Mining the best ideas on managing during COVID

As the country adapts to the COVID-19 Protection Framework and a new “traffic light” system, no indication has been given on how this might match the existing Primary Health Care Framework.

Nor is there guidance on when primary care will be asked to take over care in the community of people with COVID.

As I write, a few practices had begun undertaking this work, but the majority feared this would be thrown at them just before Christmas.

Until now, this has been a concern mainly for Auckland practices. But recently the Practice Managers and Administrators Association of New Zealand (PMAANZ) was asked by members outside Auckland for input on how we in Auckland are dealing with the current outbreak and how they should prepare for when COVID comes to them.

In response, the association held a Zoom brainstorming session attended by about 50 members throughout the country. This informal session gave an opportunity for those working in the thick of things to share their knowledge and those still to experience community transmission in their area to ask questions. Some key ideas were:

• Set your practice up to enable remote access for everyone who needs it (most Auckland practices are providing 80 per cent of care via telehealth).
• Set up video consultations – some options used were Jitsi, Doxyme, DrInfo.
• Clarify and enforce your “red and green stream” process.
• Communicate well within your team – use Messenger or WhatsApp groups or Microsoft Teams. Ensure you have an easy way to inform all staff.
• Use templates to manage flow of patients coming in to the clinic; allow cleaning time in between.
• Use quick keys and triaging tools, systems available to enable quick data input.
• Tap your local networks for ideas; ensure you know other local clinics and pharmacies for sharing of supplies such as PPE, should stock not arrive on time.
• Hold staff huddles for five to 10 minutes each morning so all staff know what has changed and what workload people have.
• Use controlled entry, enabling receptionists to allow access only after triage.

Realistically, it is not a matter of if, but when, COVID will spread to other regions and communities. Be prepared and remember the number one thing that will make this smooth is your staff.

Ensure staff have the knowledge and tools they require, keep the communication flowing and, most of all, ensure you look after them.

Following the success of this Zoom session, PMAANZ will continue to offer these meetings in 2022, as a way of connecting managers and sharing ideas.

We also encourage practices to register managers and administrators to attend our conference in Rotorua from 24 to 26 February 2022.

This conference offers great educational and networking opportunities for all attendees.

Bethan Rajwer, a member of the PMAANZ executive board, is practice manager at Dodson Medical Centre in Auckland