Hi! My name is Dr Ngiare Brown and I'm a Yuin nation woman from the South coast and a doctor privileged to work in Aboriginal medical services.
If you go to a health clinic or a hospital, especially if you are getting tested for coronavirus, you may see some or all of the health workers fully covered and protected and wearing items like:
surgical cap, a gown, eye covering or face shield, a face mask, and gloves.
This is called personal protective equipment or PPE.
Health workers are wearing this to keep you, the community and themselves safe from the spread of coronavirus.
If you see a health care worker wearing PPE, it is important to understand they are healthy and are following these important hygiene practises to keep our mob safe.
We know this can look a bit strange, even scary sometimes, but under all that gear is a health worker doing their very best to look after everyone.
Your health worker will change their protective equipment whenever they need to.
This depends on the situation, for example if you have been coughing or sneezing during the examination.
Health care workers are familiar with best practices and will always make sure they don’t spread germs from someone who is sick to another person.
So if you are going to get a coronavirus test, don’t be frightened by the look of the health workers wearing PPE, they have friendly faces underneath.
And please ask if you are unsure about something, they will happily explain everything you want to know.