Finalist Fever for our Patient Transport Service
Date published: 26 Sep 2022
Author: Elizabeth Williams
HealthShare NSW’s Patient Transport Service team member Alexander Pritchard and the COVID-19 Discharge Shuttle Service have both been named finalists in this year’s prestigious NSW Premier’s Awards.
PTS were pivotal to NSW Health’s efforts to keep the community safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, so for Acting Chief Executive Garth Worboys, it was no surprise that the PTS nominations stood out.
“What both of these finalist nominations celebrate is the important role of our PTS crews who have been at the heart of our ongoing COVID-19 response. The success of these operations wouldn't have been possible without the personal sacrifice of our Patient Transport Officers, Managers and Nurses who, in a time of great uncertainty, put community needs before their own after day to help keep us all safe,” said Garth.
The Anthea Kerr Award
Alexander Pritchard, Senior Manager of HSNSW’s Airport Hotel and Quarantine Operations (AHQO) has been nominated as a finalist for the Anthea Kerr Award.
Alex’s leadership and swift transformation of the 24-hour AHQO service transporting COVID-19 symptomatic people between hotels and Sydney Airport, and the transfer of COVID-positive patients from NSW Hospitals back to their homes, didn’t come without challenges.
“When demand for the service exploded, focusing on the welfare of our frontline staff and keeping the community safe were my biggest challenges,” Alex said.
After the Delta outbreak, the team’s work rose from almost 100 transfers per week to more than 1,700.
“It was such a chaotic and stressful time in all our lives but I look back with very fond memories because of the people involved. I know it will be one of my career highlights,” he said.
“I thought Garth was pulling my leg when he told me I was a finalist. I was in disbelief and felt very honoured.”
The Recovery and Resilience Award
The second HealthShare NSW finalist announced, the PTS COVID-19 Discharge Shuttle Service, was successfully nominated for the Recovery and Resilience Award.
Partnering with National Patient Transport, the Clinical Excellence Commission and Local Health Districts, the service delivered a new model to safely transport discharged COVID-19 patients from hospital to home via a shuttle.
Brendan Mann, Stakeholder Relations Manager at PTS, said the shuttles were hugely successful at easing the pressure on hospitals during the Delta outbreak. Overall, the team completed more than 16,000 COVID-19 transfers in 2021.
“I remember the moment I realised the impact the shuttle had on tired healthcare workers,” Brendan said.
“A doctor came running out of the Emergency Department and ran straight up to me. For a second I thought I was going to get yelled at – but the doctor, who was in tears, thanked us for coming up with a solution to the pressures they were facing in their ED.”
Brendan said there were many tense moments and sleepless nights throughout this journey, but also some laughs with the team.
“Thank you to the team for all your hard work, dedication and expertise and congratulations on this achievement,” he added.
Congratulations to our finalists
The Premier’s Awards highlight and celebrate the world-class services delivered by the NSW public sector to the people of NSW.
Selection as a finalist is a highly regarded and recognised title showing the highest levels of achievement in the NSW public sector.
Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on 29 November 2022. Show your support by attending the live streamed event on the Premier’s Awards website.
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