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Photo: Johan Nilsson / TT
A sign shows the way to the infection clinic in the emergency room of Skåne University Hospital in Malmö. Stock photo of this spring.
33 people working in infection care at Skåne University Hospital have been infected with covid-19.
The outbreak was discovered after an infection scan, where some had to wait five days for a response.
– We have staff who have worked and been completely symptom-free, not fully knowing that they were really positive for covid, says Maria Josephson, manager of operations in the area of infectious diseases at Skåne University Hospital.
33 cases of covid-19 have been found among Sus staff in Malmö and Lund. In total, there are just over 330 employees in Sus’s infectious disease business, which means that about ten percent are ill.
– We have 33 employees who are sick with covid at the moment. We have had to reduce the number of patients and we have had to reduce seven places of care. In the pavilion where there are more patients right now, we have dropped from 19 to 12 positions.
There are a total of 72 care places in the infectious disease business area of Skåne University Hospitals in Malmö and Lund.
– This means that the remaining staff can work much more frequently and during longer shifts. Of those who are ill right now, none are seriously ill and some become infected at home without symptoms, but it is difficult to say now when they can return.
Photo: Johan Nilsson / TT
The sampling rod from a coronal test is placed in a test tube at Skåne University Hospital in Lund. Stock Photography.
However, actual attention span is not affected, says Maria Josephson.
– There will be other activities that they can support, so the care will not be worse for those who are with us. We divide the work between us.
Long waits behind the bud
The reason there could be an outbreak is, among other things, the long wait times for test results and that you can become infected without showing symptoms. Infection monitoring occurs when someone on staff has been shown to be a carrier of the infection, but if they have no symptoms, they should still be in the workplace. This means that some have continued working without knowing that they have been infected.
– If you get a positive case on a test, those who worked close to that person should get tested, but then we have to wait up to five days for a response. What has happened here is that various staff members were sampled in an infection follow-up and then waited several days for a response. This means that we have staff who have worked and been completely symptom free, not realizing that they were actually positive for covid. Then, sadly, they have passed the virus on to their colleagues even though they all wear mouth guards and try to keep their distance at all times. That’s what makes us have such a big outbreak, says Maria Josephson.
– I know they do their best to increase capacity all the time in the lab, but as it is now it is not enough. It is very frustrating for us, but I know they are doing their best, but the capacity needs to be further expanded, he continues.
“This type of business cannot be closed, but you have to find a reasonable balance. Asymptomatic staff may work pending test results. Unfortunately, there has been too long a wait time to get the test results as the increased sampling has exceeded the capacity of the laboratory. It is unfortunate from all points of view that there is a delay, but it is hoped that it will be better managed. Staff with symptoms are at home waiting for test results, ”writes infection control assistant doctor Eva Gustafsson in a comment to Aftonbladet, responding to a general question about tracking infections between care rooms.
Since November 20, more stringent oral protection requirements are introduced, which must be used at all times in the activity area except for eating or drinking.
– We have been working with mouth guards on all patient contact for a long time and on November 20 it was introduced that we have mouth guards all the time in our business, says Maria Josephson.
It is mainly an infection in a ward where only patients with a crown are cared for.
– In the ward where we have the most infected staff, we only have covid patients, says Maria Josephson.
Could it be that they have been infected by patients?
– It is possible, they may have been infected by patients, but we have protective equipment in all patient situations, so it is more likely to present as a social infection. We have a total of nine outbreaks in the hospital at the moment, the other wards do not have covid patients.
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