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NSW Health Pathology’s Liz Geddes was instrumental in pioneering the development of our award-winning COVID-19 Results Service that automatically delivers COVID-19 test results.
When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, NSW Health Pathology was thrust into an international health emergency of epic proportions.
Many of our incredible staff stepped up to meet the many challenges being thrown our way, including Liz Geddes, who led the development of an SMS service and call centre to deliver results direct to patients. Both are a first for NSW Health Pathology.
And not just a few results, more than 7.8‑million and counting…
Liz’s outstanding work earned her a finalist position for NSW Health Awards Collaborative Staff Member of the Year in 2021.
These vital new services needed to meet two critical challenges:
- How to deliver negative test results faster than seven days or more and reduce anxiety and unnecessary home isolation, and
- Relieve laboratory staff and public hospital staff from calling the up to 99 per cent of patients who had a negative result.
This required hours of phone calls and diverted frontline health staff from their critical patient care roles.
The COVID-19 SMS Results Service and Call Centre was developed, piloted and implemented in two weeks, by a core team of technical, clinical and specialist ICT experts – and led by Liz.
Stakeholders across NSWHP, Ministry of Health, local health districts, clinicians, and patients also played an important role.
Launched in April 2020, the SMS Service has saved an estimated 652,000 hours or the equivalent of 81,500 health worker shifts.
Under Liz’s management and in collaboration with partners, the service continues to evolve.