provided with a wearable medical monitor. This is an armband device that is worn throughout the day, similar to a personal fitness tracker. It will monitor your heart rate, temperature and the oxygen saturation levels in your blood. This information is sent wirelessly to the nurses station, and will be monitored by staff to identify if anyone records signs that would be concerning for illness.
- Daily wellness checks
We will have welfare officers conduct a daily wellness check with you, to see how you are travelling through your quarantine stay. You will be asked to verify your temperature, and run through a simple symptom check. These wellness checks will occur either by phone or as a face-to-face visit on your veranda, depending on what stage you are at during your quarantine period, and the weather at the time.
Why not face-to-face every day? It is very difficult to keep our staff safe wearing personal protective equipment during the extremes of heat and rain experienced over the wet season in Darwin. However, if there are concerns about your welfare, we will make ourselves available to you for a further assessment at any time.
- Swabs for coronavirus
On arrival, and towards the end of your stay, you will need to undergo a swab of the back of your throat and in each nostril. This allows us to detect if you are carrying the coronavirus, even if you do not have any symptoms. This is a non-negotiable requirement of your stay in quarantine.
Services Australia During Quarantine.
To start a claim you need a myGov account.
- Centrelink payments and concessions
- HEALTH CARE or call 132 011
- Child Support or call 132 850
- Information in your language
Centrelink payments - 131 202
Medicate and Child Support payments - 131 450
Call for more information:
Job seekers 132 850 — Monday to Friday 8 am to 5 pm
Families 136 150 — Monday to Friday 8 am to 5 pm
Older Australians 132 300 — Monday to Friday 8 am to 5 pm
Disability and Carers 132 717 — Monday to Friday 8 am to 5 pm
Youth and Students 132 490 — Monday to Friday 8 am to 5 pm
Medicare 132 011 — 7 days a week 24 hours a day
Child Support 131 272 — Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 4:45 pm
National Relay Service 1800 555 660 — Monday to Friday 8 am to 6 pm
Use this line if you have a hearing or speech impairment
to discuss about Centrelink, Child Support or Medicare services or payments.