Health worker cases prompt call for inquiry

WELLINGTON: Almost 100 healthcare workers were infected with Covid19 while they were doing their jobs during the first outbreak — equating to 10% of all local cases.

Health unions say workplaces failed to keep staff safe and want a WorkSafe investigation.

They are also frustrated with the lack of detailed information about how workers were infected with the deadly virus, saying ‘‘it isn't good enough’’ it has not been publicly reported.

It comes as health officials confirm the nurse who tested positive for Covid19 on Sunday was infected while caring for a patient in quarantine at the Jet Park Hotel in Auckland.

Ministry data shows 167 healthcare workers contracted Covid19 up until midJune — 96 of those ‘‘were likely to have been infected’’ in their workplace.

After removing the imported cases from the 1504 confirmed cases during the first outbreak, 931 cases were locally acquired.

That means 10% of all local cases were health workers probably infected doing their jobs.

Another five healthcare workers have been connected to the current outbreak but at this stage health officials can confirm only that the nurse working at the Jet Park was infected while doing their job.

Directorgeneral of health Ashley Bloomfield said the nurse's case had been epidemiologically linked to a person being quarantined at the hotel and needing treatment before being hospitalised.

‘‘The healthcare worker went into their room to provide care and assess them ahead of hospitalisation,’’ Dr Bloomfield said.

‘‘A review is under way . . . to have a good look as to what happened and the circumstances to see if there are any lessons to be learned, any changes to protocols.’’

A separate descriptive report on Covid19 in healthcare workers is being peerreviewed and the ministry expects it to be released this month.

But until then the ministry cannot provide data on what work they were doing in what setting, or in which region.

Unions say this is not good enough.

E tu director Sam Jones said health officials should have been tracking infection rates of frontline health workers and publicly reporting it from the very beginning of the pandemic.

‘‘If you don't figure out what went wrong, how do you know what needs fixing?’’

E tu is calling for mandatory testing of health workers and Mr Jones said this would help keep staff and patients safe because often by the time an infection was identified it was ‘‘too late’’.

An independent review of Covid19 clusters in resthomes found there were delays in recognising there was an outbreakaccelerated transmission.

A recent survey of the union’s 16,000 health members — who work in resthomes and inhome care and as orderlies, cleaners and food service, security, laundry and maintenance workers in hospitals — found 85% wanted compulsory regular testing with income protection if stood down.

Health unions have long called for clear reporting on the rate of infection of health workers after the ministry stopped reporting it on its website in April.

In May, then health minister David Clark said he had also asked the ministry for that information.

Mr Jones wants a WorkSafe investigation, which is supported by the nurses' union, but this has been rejected because WorkSafe considers the infections to be ‘‘clinical incidences’’.

A spokeswoman confirmed its position had not changed and it was unlikely it would investigate 100 different incidents.

New Zealand Nurses Organisation kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku disagreed with WorkSafe and said the infections were ‘‘serious failings’’ of health and safety strategies.

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act, workers are entitled to work in environments where health risks are properly controlled.

‘‘We need to call it what it is — these were health and safety breaches that have put the workers at risk,’’ Ms Nuku said.

During lockdown, frontline workers complained about not getting PPE and that guidance on when it was needed was confusing. An auditorgeneral's investigation later confirmed this.

A separate investigation into how seven Waitakere Hospital nurses were infected found there were ‘‘usability’’ problems with PPE and nurses had to change it up to eight times a shift.

Ms Nuku called these investigations ‘‘piecemeal’’ and wants the factors that led to their exposure fully independently investigated and acted on.

A Lancet study of UK and US health staff found about 10%20% of all Covid19 infections were in healthcare workers.

And the UK's Office of National Statistics found nurses had ‘‘statistically significantly higher rates of death involving Covid19’’ than the general population.

In New York, one in four of the state's nursing home workers were infected between March and early June. — The New Zealand Herald