Front-line healthcare workers at Dubbo concerned about spreading coronavirus to their families will have access to free accommodation, a move that's being welcomed by groups representing the sector.
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The NSW government is allocating almost $60 million to provide doctors, nurses, paramedics and other hospital and ambulance staff with the option of staying in out-of-home accommodation in the pandemic.
Local health districts will work with staff to make sure accommodation is close to work or their families, depending on individual needs.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the funding, part of $100 million in extra measures, would not only provide support for healthcare workers now but would also give them the resources to tackle COVID-19 head-on in the coming months.
"Nobody should go to work and worry that it will put their families at risk especially when they are working so hard to protect us,"she said.
"This funding is the least we can do to keep healthcare workers and their families safe."
The ambulance division of the Health Services Union said it had vigorously lobbied for the provision.
"Remember that front-line health workers are at increased risk due to treating patients who tested positive, or likely to be tested positive to COVID-19," it said in a post to Facebook.
"The last thing we want to do is bring it home to our loved ones."
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia's NSW branch welcomed the funding.
"Healthcare workers like pharmacists, pharmacy assistants, paramedics and nurses have been on the front-line, face-to-face with their patients, spearheading the fight against COVID-19," NSW branch president David Heffernan said.
