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In hospitals, protection against infection is rigorous.
But within the home service, other rules of conduct apply.
– We have no protective equipment, just a gun. It is completely unsustainable, says a home service employee in the Stockholm area.
A few days ago, a domestic worker died at age 50 in Skellefteå. It is unclear if the person was infected at work. But death has increased the risk of infection spreading within the home service.
Many home service employees across the country have contacted Aftonbladet and expressed concern. This is especially true in the Stockholm area, where the spread of infection is more extensive. The concern concerns both the risk of infecting themselves and the risk of infecting others.
– It’s chaos. Many people quit for what it seems, says one person in the municipal home service in the municipality of Värmdö outside Stockolm.
– There are no preparations, no protective clothing. It seems that nothing is being done to protect our elders.
– I am more afraid of infecting my clients than myself. You can walk and be free of symptoms and bring cabbage to all our customers at home service.
Photo: TT
Many home service employees say there is no protective equipment and say it is chaos.
“There is no evidence that he was infected”
According to the municipal directive, the staff does not work with mouth protectors or protective clothing if there is no suspicion of infection.
If there is a suspicion of infection, staff should contact the health service for a more detailed examination.
– We have a client who suspected a crown. But he did not want to be tested. So we had to continue there without protective clothing because there was no evidence that he was infected. And after that, we have to keep going to our other customers, “says the home service employee.
Photo: TT
“I am more afraid of infecting my clients than myself. You can walk without symptoms and bring cabbage to all of our home care clients, ”says a home care employee.
Mahria Lövkvist is interim manager of health and care in the municipality of Värmdö. She comments the information in an email to Aftonbladet:
“We know and understand that there is concern in our health care and medical care operations, we handle it every day and through close dialogue with companies. We follow the recommendations of the Public Health Authority, both with regard to protective equipment and handling in case of infection. “
“Unacceptable to work in such conditions”
The Public Health Authority classifies various infections according to a four-degree scale, where class 4 is the most dangerous and class 1 the least. Coronavirus is considered to be at risk of class 3, as are anthrax, tuberculosis, and malaria.
– Call members and tell them they have worked with confirmed infected people completely without protective gear. Working in such conditions is completely unacceptable, says Elisabeth Antfolk, president of the Stockholm municipal section for private care and attention.
– According to the Swedish Work Environment Authority classification, it is totally comparable to walking without protection and working with asbestos remediation. This is what we are expected to do in home care and care for the elderly where there is no protective equipment.
Political decisions are largely behind the situation, says Elisabeth Antfolk.
– Many of those who work in the home service have unsafe forms of employment. Temporary employees risk their livelihood if they leave. And in many cases they cannot afford to feel for themselves whether they are sick or not.
Municipal requirements
Kommunal now requires better protective gear on the elderly. According to the union, personal protective equipment should be mandatory already in case of suspected infection. Otherwise, work will stop due to the risk of infection.
Photo: TT
Municipalities now require better protective equipment for those who work in home service.
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