rpavirtual: Key lessons in healthcare organisational resilience in the time of COVID‐19

Abstract

The COVID‐19 pandemic is an unfolding crisis which is continually testing the resilience of healthcare organisations. In this context, a key requirement for executives, managers and frontline staff is continually adapting, learning and coping with complexity under pressure to deliver high quality and safe care. Sydney Local Health District has responded to the COVID‐19 crisis, in part, through the pivoting of rpavirtual, a newly established virtual health service, to deliver an innovative model of care in a clinically rigorous and safe manner. Through reviewing the rapid evolution of rpavirtual's purpose, implementation challenges and impact, we investigate how it has displayed resilience and derive key lessons for health organisations.

Re-evaluating Our Knowledge of Health System Resilience During COVID-19: Lessons From the First Two Years of the Pandemic

“… 8 - 28 Systems adapted to prevent and control transmission while trying to provide essential health services and COVID-19 services simultaneously, 13 , 15 , 17 - 32 adopting strategies like implementing telehealth services and incorporating private providers into public systems responding to both needs. 16 , 22 …”

“…Health systems had to adapt multiple structures and functions to respond to the continuously changing nature of the pandemic with growing knowledge on the virus. Systems adapted to prevent and control transmission while trying to provide essential health services and COVID-19 services simultaneously, 13,15,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] adopting strategies like implementing telehealth services and incorporating private providers into public systems responding to both needs. 16,22 The emphasis on learning is on individual country systems learning from previous successes or shocks to create a successful response to COVID-19 [8][9][10][13][14][15][16][33][34][35][36][37] with no clear definition of how a successful response is defined.…”

“…Systems adapted to prevent and control transmission while trying to provide essential health services and COVID-19 services simultaneously, 13,15,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] adopting strategies like implementing telehealth services and incorporating private providers into public systems responding to both needs. 16,22 The emphasis on learning is on individual country systems learning from previous successes or shocks to create a successful response to COVID-19 [8][9][10][13][14][15][16][33][34][35][36][37] with no clear definition of how a successful response is defined. For example, prior to COVID-19, health systems in Australia had learned from previous shocks of brush fires and a SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak how to mitigate widespread, system-level challenges.…”

“…Shaw 22 February 2022 To describe the resilience of a newly developed digital-health tool implemented during COVID-19.…”

The viability and acceptability of a Virtual Wound Care Command Centre in Australia

“… 17 , 18 Almost 4000 people were cared for in the first year of its launch with patients reporting a high degree of satisfaction, particularly in relation to being monitored virtually, increased confidence in their own care, and improved access to specialist services. 19 …”