Dr Angelica Logarta-Scott has been treating patients for 15 years - first in the Philippines, then in the UK, and for the past two years, in New South Wales.
"I’ve been in [the Kildare Road Medical Centre in Sydney] for nearly two years and so far, I am loving it. We have a really big Filipino community in Blacktown and I see a lot of our fellow Filipinos," she says.
"I see all sorts of general medical conditions including chronic diseases but I also specialise in women's health and skin cancer surgery."
Mobile testing clinic
While Dr Logarta-Scott continues her GP practice, she has also accepted the responsibility of testing people for COVID-19.
"The commonwealth has set up 100 COVID clinics all over Australia and our medical centre is one of them. In Western Sydney, we are the only GP-led COVID/Respiratory clinic."
The mobile clinic, which is located in a car park at the back of her clinic, was established to support the community and protect other workers and patients from potential exposure.
"In Western Sydney, we are the only GP-led COVID/Respiratory clinic." Source: Angelica Logarta-Scott
"We have been doing the COVID testing for six weeks now. We have multiple de-mountable isolation cabins that we use for assessment and testing.
"We have been testing 50-80 people per day, but our set up can reach a capacity of 300 daily assessments...and we follow strict protocols in terms of isolation and infection control."
Control includes screening each patient at the front door of the main clinic for respiratory symptoms. Those with symptoms are immediately sent to an isolation area in the car park, she says, and depending on the risks of each patient, they are triaged to either the Green or Red zone.
Angelica and her colleagues Source: Angelica Logarta-Scott
*Update: Under special circumstances, asymptomatic patients who are at risk of contracting COVID-19 can now be tested for the virus.
The test
"Right now, the test involves a swab in the throat and nasopharynx, which is through the nose. It takes about five seconds to do the test and it can be uncomfortable but not painful," Dr Logarta-Scott says.
A nurse does the initial assessment; after which, he or she will video conference with a doctor for further assessment. If a patient proves to be clinically stable, then a face-to-face consultation with a doctor is not considered necessary.
However, if a patient is very unwell, a doctor attends to him or her wearing full personal protective equipment (PPE).
At the moment, NSW Health urges anyone with a cough, sore throat, fever, or shortness of breath to get screened.
At the moment, Angelica says that the NSW Health is urging anyone with a cough, sore throat, fever or shortness of breath to get screened. Source: Angelica Logarta-Scott
Testing is particularly important for those with acute respiratory problems from communities that are identified as 'at-risk' such as Penrith, Inner West, Liverpool, Randwick, Waverly, Woollahra, Blacktown, Cumberland, Westmead, Ryde, Manning and Lake Macquarie.
Feelings of a frontline
As a frontline healthcare worker, Dr Logarta-Scott feels an enormous responsibility to keep her family and community safe.
"Initially, I had that feeling of worry because we know that this is a serious novel coronavirus. This should not be taken lightly - we have seen what happened in other countries."
She urges the wider community to do their part in protecting themselves and each other.
As a frontliner, Angelica feels an enormous responsibility to keep her family as well as community safe. Source: Angelica Logarta-Scott
"Stay at home and only go out when necessary. Get your flu shot this winter so you are at least protected from influenza A or B. Maintain social distancing, wash your hands for 20-30 seconds and don't touch your face."
She also urges people to utilise telehealth and call their GP and psychologist for any physical and mental concerns they may have.
"We can see that we are flattening the curve and the incidence of positive cases are getting lower, but we have to avoid complacency."
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