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The nurses union is “strongly” considering detaining its staff working in managed isolation and quarantine facilities if it is not safe.
The New Zealand Nurses Organization (NZNO) said it remained “very concerned” about the lack of action by district health boards, the Ministry of Health and MBIE to protect their members working in government MIQ.
Two nurses and a defense force staff member recently contracted Covid-19 from their work at MIQ facilities. The union said they did not have access to the N95 masks, a “clear violation” of the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA).
Rick Bowmer / AP
NZNO, the nurses union, has raised concerns for the safety of its members who work in controlled isolation and quarantine facilities.
Under the law, NZNO members can refuse to perform work they deem unsafe, which NZNO industrial services manager Glenda Alexander said the union is now considering “encouraging and strongly supporting” nurses on the premises of the MY Q.
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It comes after a new Covid-19 case in the Auckland community is genomically linked to Case A: a Defense Forces worker who recently contracted the disease.
Alexander said it is “alarming” that nurses working at MIQ facilities “still do not have consistent access” to N95 masks or the fit tests that make them effective in preventing airborne transmission.
He said this put nurses and the community “at unacceptable risk.”
“The fact that three employees working at MIQ were infected is a serious harm incident according to the HSWA, and could be prevented if the PPE had been distributed and used correctly, as evidenced by international facilities,” said Alexander.
Abigail Dougherty / Stuff
Nurses with PPE test for Covid-19 at a community testing center.
“Unless New Zealand stays current and uses proven PPE practices, there will be many more infections in MIQ and eventually large outbreaks in the community,” he said.
Alexander said the union does not want nurses in quarantine facilities to have to refuse to work under the law, but would be “compelled to do so” if there is no “immediate action” by MBIE, the Ministry of Health. Health and Defense.
He said it had always been recognized that the greatest risk of outbreaks in the general population came from returnees to the country.
Joseph Johnson / Stuff
The nurses union says it does not want nurses to refuse to work under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, but would be “forced to” if no action is taken.
That the personnel working at these facilities were not granted the “highest level of protection” was a violation of the law, he said.
Trained health and safety representatives can also order immediate termination of work if there are significant safety concerns, Alexander said.
“The Covid-19 pandemic is a rapidly changing situation and we all need to learn as we respond.
“This is not happening and, as a result, we will see increased risks to the lives of our people and the well-being of our communities. We cannot allow this to continue. “
