‘LACK OF PPE AND COVID-19 TESTING A THREAT TO OUR LIVES’
– Wales’ NHS nurses hit out
NURSES working across Wales claim they feel unsafe in their jobs due to a lack of protective clothing and testing for coronavirus.
A leading nursing union, along with individual nurses, have reported a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) available to frontline staff in hospitals, care homes, and community nursing teams.
They also claim testing for Covid-19 needs speeding up to ensure employees are not taking the virus home to their families.
Helen Whyley, the director of the Royal College of Nursing in Wales, said: “Our members are telling us that face masks, eye protection and hand sanitisers are hard to come by and I am extremely concerned that some NHS and social care employers are not fulfilling the statutory obligations on PPE.
“It is simply unacceptable that our nursing staff are turning up for work every day to face this pandemic head-on yet lack access to basic health and safety equipment in order to do so.”
She warned that testing to frontline staff was being rolled out “too slowly” and has urged the Welsh Government to increase the testing capacity as a matter of priority.
Her fears were echoed by nurses working in different healthcare fields across Wales.
One nurse, who is part of a community mental health team, said she is still visiting patients in their own homes to administer depot injections – a slow-release, slowacting form of medication.
“We are expected to visit multiple households in a day and have been told by senior management that as long as they are not coughing and sputtering or exhibiting any signs ofinfection we don’t need a mask,” she said.
“This is absolutely ridiculous as people can be infected without showing symptoms in the first few days. I have been given a mask by one of my patients but that obviously had to be disposed of at the end of that day.
“Our manager is trying his best to source PPE, namely masks, but has been unsuccessful.”
Another nurse working on the frontline in a hospital said staff were not being routinely tested for Covid-19.
“You have to request to be tested through the senior nurse who has to submit it to the next in command. You then wait for the answer which in some instances has been over a week,” she said. “The senior nurses, however, have been tested immediately but they have no contact with patients.”
She added that the masks being given out on her ward “offered no protection whatsoever”.
“We were issued 12 surgical masks between 10 of us. They are single-use only,” she said.
“These offer no protection whatsoever. The masks that are needed are FFP3 masks.
“The NHS is so top-heavy that not one of them can make a decision. We cannot complain due to fear of losing our jobs.
“The people that make decisions and put staff and their families at risk would never contemplate putting themselves at that risk.”
Finally a third NHS worker said she showed symptoms of corona
virus and self-isolated for 14 days with her family. However she claimed on her return to work she was not tested.
“We work in a large office and only one member of staff in the room has been tested despite many going off with symptoms,” she said. “Due to the nature of my job I am expected to risk-assess if I should visit families and newborn babies.
“But I have not been supplied with the right equipment so I will not be protecting the families I visit or myself. The masks they provided are just surgical masks.
“I have also spoken to a staff nurse I previously worked with who has been refused a test as she’s over 48 hours with her symptoms.” First Minister Mark Drakeford said yesterday that 1,100 NHS workers were being tested for Covid-19 per day with plans to ramp that up to 5,000 by mid month and 9,000 by the end of the month.
More than five million items of personal protective equipment (PPE) have been distributed from pandemic stocks to NHS, social care, and other health professionals since the outbreak’s start, says the Welsh Government.
But Mr Drakeford called on companies and businesses throughout Wales to join the effort in making more PPE for frontline health and social care staff.”
New guidance was also issued on Thursday on PPE usage which addressed some of the concerns raised by NHS staff in Wales who are dealing with patients.
Health Minister Vaughan Gething said: “All UK countries are working on a four-nation approach to make sure we can increase the supply of PPE. But, even with these new arrangements, it may take some time before we have a reliable supply chain for all the equipment needed.
“It is important to note the guidance still only recommends PPE for health and social care workers – other sectors, such as refuse collectors, retail workers, and teachers are classed as low or no-risk.
This means that following the hygiene and social distancing measures offers adequate protection for those groups.
“It is also important that the guidelines are followed properly and that PPE is used in accordance with the new guidance. For every piece of PPE kit used unnecessarily a piece of kit will be unavailable to frontline staff caring for a patient or vulnerable person.
“The Welsh Government is working with the rest of the UK to secure supplies of PPE, including a made-in-Wales supply. Together we will continue to protect frontline staff.”