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False alarms give hospital staff practice in managing Ebola care Exclusive by Katie Osborne @ns_reporter Most London hospitals have dealt with at least one patent with suspected Ebola virus in the past month, a leading infection control nurse has claimed. Fiona Coogan, director of infection prevention and control at Northwick Park Hospital in London, said she attended a London-wide meeting of infection control nurses last week organised by NHS England, where most reported having dealt with at least one suspected Ebola case. All cases so far have been false alarms. Earlier this week, a woman who had recently travelled to west Africa, was admitted to St George’s Hospital in London, where an Ebola virus test came back negative. Four patients thought to be at risk of having the virus have been seen at Northwick Park. The latest was a man transferred to the hospital’s infectious diseases unit from Heathrow after travelling from Sierra Leone. He tested negative for the virus.

The patient was placed directly in a newly established isolation room where one nurse and one doctor, wearing protective clothing, carried out an initial assessment. This included a blood test to rule out malaria. ‘If a patient tests negative for malaria a blood sample is sent to Public Health England’s laboratory at

‘THERE IS ANXIETY BECAUSE THIS IS SOMETHING WE HAVE NOT DEALT WITH BEFORE’ Porton Down to be tested for Ebola,’ said Ms Coogan. ‘The result can take up to 24 hours to come back, so the patient must remain in isolation. ‘The precautions we need to take in situations such as these are much more rigorous than for blood-borne viruses such as HIV, hepatitis or tuberculosis. We have to keep the patient in a safe environment until we know the result.’ Since August there has been training to ensure staff are fully briefed, but Ms Coogan said nurses still had concerns.

‘There is a lot of anxiety because it is something we have not had to deal with before,’ she said. ‘This is a virus with a high mortality rate.’ But she added that the ‘false alarms’ had been beneficial and valuable lessons had been learned. Initiatives include a ‘buddy’ system, in which the staff member wearing protective clothing is always shadowed by a colleague. ‘One of the most difficult and dangerous times is when the protective clothing is being taken off,’ explained Ms Coogan. ‘It has to be removed in a specific order to prevent self-contamination, and the buddy ensures this by calling out instructions. If a colleague takes off a glove, for example, and then goes to scratch their nose, the buddy would call out not to do that because they could put themselves in danger. Staff use chlorine wipes too.’ Public Health England predicts there could be up to three confirmed cases of Ebola in the UK over the next three months. It is working with hospitals to ensure they are as prepared as possible.

Young carers take their message to the top of the NHS MAX ALEXANDER

Teenage carers met nurses, doctors, political and NHS leaders at London Zoo to highlight the health and social care needs of an estimated 166,000 young carers in England. Three years into an NHS pledge to allocate £400 million to improve support for carers by 2015, minister for care and support Norman Lamb and NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens listened to young carers describe their experiences. The RCN has pledged its support for children and teenagers who care for a family member. Wasay, a young carer from London, met Laura Marshall, co-deputy chair of the RCN’s children and young people’s forum at the event (right).

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False alarms give hospital staff practice in managing Ebola care.

Most London hospitals have dealt with at least one patent with suspected Ebola virus in the past month, a leading infection control nurse has claimed...
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