We met with your Regional WHS Manager and one of your delegates recently to follow up on some questions that had been asked about infectious/airborne precautions, cleaning procedures and more.
After an outbreak at St John’s, which members believe could’ve been prevented if their concerns had been listened to when it comes to proper airborne precautions, we had some questions we needed cleaned up (pardon the pun) to make sure you had the right information.
Here’s what Calvary told us at the meeting:
• In line with public health standards, some of the COVID clean policies and signage will need to be updated (and it’s our understanding that some of this has been done, including signage now showing clearly that gowns are to be worn on airborne precaution cases). The policies they want to look at first and get your input on are the Cleaning Patients Rooms and Public Areas Policy, and the Nocolyse Policy.
• If you are being directed to complete Norco cleans and leave patients’ belongings in there, this is incorrect, and you need to be supported and given time to take patients’ belongings out.
• If you’re worried that you’re getting pushback when completing cleans the way you’ve been instructed to, your relevant area manager or supervisor is the person to talk to about this, and they can help you clarify with any other staff what is expected of you if you run into any issues. If you’ve talked to your area managers and supervisors and feel that you’re not being listened to, then feel free to also get in touch with us.
• When you’re doing airborne patient cleans, bins for gowns, protective equipment, etc. can be in or outside the room. Mostly in practice they seem to be inside, but sometimes they are outside depending on what equipment is inside each room – we raised concerns about airflow around this when opening bins, and we’ll continue to ask questions around this if you are keen to pursue it.
• The reason some airborne precaution patients seem to be placed into open units is that they are not tested when coming from campus to campus. If someone transfers from LV to St John’s (or the other way round), we’ve asked if there can be testing upon arrival, even if they’ve been tested at the other campus, to try and eliminate COVID spreading. Management took this on notice and said they’d ask and let us know.
• There was an opportunity identified for Housekeeping Supervisors and their teams to discuss the patient lists and expected room transfers with Nurse Unit Managers each morning and determine the best approach, particularly if full terminal cleans may be required on the larger rooms, so you can plan your day and workload better. This will be passed on for consideration and action.
• RATs are still being provided to staff; they’re just not to be taken home for personal use. If you’re coming to work, or at work, and you suspect you have symptoms of COVID, Calvary have committed that they’ll still have RATs available for you to use so you’re not out of pocket.
• They’re not getting rid of Norco but may be looking to limit its use where it’s allegedly being overused. Management also committed to providing further clarification and training on how Norco is to be used, including how long it needs to sit depending on room size.
• Over the long term, there was also some discussion on sliding doors in open units where airborne patients might be placed to make cleans easier but there were no firm commitments on timelines for this.
We think it’s important that Calvary keep their promises on these issues and that your voices are included in any policy review and that you’re safe at work – we need to hear from you about how these are being implemented at work and what your feedback is, so please keep us updated.
We also believe it’s important to foster a good relationship with your managers and supervisors, so if you’ve got concerns in the first instance it’s always good to contact them and see if you can resolve it. Calvary have said they’ll back you in doing this. If you’re having no luck though, we’re here to help too and only ever a call or email away.
If you’ve got any questions about this or any other issues, please make sure you get in touch with us on 1300 880 032 or [email protected]