Tuesday 16 March 2021
With the nation's COVID-19 vaccination roll-out gaining momentum and restrictions continuing to ease thanks to low rates of community transmission, the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District is working to return health services to pre-pandemic operations.
A component of that work is restoring some of the areas which were modified for COVID-19 preparedness to their normal usage. The next phase will see the COVID-only ward at Wollongong Hospital (A5), reconfigured to enable a return to caring for surgical patients.
At the same time, the area that accommodated surgical patients during COVID (C6 West Surgery), will go back to the chronic and complex rehabilitation and palliative care space.
To enable this work to be undertaken as quickly and safely as possible, visiting hours tomorrow (Wednesday 17 March) will need to be modified temporarily:
- The morning visiting session 11am-2pm for general wards will need to be suspended while moving is underway. We are asking visitors to the hospital to postpone their visit until the afternoon session 5pm-8pm or the following day, if possible.
Visiting in the Intensive Care, Birthing, Maternity and Palliative units remain unchanged.
The community has been incredibly supportive of staff and the hospital during the pandemic and we're asking for their continued understanding as we work to restore our services to more normal conditions. Like us, we know the community will be buoyed by these efforts, as it's another terrific indicator that we are heading closer to the end of this pandemic.
While we are working to restore our normal service configurations, the community can be assured that Wollongong Hospital, along with all ISLHD facilities, has robust plans and systems in place to immediately respond to any potential COVID-19 issues, including rising infection rates.
Given the experience of the past 12 months, and managing service delivery with the uncertainty of this pandemic, the District continues to prepare our workforce, equipment and our facilities to meet any challenge we may face.
Visiting details are kept updated on the Hospital Visiting Hours during COVID-19 page.
