The Northern Territory's borders will reopen to the rest of Australia on Monday, a long-awaited move that will reunite families and likely result in an inflow of COVID-19 cases.
Australasian College of Emergency Medicine NT head Stephen Gourley said that it's unavoidable that if you open up your borders, you'll have more instances.
That is already occurring in Queensland and New South Wales.
The Northern Territory's health system, on the other hand, is already under strain.
So far this year, its major medical institution, Royal Darwin Hospital, has issued four code yellows, causing patients' planned procedures to be postponed.
And these four codes were called when the area was not seeing a substantial increase in COVID-19 instances.
Experts disagree on whether the territory's healthcare system can handle the next step of the reopening plan.
Here's how the territory's healthcare system intends to handle the next stage:
Dr Gourley of Alice Springs Hospital believes that some persons with moderate COVID-19 illness may soon be able to be treated at home.
Patients will be given a pulse oximeter (a tiny gadget that can be attached to a finger to measure the amount of oxygen in someone's blood), and NT Health will call them once or twice a day to answer a series of questions regarding their health.
"You'll be allowed to remain at home as long as you keep fit and healthy and your observations are accurate. And, if you grow more ill, we will move you to the appropriate level of care, Dr "Dr Gourley said.
He added that this change would free up beds and personnel, allowing qualifying patients to remain in the comfort of their own homes.
Patients who are critically ill may be sent to locations such as Adelaide for treatment.
Cath Hatcher, secretary of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation's Northern Territory section, says she's also spoken with NT Health's management about the next phase's plans.
Ms Hatcher said that if necessary, certain NT hospital wards may open or shut to free up personnel, and nurses may be removed off wards to assist teams in need.
Nurses may be rostered on one of two 12-hour shifts per day instead of the customary three 8-10-hour shifts per day, according to Ms Hatcher.
In addition, she said that in an emergency, allied health personnel such as physios might be deployed to assist nursing staff by providing an "additional pair of hands."
Elective procedures and outpatient visits will be postponed in the event of an epidemic or an influx of local patients to free up hospital beds and personnel.
According to Robert Parker, head of the Australian Medical Association's Northern Territory section, the territory "probably wasn't" ready for this next step.
He said that it’s conceivable [to deal with the reopening of borders], but many concessions will have to be made, such as cancelling elective surgery again.
It puts additional strain on the employees.
On the other hand, Dr Gourley said that the health system was "as ready as we're going to be" for the next phase.
Ms Hatcher concurred.
She remarked that they're as ready as they can be right now.
When asked whether the area should have waited until after Christmas to reopen borders, Dr Gourley replied that the December 20 reopening date was "great."
He remarked that they’ve had to do this at some point.
It's a tall order to keep people from enjoying Christmas for a second year.
Like many other sectors in the Northern Territory, the health system in the territory employs a transitory workforce.
Health care employees often go interstate for holiday festivities or take time off when their contracts expire at the end of the calendar year.
According to Dr Gourley, Christmas is "usually a struggle" for personnel in the Northern Territory.
He does, however, feel the region will be able to handle the shift.
The region altered its restrictions for healthcare staff returning from other states yesterday.
Under previous guidelines, interstate newcomers were not permitted to access "high-risk areas," such as hospitals, during their first 14 days in the territory.
The updated guidelines allow hospital personnel to return to work provided they do a daily rapid antigen test (RAT) and wear a mask on the job.
According to the Northern Territory government, more than 95% of eligible persons in the territory have already received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 92% have received both.
According to Commonwealth data, which are computed differently, 82% of persons have been completely vaccinated, whilst 88% have been partly protected.
Dr Gourley notes that now that vaccination rates in the territory are greater, the number of COVID-19 cases documented in the jurisdiction isn't as concerning as the number of patients who ended up in the hospital.
He said that it’s not so much how many people get COVID now that we have the vaccine and are performing better and better at immunisation rates. It's more about how many individuals get very ill as a result of it and need ICU-level treatment.
It's turning into an unvaccinated illness.
Before reopening borders, Dr Parker wants the area to obtain a 95% immunisation rate in all isolated Aboriginal villages.
He added that the research shows that if individuals are vaccinated and have COVID, they aren't a significant burden on the health system.
The issue is that there are neighbourhoods with poor immunisation rates.
There are about 66 isolated Aboriginal villages in the region with immunisation rates below 80%.
Fewer than 20% of the population is totally protected in certain places.
