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Speaker 1: Now joining me on the line right now is the

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Speaker 1: Health Minister Natasha Files. Good morning to your minister.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, Katie, Good morning listeners.

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Speaker 1: Good to have you on the show for the first

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Speaker 1: time for the year, and no doubt it's going to

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Speaker 1: be a busy year again, Minister. One hundred and fourteen

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Speaker 1: patients in hospital, five of those in ice you is

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Speaker 1: this the highest number of patients we've had in icee you, Katie, The.

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Speaker 2: Numbers fluctuate, but my understanding is that this is our

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Speaker 2: highest number of hospitalized patients. I would have to double

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Speaker 2: check whether this is the highest number in ICU, But Katie,

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Speaker 2: what we see is people come into our hospital system,

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Speaker 2: they get assessment. They may end up staying in hospital

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Speaker 2: because they need that care for their COVID or it

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Speaker 2: could be that they have other health issues that need

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Speaker 2: to be cared for and COVID they also test COVID positive.

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Speaker 2: So we've got seventy seven people in the World Zarwen Hospital,

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Speaker 2: twenty eight people in the Alice Spring Hospital, four people

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Speaker 2: in the Catherine Hospital, three in the TANet Creek Hospital,

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Speaker 2: and two in the Go District Hospital. These are the

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Speaker 2: figures from yesterday when I finished speaking to you, I'll

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Speaker 2: be fully briefed on the situation, and we do see.

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Speaker 2: These figures are fluctuate and change daily. And what the

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Speaker 2: health professionals tell me is that people come into the system,

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Speaker 2: they're cared bought, Some may only be in for a

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Speaker 2: short period, others have a more significant day in hospital,

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Speaker 2: and of course everything's managed.

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Speaker 1: So are currently one hundred and fourteen of those patients

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Speaker 1: in hospital and you believe that that's the highest number

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Speaker 1: that we've had in hospital at any time in the territory.

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Speaker 2: Correct, Katian. Nine of those patients are receiving oxygen and

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Speaker 2: as you said, five of those patients are an intensive care.

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Speaker 1: Now, obviously this is a large number when you talk

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Speaker 1: about the numbers within our hospital system, and I know

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Speaker 1: that they're obviously spread out, as you've pointed out, in

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Speaker 1: different hospitals and different regions around the territory. But what

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Speaker 1: impact is this having on our health system right now?

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Speaker 2: Oh, there's no doubt that the COVID nineteen pandemic is

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Speaker 2: having an impact on our hospital system. It is on

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Speaker 2: hospital systems around the nation. But we've got robust contingency

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Speaker 2: plans and you've seen some of those stepped up over

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Speaker 2: the Christmas media period, Katy, all of the hospitals have

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Speaker 2: a COVID nineteen management plan which includes like reconfiguring parts

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Speaker 2: of the hospital so we can have an infectious COVID

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Speaker 2: ward and keep other patients separate so we can manage

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Speaker 2: you know, both COVID and non COVID situations. And then

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Speaker 2: we've also got additional surge capacity that we can bring

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Speaker 2: into the hospital.

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Speaker 1: So in terms of Royal Dwin Hospital, I know that

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Speaker 1: last year we had a number of code yellows. How

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Speaker 1: is the hospital tracking at this point in time and

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Speaker 1: are things you know, are things being managed quite well

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Speaker 1: right now?

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Speaker 2: Oh, it's certainly causing an impact and pressure on our

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Speaker 2: hospital system, but our staff are managing this excellently. The

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Speaker 2: operational decisions that are made are in the best interest

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Speaker 2: of caring for those COVID patients but also other Territorians

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Speaker 2: who may have an accident or an illness that needs

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Speaker 2: that emergency acute hospital care. So those COVID management plans

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Speaker 2: are in place across our hospitals. And you've seen things Katie,

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Speaker 2: such as elective surgery Category two and three has been

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Speaker 2: deferred and so we are of course continuing that emergency

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Speaker 2: in Category one surgery is but there are some of

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Speaker 2: the impacts that you're seeing from this COVID that we've

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Speaker 2: got in the territory community and of course in our

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Speaker 2: hospital system.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that is one of the things that I'm keen

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Speaker 1: to ask about, is elective surgery before I get there, though,

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Speaker 1: I mean, are we at capacity at the moment. We're

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Speaker 1: not in a code yellow right now, are we?

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Speaker 2: No, o, Katie, We're not in a code yellow? Is

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Speaker 2: that at rozale In Hospital last week? And we certainly,

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Speaker 2: you know, have got a significant number of COVID patients

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Speaker 2: in our hospital. But between our main hospital tower, the

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Speaker 2: Lorraine Brendon Center and of course the Howards Springs facility,

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Speaker 2: we're able to provide the appropriate care. And we are seeing, Katie,

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Speaker 2: large numbers of people having a very mild illness or

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Speaker 2: you know, just a couple of days where they're feeling

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Speaker 2: quite unwell. They're not needing to come into the hospital

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Speaker 2: system with COVID.

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Speaker 1: Now, how are we going in terms of staff, Like

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Speaker 1: are you seeing out there at Royal dal And Hospital

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Speaker 1: or at any of our health care centers at this

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Speaker 1: point in time those staff getting COVID and not being

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Speaker 1: able to go to work.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Katie, we certainly have had an impact of staff

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Speaker 2: being close contacts unless so getting COVID. We have not seen.

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Speaker 2: We've had a couple of staff who have unfortunately picked

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Speaker 2: up COVID from the workplace. The large majority of people

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Speaker 2: in health that are testing COVID positive are picking it

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Speaker 2: up in the general community or return travel. But we

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Speaker 2: have had an impact, and that's why you've seen changes

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Speaker 2: to the ability for essential workers if there are close

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Speaker 2: contact with strict infectious disease protocols to continue working so

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Speaker 2: that they can provide that importance support into our system,

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Speaker 2: but also make sure that there is all measures in

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Speaker 2: place to stop any you know, pick up if they

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Speaker 2: become infectious.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that was a question that we had from one

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Speaker 1: of our listeners asking I'd heard that health workers can

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Speaker 1: actually go to work if they're COVID positive as long

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Speaker 1: as they've got no symptoms.

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Speaker 3: So is that the case, Katie, I'd have to double

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Speaker 3: check that.

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Speaker 2: My understanding is that it's close contact. So we've seen

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Speaker 2: that in some situations a couple of members of the

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Speaker 2: household will get COVID and another couple will not. Then

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Speaker 2: we see some cases where everybody in the house gets COVID,

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Speaker 2: So it was around those close contacts because that was

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Speaker 2: taking a large number of essential workers offline, so allowing

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Speaker 2: them just to fill not only medical roles, but you know,

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Speaker 2: other essential work that obviously with strict protocols to see

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Speaker 2: if they did test positive.

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Speaker 1: Now, obviously last year you and I had spoken on

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Speaker 1: numerous occasions about the staff shortages with nurses and some

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Speaker 1: of those concerns obviously around things like elective surgeries being postponed,

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Speaker 1: but also the Palmerston Emergency Department not operating at full capacity.

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Speaker 1: Where are we at at the moment with the Palmerston

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Speaker 1: Regional Hospital.

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Speaker 2: So, Katie, my understanding is the Palmerston Regional Hospital is

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Speaker 2: operating as no more apart from obviously those Category two

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Speaker 2: and three surgeries which are being deferred under the COVID

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Speaker 2: management plan. But the ED is operationally as we would expect.

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Speaker 1: And with those elective surgeries, how long are they going

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Speaker 1: to be pushed back for? Because I know a lot

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Speaker 1: of people listening this morning are probably booked in to

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Speaker 1: have elective surgery or at some point had an elective

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Speaker 1: surgery booked in which has been postponed.

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Speaker 3: How long are people going to be expecting to wait.

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Speaker 2: So Katie, it's really important for people to understand that

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Speaker 2: emergency care is as normal and so is Category one.

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Speaker 2: So if people are in an emergency situation, they should

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Speaker 2: always reach out to hospital care. In terms of those

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Speaker 2: Category two and three surgeries being deferred, we've put additional

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Speaker 2: systems in place and we're really trying to reduce that impact.

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Speaker 2: It's around sad pressures. So obviously, with a large number

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Speaker 2: of COVID patients in our hospital, there's not there's available

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Speaker 2: and even if someone is undergoing a day procedure or

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Speaker 2: a procedure that might only need an overnight stay, we

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Speaker 2: have to be responsible and think worst case scenario. So

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Speaker 2: there's a number of factors and so we're trying to

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Speaker 2: work to manage those dead pressures so that we can

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Speaker 2: minimize the risk of those elective surgery cancelations. So through

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Speaker 2: the Christmas periods, Category twos and threes are often not

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Speaker 2: scheduled anyway. And what's happened is as we've stepped out

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Speaker 2: of the Christmas holiday period, that has continued because of

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Speaker 2: the COVID posture in the territory.

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Speaker 1: Okay, now, what about what about the Darwen private hospital.

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Speaker 1: I understand and I had seen reported over the Christmas

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Speaker 1: break that the Darwen private hospitals obviously working with nt

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Speaker 1: Health and Royal Darwin Hospital on the territory's COVID response

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Speaker 1: making that water available and accepting non COVID patients.

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Speaker 3: Is that still happening, yeah, Katie.

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Speaker 2: So what happened is right back at the beginning of

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Speaker 2: the pandemic in March twenty twenty, the Commonwealth government works

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Speaker 2: with the states and territories and the private hospitals to

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Speaker 2: establish if we needed that dead capacity, how could we

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Speaker 2: work together and so we have implemented through the January

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Speaker 2: area is of COVID nineteen Surge Capacity Plan and that's

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Speaker 2: in partnership with the dull And private hospital. And just

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Speaker 2: like to acknowledge the team out there. So these aren't

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Speaker 2: COVID patients that are going into the private hospital We've

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Speaker 2: got and understand today Katid there's about twenty beds being occupied,

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Speaker 2: so we have the public system has taken twenty five

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Speaker 2: beds the twenty five bed wards the Corell award to

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Speaker 2: utilize for non COVID patients. So we're keeping all of

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Speaker 2: our COVID patients in the Royal Dalen Hospital. We've got

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Speaker 2: them in infectious disease wards, but this has taken over

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Speaker 2: award for other care and those numbers will fluctuate. It

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Speaker 2: was fifteen last week. It can go up, it can

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Speaker 2: go down. It's quite a complex funding system tating. So

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Speaker 2: the federal government and the territory government are funding those

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Speaker 2: hospital beds that are utilized, but the Commonwealth government is

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Speaker 2: stepping in and so today there's some beds that the

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Speaker 2: private hospital are holding for the public system, but they're

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Speaker 2: not being utilized, so the Commonwealth is playing for those

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Speaker 2: whilst they're held, if that makes sense to you and

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Speaker 2: your listener.

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Speaker 1: So essentially it's not an additional cost burden at this

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Speaker 1: point in time to the Northern Territory government.

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Speaker 2: So we are paying for the use for the beds

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Speaker 2: we use Katie, So we're using twenty beds today, so

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Speaker 2: we're paying fifty percent and the common masth are paying

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Speaker 2: fifty percent of those beds. In terms of the today

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Speaker 2: it's five fads. That figure fluctuates those beds that the

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Speaker 2: private are holding so they're not utilizing them. The Commonwealth

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Speaker 2: are paying one hundred percent of those beds. But if

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Speaker 2: we stepped up and use that bed tomorrow, it would

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Speaker 2: come back to fifty fifty if If that's clear, And.

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Speaker 1: So how much is this going to cost us per month?

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Speaker 1: I guess while we are needing that contingency in place.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Katie, So that's it's done retrospectively, and you can

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Speaker 2: see that because the variations each day. But just to

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Speaker 2: give you an estimate, it's about nineteen hundred dollars a

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Speaker 2: day for a bed in an acute hospital bed and

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Speaker 2: that could go up to someone's in intensive care or

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Speaker 2: it could but that's the average.

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Speaker 1: And so for nineteen hundred a day per bed, correct.

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Speaker 2: Katie, But we are funding fifty percent of that and

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Speaker 2: a common wealthage. That's how much a hospital bed it's lady, Yeah,

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Speaker 2: that's what it's budgeted across the system. So you had

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Speaker 2: fifteen beds and you were utilizing them, it would be

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Speaker 2: about twenty eight thousand dollars a day. Now the Commonwealth

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Speaker 2: would fund half of that and we would fund the

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Speaker 2: other half. And so you can work your figures out.

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Speaker 2: That's just iteah, to give territory as an understanding. But

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Speaker 2: of course all of this is reconciled and this is

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Speaker 2: the hospital funding system its activity based funding is a

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Speaker 2: very complex system to understand because you get funding from

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Speaker 2: both the states and territories as well as the Commonwealth government.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well, there is no doubt that COVID is costing

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Speaker 1: you a lot in a lot of different ways. And

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Speaker 1: one of those other areas, of course, is that concern

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Speaker 1: when it comes to two other sectors that are doing

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Speaker 1: it tough at the moment, including the likes of tourism

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Speaker 1: and hospitality. Now, yesterday on the show, Alex Bruce from

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Speaker 1: Hospitality and joined us and called for clearer timelines when

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Speaker 1: it comes to restrictions and some of those inconsistencies around

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Speaker 1: staff having to cite vaccine vaccinaeation status of patrons, you know,

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Speaker 1: at the likes of pubs, but not having to do

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Speaker 1: that then if you're go into a gym, for example.

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Speaker 1: They say that since New Year's venues from small coffee

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Speaker 1: shops right to large establishments are now fifty to ninety

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Speaker 1: percent down on trade, is the government going to be

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Speaker 1: looking more closely at different ways to support some of

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Speaker 1: these industries.

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Speaker 2: We cady acknowledge the impact of COVID, and there's some

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Speaker 2: sectors that have been particularly hard hit. The measures we

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Speaker 2: have in place the public health measures and they are

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Speaker 2: achieving that aim of flattening that curve so that we

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Speaker 2: can manage the COVID we have in our community. Well,

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Speaker 2: we've certainly worked closely with the sector as being a

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Speaker 2: range of supports. We've spoken about these that we've provided,

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Speaker 2: and we're very conscious of the public health measures that

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Speaker 2: we put in place and the unintended consequences they may

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Speaker 2: have across the range of business sectors.

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Speaker 1: What is the likes of tourism telling you right now,

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Speaker 1: particularly in Central Australia, because I know that in the

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Speaker 1: lead into Christmas they were at breaking point, you know.

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Speaker 1: Yesterday for example, we spoke to a couple of hospitality

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Speaker 1: businesses who are doing it tough, not only as a

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Speaker 1: result of COVID but also as a result of crime.

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Speaker 1: But just how tough times for our tourism operators in

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Speaker 1: Central Australia right now.

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Speaker 2: Okay, you acknowledge how difficult it is, you know, for

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Speaker 2: tourism operators, but particularly in Central Australia. We've seen the

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Speaker 2: vouchers in the top end through the holiday period, you know,

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Speaker 2: and they have had an increased impact in Central Australia.

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Speaker 2: But it's certainly not the population, but it's certainly COVID

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Speaker 2: is impacting within the territory, but it is far less

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Speaker 2: of an impact than those prolonged lockdowns we saw on

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Speaker 2: the East Coast over the last couple of years. And

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Speaker 2: that's why we're managing with a proportionate response around COVID.

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Speaker 1: Well, I mean, the world's changing though now, and certainly

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Speaker 1: the way that we're managing COVID is changing right now.

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Speaker 3: With the omre con variant.

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Speaker 1: It's you know, it is very different in those other

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Speaker 1: states as well. People are sort of moving around a

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Speaker 1: little bit more freely with restrictions in place. But I

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Speaker 1: guess to really go back to that point that hospitality

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Speaker 1: is making and I'm assuming and I haven't spoken to

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Speaker 1: tourism yet this year, but I'm assuming that those in

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Speaker 1: the tourism sector would be making as well. Is that

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Speaker 1: there has to be some kind of support mechanism put

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Speaker 1: in place for them to bounce back. And is that

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Speaker 1: something that the government is taking seriously at this point.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Katie. We've provided a range of supports, particularly to

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Speaker 2: the tourism and hospitality sector. So we have the Tourism

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Speaker 2: Survival Funds of Visitation reliance support programs and the teritory

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Speaker 2: business lockdown, So really focusing on those people that are

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Speaker 2: not able to pivot their businesses during COVID and provide

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Speaker 2: them with support so that they're there as we step

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Speaker 2: through the pandemic and hopefully out of it.

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Speaker 1: Now, I want to ask, we know that as tourism

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Speaker 1: is obviously struggling at this point, it's been.

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Speaker 3: A tough couple of years.

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Speaker 1: One of the things that did happen that seemed to

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Speaker 1: be a good thing was that London darh and flight.

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Speaker 3: Is it going to stay in place?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Katie, we're working really hard with quantas. They have

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Speaker 2: certainly seen the benefit of having that flight come through

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Speaker 2: the top end. It provides them with a secure base

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Speaker 2: in Australia. And this comes back to the point we've

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Speaker 2: been very proportionate in balancing the health advice and the

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Speaker 2: public health measures and keeping our communities safe and flattening

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Speaker 2: that curve versus you know, the change that you just

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Speaker 2: spoke about that you know we're stepping through it. People

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Speaker 2: are traveling a little more normally, so we're certainly very

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Speaker 2: keen to see that flight continue with conscious Now, do you.

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Speaker 1: Think we've reached our peak or do you think that

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Speaker 1: we are realistically going to hit this peak of COVID

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Speaker 1: now that school's back.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Katie, it's interesting. And the clinical advice is that

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Speaker 2: you don't realize that you hit your peak until you're

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Speaker 2: through it, and that makes sense for anyone that's looked

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Speaker 2: at a grass But clearly we expected a rising case

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Speaker 2: numbers as people return to the territory from the January

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Speaker 2: school holidays and heading back into school. And we've put

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Speaker 2: in place a number of measures in our classrooms to

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Speaker 2: keep our kids safe and to keep our schools functioning

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Speaker 2: and face to face learning, which is so important. So

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Speaker 2: we do expect more cases. It is going to be

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Speaker 2: a term, but I think parents in schools have worked

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Speaker 2: together with our health officials to put as many practical

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Speaker 2: measures in place, and we certainly will be agile as

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Speaker 2: we go through the next few weeks, but I expect

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Speaker 2: to see two cases within our school, just as we're

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Speaker 2: saying across our community.

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Speaker 1: All right, health Minister Natasha Files, we better leave it there.

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Speaker 1: We will catch up with you again. Are you back

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Speaker 1: on board for the week that was on Friday?

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Speaker 2: Okay, I've been really missing it, but that's we've been

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Speaker 2: having those all important semi meetings, so hopefully you'll see

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Speaker 2: me sooner rather than later.

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Speaker 3: Awesome, Thank you, we'll talk to you again very soon.