Premium Content The first Queenslander to receive the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine says she feels great. Bundaberg Hospital Emergency Department Nurse Unit manager Suzanne Smith was the first of 16 health workers who today rolled up their sleeves to receive the jab. Ms Smith said she d learned a lot of lessons from history and felt privileged to be helping to lead the effort towards a safer future. My gran was a nurse and told me of the many children she cared for with diphtheria, and how she lost a niece to that dreadful disease, Ms Smith said. My mum, another nurse, spoke of polio cases in the 1950s - the debilitating effects of it, and of nursing
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Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service has welcomed 46 enthusiastic first-year nurses as part of their 2021 nurse graduate intake.
This week a majority of the new graduates are completing their orientation in Bundaberg and on the Fraser Coast, while seven of the first-year nurses started at rural facilities during December and January to meet clinical need.
WBHHS Chief Executive Debbie Carroll said having a skilled group of graduate nurses was an important part of refreshing the team and ensuring WBHHS had a nursing and midwifery team that could meet the current and future demands of local patients.
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Subscriber only Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service is establishing a new fever clinic in Agnes Water, to respond to a demand for COVID-19 testing among Discovery Coast residents and visitors. The drive-through clinic will open on Monday, January 25 and will initially operate from 10am-2pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from the Impact Community Health Centre, located at 2 Rafting Ground Rd. Bookings will be required, and can be made between 9am and 3pm, Monday to Friday, by calling 0474 951 710. WBHHS Chief Executive Debbie Carroll said the health service was keen to provide more testing options for people in the popular tourist area and boost community safety.
Premium Content TOO much festive cheer can lead to a visit to an emergency room. That is the warning from the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service, which is urging people to put safety first this year. While the Christmas and New Year period is a time to relax for most people, it s often a different story in the region s emergency departments, which typically experience increases in presentations of up to 20 per cent compared to the rest of the year. WBHHS Chief Executive Debbie Carroll said the higher volumes of people coming through Wide Bay emergency departments were often linked to extra visitors to the region, as well as festive fun going wrong.