I’m sure you are all too young to remember the Carry On movies. They weren’t very good, or especially funny, and they were – to put it charitably – a product of their time. The late Sid James and his co-stars stumbled through a number of situations incompetently.
…Which brings me to NSW in mid 2021. Our governments had three jobs. To vaccinate, manage the borders and – if the virus did get in – respond appropriately. As far as I’m concerned they have failed on all three counts.
Anyway there is one thing I’d like to emphasise. One of the reasons you can leave your home is to access medical care. And hopefully it is obvious that obstetric care cannot be provided via telehealth. We also know that if people neglect their medical care during a pandemic needless adverse outcomes can result. My professional bodies recommend that face to face care continues and some of you will recall we worked right through the 2020 outbreak. We have a big social distance friendly waiting room and we are testing everyone who works in my office (including me) for Covid at least weekly.
So please come for your regular antenatal visits at my office. We are postponing visits that we can; six week checks, for instance. Some visits (not many) are being conducted via telehealth. These include discussing results in non pregnant women.
Notwithstanding the above please:
- Do not come if you have been to an exposure site (keep an eye on these, they change frequently) or have been in contact with anyone who has Covid. Ring us instead.
- Do not come if you have any suspicious symptoms. Ring us instead.
- Only bring your partner and / or your newborn baby to the office. Sorry no other family members can come in.
- Wear a mask (we are). And
- Check in with our QR code (it’s on the door).
You know the drill.
Your maternity hospital will contact you directly about their Covid precautions and restrictions and I suspect these will evolve as the situation changes. We are well practiced in the use of PPE etc and are able to provide safe care for you at the hospitals. Do not delay going to the hospital – say if your baby is not moving well – for fear of contracting Covid.
Stay safe.
Rob Buist