Doctors in major Melbourne hospitals now fear an escalation of coronavirus outbreaks spread by healthcare workers. Recent infections have been detected in nurses at the Northern Hospital in Epping, The Alfred and the Royal Melbourne.
Medical staff in NSW and Victoria became increasingly concerned about their safety as news broke over the weekend of a COVID-19 cluster at the Northern Hospital in Melbourne, where at least five healthcare workers - including emergency room nurses - have been infected.
A Sydney anaesthetist working across multiple public and private NSW hospitals said it was "stressful" negotiating the rules in different locations, with guidelines varying across hospitals on what level of personal protective equipment must be worn and when.
Infectious disease expert Raina MacIntyre, head of the Biosecurity Research program at the University of NSW's Kirby Institute, said healthcare workers were at "increased risk of infection" and must be given the highest level of protection. "Not allowing a healthcare worker to protect themselves is illegal under the International Labour Organisation Convention," Professor MacIntyre said.Professor MacIntyre said hospitals tended to downplay the role of the workplace in COVID-19 infections among nurses and doctors, who were often deemed to have contracted the SARS-CoV-2 virus "on the bus, or at home".
A NSW Health spokeswoman said their guidelines state "staff should only use protective equipment that meets Australian Standards and is supplied through our hospitals and facilities".
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