Hospital staff can't wear contamination suits forever

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Hospital staff can't wear contamination suits forever: union

Posted 1 hour 53 minutes ago

Updated 1 hour 54 minutes ago

ABC Online - Australia

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/23/2498453.htm

The Health Services Union says it is unacceptable to expect staff to

wear full contamination suits for months on end, while a mould

problem is addressed at Newcastle's Hunter Hospital.

The Industrial Relations Commission yesterday held another hearing,

after staff in the clinical information centre complained that mouldy

medical records were making them sick.

The union's Bob Hull says it will take several months to get rid of

the mould and it is crucial staff are moved quickly to an empty space

that is available in the hospital.

He says staff are going to extreme lengths to protect themselves.

" Part of that process includes staff wearing protective equipment and

they include operation theatre scrubs, gloves and or masks and or

respirators ... they look like people from outer space, " he said.

Hunter Health's director of acute operations, Di Rienzo, says

a remediation plan has been finalised and contingencies are in place

to protect staff.

" Where some of the staff don't need to be in that area, we are going

to make available space that has become vacant within the hospital to

assist them, " he said.

" But in the meantime what we've been able to get to at this stage is

that we have segregated the department in terms of the medical

records - they are now protected [and] the staff are actually

protected by a plastic barrier. "

Mr Di Rienzo says the next step is transferring the old records onto

computers, a process that is likely to take 18 months.