The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Up to 60 UHK staff on sick leave over COVID-19 fears
– Staff displayed potential symptoms of disease - At least one child hospitalised over COVID-related concerns - Paramedics finally get proper gear
UP to 60 staff at University Hospital Kerry are on sick leave at present having shown potential symptoms of the new Coronavirus in recent days and weeks.
It’s a significant reduction in staffing levels at a time when the hospital can least afford it ahead of the expected COVID peak in mid- to late-April.
Most of the staff off sick are self-isolating at home while waiting for tests and results, and while many might prove COVID negative, management at UHK are taking no chances as per HSE protocols.
It is not believed the sick leave will hamper the centre’s ability to care for those requiring hospitalisation as a result of the Coronavirus, however.
Preparations for the surge are scaling up fast with the Accident and Emergency Unit – or Emergency Department – now comprised of isolation cubicles, each one served by a sliding door and sealed fully against the virus.
As of last week, just three patients at a time were being treated in isolation in the Emergency for COVID-19, the disease caused by the Sars-CoV2 virus, with new protocols in place requiring ambulances to wait outside for medics to emerge and admit presenting patients.
Paramedics had to wait with the patients while still fully gowned up, amid fears the integrity of their masks were deteriorating as they waited. However, the turnaround time between the arrival of the ambulance and admittance sped up significantly last week.
COVID patients are now being admitted through a door at the rear of the Emergency Department to minimise the risk of contamination.
At least one child has been admitted to UHK as a COVID patient, meanwhile, and was treated in an isolated bed in the children’s ward.
As The Kerryman reported over a fortnight ago, the Bon Secours hospital is now effectively operating as a single health facility with UHK.
Patients were transferred to the formerly private hospital last week to allow the creation of a new ‘Churchill’ ward upstairs in UHK, ready to receive the expected surge of COVID patients.
Meanwhile, with the Emergency Department now operating as an isolation ward for COVID-19, patients presenting with injuries as the result of accidents or emergencies requiring urgent care are being admitted to the Acute Medical Unit (AMU).
It’s a smaller unit adjacent and running parallel to the Emergency Department. Though limited in scale, it is expected that it will easily cater for demand.
Accident rates have already plunged as the vast majority of the population observes the lock-down, which has alleviated the pressure on the emergency department.
Ambulance crews are meanwhile now finally operating with satisfactory protective gear.
Until a fortnight ago the official gear they had been issued with left many paramedics deeply fearful for their own safety, consisting as the kit did of little more than a face mask, apron and gloves but leaving the bottom of the legs and feet exposed.
That changed a fortnight ago as the National Ambulance Service finally took receipt in Kerry of a large consignment of PPE packs, each one now consisting of full protective clothing including face mask, gown, double gloves, and special seals for the wrists as well as a hand sanitiser and face mask for the patient.
All call-outs are now being effectively treated as suspected COVID-19 cases, with paramedics gowning up accordingly. The precaution follows an incident over a week ago when a female patient was brought to UHK by ambulance on a non-COVID matter. The Kerryman understands, as there was no suspicion of COVID, both the paramedics attending did not mask or gown-up, as protocols did not require it at that point for non-symptomatic patients.
But when the patient later tested positive for the virus, both paramedics and a number of staff at the hospital who had contact with the patient were ordered to self-isolate at home.
Thankfully, neither paramedic contracted the disease, including one who spent half an hour in the rear with the patient on the way to hospital.
The ambulance service is also now benefiting from a private company newly contracted to decontaminate every ambulance after each COVID-related call-out.
Previously paramedics had to disinfect the ambulances themselves, leading to lengthy delays and ambulances dropping for up to six hours at a time. The new system is proving much more efficient.