Protective equipment lacking: nurses

WELLINGTON: Nurses around the country say they do not feel safe at work and claim in some cases they are not allowed to wear a mask or access proper personal protective equipment.

Some say their gear is not even as adequate as that of a supermarket worker — who can wear gloves and a mask, and fear they could be spreading Covid19.

They are calling for clearer guidance to protect themselves, their patients and their families.

A nurse at one of the communitybased clinics for Counties Manukau District Health Board, who did not want to be named, said her colleagues were sent to work at the airport with minimal protective gear — namely masks, gloves and hand sanitisers.

She said she felt unsafe, so she did not choose to go. However, while working in the community, she said she was told off when wearing a mask.

‘‘We need to go to the school to do the school clinic. When I wore a mask, the school’s reception staff said ‘Hey nurse, can you not wear the mask? If you wear a mask, it will make people panic’.’’

A nurse at another Auckland hospital, who also did not want to be named, said she was told not to wear a mask, even though she brought her own.

‘‘I think that’s my right to wear a mask or not and also I’m not costing anything on the DHB . . . I should have the right to wear my mask.’’

A district nurse in Christchurch, who visits people in their homes to offer support said their equipment was scant.

‘‘The only PPE we’ve got at the moment is the hand sanitisers, the

gloves and the normal apron.’’

She said her employer did not support her wearing masks even when she had to travel around to meet people. She had brought her own mask and wanted more clarification and support from the Ministry of Health and the DHB.

The Nurses Organisation was calling for nurses in hospitals and primary care to be given personal protective equipment (PPE).

The organisation said there was inconsistency among DHBs in terms of who got the various types of PPE, which includes gloves, gowns, masks, eye protection, head gear and hand sanitiser.

The Ministry of Health said in a statement the use of PPE was

required when there was somebody who had clear symptoms, in the treatment of that person and diagnosis.

‘‘Hospital staff do not routinely need to wear masks, particularly if there is no risk of them coming into contact with someone who may have a Covid19 infection,’’ it said.

‘‘We are currently making a list prioritising [from high to low] who should have access to PPE based on risk of exposure to Covid19. This priority list includes health settings both in primary and secondary care.’’

It said the prioritisation list would enable DHBs to ration their PPE and also allow them to estimate how much they needed.

Directorgeneral of Health Ashley Bloomfield said there was a good supply of PPE and officials were working to make it available to whoever needed it.

In a media conference yesterday, Dr Bloomfield said it was crucial that health workers and some of those in essential services were able to access PPE.

‘‘We are releasing 600 masks later today to district health boards from our pandemic stock. We know that we have good production of masks on shore at a rate of more than 200,000 to be produced each day, so we are making sure there is a steady flow of that equipment, both masks and other PPE to our district health boards.’’ — RNZ