Covid-19 Delta outbreak: Auckland woman receives apology from Department of Health after ‘appalling’ home isolation experience

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Auckland young woman with Covid-19 forced an apology from the Department of Health after what she described as a ‘appalling’ and ‘confusing’ experience of self-isolation since contracting the deadly virus over a week ago.

This includes being informed by a ministry service provider on the night it was confirmed that she was infected with Covid-19 that her assessment could not be carried out in accordance with regulations because “the launch time of the person approaching ”.

The Department of Health confirmed yesterday that an apology was issued to the woman after the Herald addressed the woman’s complaints.

He said a review showed that one call, in particular, did not meet “professional standards” and that improvements would be made to monitoring phone calls from people isolated at home, including additional training.

The doubly vaccinated woman, in her 30s and wishing to remain anonymous, tested positive for Delta on December 8.

Over the past eight days, she has chronicled her relationships with health teams who only care for Covid patients, saying she was so concerned about what she described as the low level of communication. , that she was now seeking more information directly from her GP.

The Auckland woman said given how badly Covid-19 had affected her, she was grateful to have been doubly vaccinated.  Photo / Bevan Conley
The Auckland woman said given how badly Covid-19 had affected her, she was grateful to have been doubly vaccinated. Photo / Bevan Conley

“The level of customer service has been frankly appalling, confusing and distressing for a person who is isolated and showing symptoms of Covid-19,” she said.
“The experience … has been appalling on all fronts, both in terms of staff organization and information sharing between teams.”

Home isolation for Covid-19 patients was introduced in October. Previously, the majority of people infected with the virus were placed in hotels turned into quarantine centers, including the Jet Park Hotel near Auckland Airport.

The Health and Disability Commissioner last month demanded answers on issues with clinical care for people who self-isolate, following three deaths of Covid-positive people who self-isolate at home and reports of unanswered requests for help.

The criteria for home isolation are based on a public health risk assessment that takes into account factors such as the ability to isolate themselves safely away from others, access to telephone and internet, availability own transportation to access a testing center safely and having supplies to isolate themselves safely at home.

Health officials said at the time of the policy change that under the home isolation model, people who tested positive could self-isolate at home when they were deemed safe by a medical officer of health and that their home situation had been deemed appropriate. .

A “tele-health” check-in via Healthline checks these indicators.

But the Auckland woman said the levels of communication she received were poor. This included a nurse telling her the day she found out that she was certain the nurse couldn’t perform a full assessment of her as the staff member was about to finish her shift.

On the other days, when she was supposed to receive a check-up phone call, instead she received multiple calls within hours, with successive callers unaware that she had been called earlier in the day.

Last Friday she received phone calls from three different nurses.

Then she missed another call from Healthline which she did not answer because she was “very frustrated with the number of calls”.

The woman also raised concerns about the Covid Healthline in terms of staff communication and knowledge of information.

She said that while some members of the team had “been great, others were quite abrasive and abrupt.”

The woman says she could not get an answer to a question about how long she might have been contagious or what constitutes being considered “symptom-free.”

“It seems like not everyone on the telehealth team has a fact sheet on simple questions that lone people are bound to ask you,” she said.

Despite “extreme fatigue, brain fog” and “chest tightness,” a “simple questionnaire” she had completed considered her “symptom-free.”

She didn’t think it was correct and then sought independent advice from her GP.
Yesterday, a Covid Healthline supervisor confirmed to her that she could end her home isolation because she was showing no symptoms.

In a statement to the Herald, the ministry confirmed that it had “apologized for any distress his interactions with the service may have caused.”

The apologies had been made by a “provider under contract with the Ministry of Health” for a “failure in the services provided” to the woman.

Fepulea'i Margie Apa, head of the Northern Region Health Coordination Center, said home isolation was one of the first steps towards sustainable management of Covid-19 cases in the future.
Fepulea’i Margie Apa, head of the Northern Region Health Coordination Center, said home isolation was one of the first steps towards sustainable management of Covid-19 cases in the future. »Photo / Michael Craig

“A review of the calls … determined that while most of the interactions were of a professional level, one of the calls to [the woman] did not meet this standard.

“Due to the time of day, the full call could not be completed at that time, which meant it was not completed until later the next day.

“In addition, callers did not adequately review previous call notes before making subsequent calls, which resulted in the same information being repeatedly searched for.”

In response, the ministry said that “there are several improvements being made to the way the provider handles calls to Covid-19 cases, including additional staff training and more in-depth transfers between shifts.”

Meanwhile, the woman said Covid-19 had a huge impact on her health, and she was grateful to have been doubly vaccinated and in good health when she contracted the virus.

“I wouldn’t wish Covid-19 on anyone.”

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