# 3573
(With apologies to Cole Porter)
Perhaps one of the good things about this swine flu pandemic (yes, I’m looking at the glass half-full) is that it is giving us a opportunity to test, and refine, our pandemic planning and response systems around the globe.
Swine flu won’t be the last pandemic we face.
Thankfully - so far, at least -it has proven to be less deadly than was first feared. If we are going to have screw ups (and we will), better to have them now, before something worse comes down the pike.
From Wales today, a story of one such screw up. Where nurses were reportedly provided with the wrong type of protective facemask.
While this may sound trivial, it really isn’t.
This from WalesOnline.
Staff in flu frontline ‘given wrong masks’
Aug 2 2009 by Tim Lewis, Wales On Sunday
NHS workers battling swine flu have been put at extra risk after being given the wrong protective face masks, nurses have claimed.
A mix-up with orders of specialised fluid-repellent masks has left frontline workers having to wear ordinary surgical masks which are virtually useless at protecting those wearing them against swine flu.
One NHS worker from Swansea, who asked not to be named, said: “We were all given masks but then they sent out a letter to everyone to say they were the wrong ones and would have to be replaced.
“Some of the nurses queried straight away whether they were the correct ones and it turns out they weren’t.
“Staff are still wearing the masks but they know they do not offer a lot of protection.”
The nurse said many of the workers felt let down by the failure and said it had increased the risk of doctors and nurses catching the disease.
I know some people are saying, `What’s the big deal?’
After all, millions of us are going to be stricken by this flu over this fall and winter, many households will be caring for flu victims at home, and most without masks . . . why the fuss?
Things are quite a bit different in a hospital setting than they are in someone’s household, and so the need for proper PPE’s is greater.
First, we’ve a limited number of HCW’s (Health Care Workers) and losing very many of them to a bout of the flu, even if it proves relatively minor, would severely diminish any facility’s ability to provide health care to the public.
In New Zealand, yesterday, it was reported that more than 100 nurses were out with the flu, and some hospitals were having critical staffing problems. As the attrition rate grows, more demands are placed on the remaining staff, thus increasing employee fatigue and their odds of making mistakes.
Second, HCWs roam between flu patients and non-flu patients, along with mingling with co-workers and their families. An infected HCW has the potential to spread the virus quite efficiently even before showing symptoms, and often to medically vulnerable groups.
Third, HCWs can be exposed to dozens of infected people each shift, not just 1 or 2 such as you might find in a home. The more exposures, the greater the likelihood of acquiring the infection.
Fourth, and most ominously, influenza viruses are mutating constantly. HCWs are generally exposed to those who are suffering from the most severe symptoms of this virus. While often this is mainly due to the patient’s underlying health problems, it could also signify a change in the virus.
This is one of the reasons why they are sequencing 150 isolates of the virus in Argentina right now, because they fear a mutation may have occurred. And we’ve heard reports of as many as a dozen HCWs who have died in that country.
HCWs are, quite frankly, more likely to be exposed to a dangerous variant of this virus than the average person taking care of a sick child at home. And if that happens, they are also better poised to transmit it to others.
So it is a big deal.
HCWs are on the front line, risking their health and lives to care for others. They deserve the right protective equipment.
A failure to provide that not only endangers their lives, and the lives of their families . . . it constitutes a genuine danger for others in a health care facility and to the general public as well.
Which is why it isn’t alright with me.
