"I’ve been in [the Kildare Road Medical Centre] for nearly 2 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."
Labing-limang taon ng nag-aalaga ng mga pasyente si Dr. Angelica Logarta-Scott - una sa Pilipinas, tapos sa UK, at nitong nakalipas na dalawang taon, sa New South Wales.
Kildare Road Medical Centre Source: Angelica Logarta-Scott
"I see all sorts of general medical condition including chronic diseases but I also specialise in women's health and skin cancer surgery."
Mobile testing clinic
Habang patuloy si Angelica sa kanyang GP practice, tinanggap din niya ang responsibilidad ng pag-test sa mga maaring may COVID-19.
"The commonwealth has set up 100 respiratory clinics or 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."
Ang mobile clinic, na mahahanap sa car park ng Kildare Road Medical Centre, ay ginawa upang masuportahan ang komunidad at maprotektahan ang ibang mga pasyente at healthcare workers sa potensyal na exposure.
"In Western Sydney, we are the only GP-led COVID/Respiratory clinic." Source: Angelica Logarta-Scott
"So far, we have been doing the COVID testing for 6 weeks now. We have a multiple de-mountable isolation cabins that we use for assessment and testing."
"We have been testing 50-80 per day, our set up can reach a capacity of 300 assessments per day...and we follow strict protocols from the government in terms of isolation and infection control."
Angelica and her colleagues Source: Angelica Logarta-Scott
Ang bawat pasyente ay sinusuri sa may pintuan ng main clinic para sa respiratory issues. Ang mga may simtomas ay dinadala sa isolation area sa may car park. Depende sa kanilang mga simtomas, dinadala ang mga pasyente sa Green or Red zone.
*Update: Maari ng i-test ang mga asymptomatic patients na at-risk na magkaroon ng COVID-19.
Ang mga kailangang ma-test
"As of the moment, the test involves a swab that goes to the throat and inside of the nose. It is a bit uncomfortable but most patients tolerate it well."
Pagdating sa testing sa NSW, saad ni Angelica na hinihimok ng NSW Health na dapat magpa-test ang mga may ubo, sore throat, lagnat at ang mga nahihirapang huminga.
Mas lalong mahalaga ang testing para sa mga may respiratory problems na galing sa mga at-risk communities gaya ng Penrith, Inner West, Liverpool, Randwick, Waverly, Woollahra, Blacktown, Cumberland, Westmead, Ryde, Manning at Lake Macquarie.
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
Mga pakiramdam ng isang frontliner
Bilang frontliner, malaki ang responsibilidad ni Angelica sa kanyang pamilya at komunidad.
"Initially, I had that feeling of worry because we know that this is a serious novel corona virus. This should not be taken lightly - we have seen what happened in other countries."
Habang sumusunod sila Angelica sa protocols, nanawagan siya sa komunidad na tulungan ang kanilang mga sarili at ang bawat isa.
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."
May paalala din si Angelica para sa mga may mental health issues ngayon. Ayon sa kanya, dapat mapanatili pa rin natin ang ating mga social connections at humingi ng tulong sa mga GPs at psychologists gamit ang telehealth.
"We can see that we are flattening the curve and the incidence of positive cases are getting lower; but we have to avoid complacency."
BASAHIN / PAKINGGAN DIN
