COVID-19 Clinic Entering a New Phase

Stawell Regional Health thanks the Community, Staff and All Partners

Stawell Regional Health is extending a heartfelt thank you to all members of our community and our staff who have helped us make it this far in the pandemic.

Thank you as well to our partners such as Northern Grampians Shire Council and Grampians Community Health for your ongoing contribution to run a COVID testing site and to support many community members isolating at home.

Through these partnerships with our health service we ensured our region could achieve an impressive vaccination rate and could get tested. Together we observed the public health messages on wearing masks and social distancing working with our community in response to the pandemic.

Grampians Health – Stawell has been there to support the response and we have achieved:

• 52.77% of Northern Grampians Shire adults have received a booster, whilst 48.18% of children have received their first dose.
• By next week we will be administering the 10,000th dose of the vaccine
• Between November 2021 and February 2022 the SRH team completed over 4,000 PCR tests
• Up until now we have supported 600 people as part of our ‘Covid At Home’ Program.

We are now in a quieter phase of the pandemic and so our service is adapting to this change in demand. Please note the new times listed for our services:

Vaccinations will be available on Wednesdays in March from 9am – 3pm. Bookings can be made by calling 5358 6550 during office hours. Pfizer vaccines only.

COVID Testing – Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) are now the accepted method for testing for COVID-19 and these are now widely available to purchase (or pick up if you have a concession card) from pharmacies and selected supermarkets and Lyal Eales stores.

You will only need a PCR test if you have significant symptoms and you have done several RATs which come up negative, or if your RAT is positive, but you have NO symptoms.

PCR Testing at the hospital will be available Monday – Friday from 9.00am until 11.00am.

When your positive RAT happens, report your result using the link https://dhvicgovau.powerappsportals.com/rapid-antigen-test/ or by phoning 1800 675 398.

Our COVID At Home program will continue to support people at home who have tested positive, but are not sick enough to be in hospital. You will be contacted by a member of our COVID At Home healthcare team.

“We don’t know what the coming months will bring with the pandemic, but we remain ready to adapt our service to the needs of our community as the call for it arises”, Kate Pryde, Lead Executive Officer said.