South Australian hospital staff are fighting a "constant battle" to ensure visitors wear face masks — and keep them on — according to a health authority.
Elaine Pretorius, executive director of medical services with the Limestone Coast Local Health Network, said some visitors were unaware that masks remained mandated in health settings, even though rules relaxed for most other settings in April.
"But there are also people who are a little bit stroppy, and do give our staff a little bit of back chat," she said.
Dr Pretorius said an even bigger challenge was ensuring visitors kept their masks on past the waiting room.
"We have a constant battle with encouraging people to continue to wear their masks," she said.
"There's also a group of people who come into the hospital with their masks, and once they are in the room with their relatives who they're coming to visit, they take the mask off.
"That has been a particular area of concern for us because we expect that that's where the infections in the hospital have occurred.
"We've had people who've been in hospital with us for 14 or 15 days, and then test positive for COVID."
Dr Pretorius said patients were diligently screened for COVID-19 before being admitted, so visitors were "the only other source of infection".
"Staff on the wards will pop their head in and say, 'Can you please wear your mask?'" she said.
"Our staff are very weary and a little bit disheartened at the moment.
"It's really not fun to keep reminding people and having altercations everyday on the wards, trying to ask people to just support us and to keep the other people in hospital safe."
'Very high' infection risk
Dr Pretorius also called for mask mandates in public spaces to be reinstated after COVID hospitalisations in South Australia recently hit a new record.
"I think the risk is very high at the moment," she said.
"I think we're completely underestimating the number of infections in the Limestone Coast, as well as in South Australia.
"People aren't testing at the moment when they feeling unwell, so the risk is very, very high and I think a circuit breaker is really necessary."
Staffing challenges
Dr Pretorius urged the community to think about the health and safety of all.
"We have to keep our patients safe. We also have to keep our staff safe," she said.
"[Our] staffing challenges have not improved, in fact, we have so many staff members calling in who are unwell with COVID.
"The challenge now for us is just to continue our services with our staffing being down."
She said health staff had been "absolutely amazing".
"There are so many people doing double shifts," she said.
"Many people [are] going home, having a sleep, and coming back to help us.
"Anything that the community can do to support our staff would be much appreciated."
