Worried nurses warn: We risk spreading virus

Staff ‘have to switch’ between wards

‘Highly vulnerable patients’

NURSES fear they may be passing on Covid-19 through hospitals because they are treating patients with the virus and those who are not infected.

Staff at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow say they switch daily between ‘red zones’, where cases have been confirmed, and other wards.

They fear they are passing the infection to some of those most ‘at risk’.

An insider told the Scottish Sun on Sunday: ‘Staff are being sent to a Covid-19 ward one day, medical ward the next, then surgical after that.

‘Patients who have been in for weeks are testing positive for coronavirus. These are people who haven’t had it until this point.

‘It is the movement of staff that’s doing this. There are no visitors, so they can’t go blaming them.

‘I have lost count of the number of patients developing it that have been in for weeks with no prior symptoms.’

The insider added: ‘Medical and surgical wards have highly vulnerable patients. Staff are being moved all over the hospital and are in contact with Covid-19 patients, then treating others.

‘If it was your family member that was immuno-compromised in hospital for a non-Covid-19 related illness and you found out staff looking after them had been working in coronavirus wards, would you be happy?’

Labour MSP Monica Lennon said fears that NHS staff are Covid-19 ‘super spreaders’ need to be urgently addressed.

Eileen McKenna, of the Royal

College of Nursing Scotland, said: ‘Routine testing for health and care workers, whether or not they have Covid-19 symptoms, would help detect cases early, reduce transmission in hospital and better protect staff and patients.’

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: ‘There are robust measures in place for staff working with patients with or without Covid-19.

‘All staff are provided with appropriate PPE to protect them and patients and this is removed every time staff leave a clinical area. We have adapted our hospitals so we can care for patients with and without Covid-19 safely and respectfully. These are separate patient pathways.

‘We have designated areas for patients to be managed that protect both the individual and other patients who may be positive, negative or awaiting test results. Our teams regularly assess the needs of patients to make sure they receive the best care possible.’