‘No distancing’ at hospital where nurses infected: Visitor

A visitor to a hospital ward for Covid19 patients where nurses became infected was surprised by the lack of physical distancing between staff.

Nurses and doctors at Waita¯kere Hospital stood close to him when talking, the man said, and staff sat near one another in meeting rooms, at workstations and while eating.

“Nobody was maintaining physical distancing at all.”

The three infected nurses worked with patients sent to the hospital after a Covid-19 outbreak at the St Margaret’s aged-care home in Te Atatu.

The nurses also worked shifts on Covid-free wards — something clinical leaders from Auckland and Northland district health boards agreed was appropriate, as long as safeguards including “meticulous” use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and physical distancing were observed in the workplace.

Waitemata¯ DHB has now changed its policy so nurses caring for Covid19 patients do not also work in other wards, something it says came after staff feedback and goes “above and beyond what is advised”.

The source of the nurses’ infection is being investigated, and 36 staff are in self-isolation as a precaution.

Testing of hospital staff has not returned further positive results.

A Waitemata¯ DHB spokesman said staff were expected to observe the same physical distancing rules as the wider public when not using PPE.

Nursing representatives raised concerns with management about staff moving between Covid and nonCovid wards after the transfer of St Margaret’s residents on April 17.

The first nurse tested positive on the weekend of April 25/26, one was included in last Thursday’s national tally of new Covid cases, and another the following day. A family member of one of the nurses is a probable case.

NZ Nurses Organisation kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku said hospital staff should distance themselves as much as possible, but there would be plenty of situations where that wasn’t possible, such as when working in the emergency department.

Nurses’ delegates were now meeting hospital management daily, and attention was turning to how big workplace “bubbles” should be.

DHBs are gearing up to clear a huge backlog of elective surgeries and procedures postponed during level 4, but the threat of Covid-19 means usual rostering can’t always be used.

E tu¯ has raised concerns about advice for DHB employees that no action is needed for those in close contact with someone who has recently been asked to self-isolate because of potential Covid-19 exposure, unless symptoms develop.

Asked yesterday if the Waita¯kere Hospital situation was a wake-up call for DHBs, director general of health Ashley Bloomfield said it was a “learning experience”. A DHB review with input from Waikato DHB’s director of nursing was due on Friday, he said.

Waitemata¯ DHB says full PPE was worn by staff when treating the rest home residents.

As of yesterday there were 43 cases linked to the St Margaret’s cluster, with three deaths and 18 recovered. The origin of the outbreak is still listed as “unknown”.