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There is now a dispute over oral protection in elder care. Municipal does not buy the statement from the authorities that mouth protection does not have to be mandatory for staff working with an infected crown. – We are fighting. We continue to end protection, says municipal president Tobias Baudin.
No, in general, oral protection is not needed for staff working with infected people in elderly care, according to authorities. The evaluation should be done at the regional level. Stock Photography.
Last week, work stopped at a retirement home in Stockholm, after staff was denied oral protection when working with older people infected with a crown. The Swedish Work Environment Authority decided that a mouth guard would be a requirement for the Serafen nursing home in Stockholm.
– If the same question comes up exactly elsewhere, you can probably guess in advance that we will handle it the same way. This is the absolute lowest level we can imagine, ”Occupational Safety and Health Inspector Jenny Bengtsson told TT regarding the decision.
The decision was seen as a guide by the Municipal Council.
But this weekend, the Swedish Work Environment Authority, the Public Health Authority, the Health and Care Inspection (IVO) and the National Health Board issued a joint statement, explaining that the decision does not apply to the entire country.
The municipality thinks this is wrong.
– We have been clear, employers have not ensured that employees have the proper protective equipment. We take the fight. We continue to end protection, says Tobias Baudin, president of the Municipal Council.
However, he emphasizes that it is not the union that stops the safeguard, but the 25,000 security officers who have the decisions in their hands. But the message is clear. Staff should be entitled to oral protection when they work in close contact with infected older people, according to the Municipal Council.
– Here you are talking about mouth protection. It is not reasonable, he says, explaining that staff working with the infected are close enough to feed, wash, and change bedding.
– So much attention has been paid to care, that they look like space people when caring for the infected, Tobias Baudin.
But care for the elderly has been forgotten, according to Municipal.
Employers deny them mouth protection, which Kommunal says puts the health of staff and care workers at risk when the infection spreads in homes, Tobias Baudin says.
Authorities write that evaluations should be done with the support of regional protection against infection, but he cannot understand how infection may behave differently in different municipalities and regions. It is also critical that the employers, municipalities and regions of Sweden (SKR) side welcome the authorities’ statement.
– We believe that employers do not take this seriously. Staff in the home do not have adequate protective clothing, and in the home service where they go home with people, they often do not even have work clothes. Often, there’s not even alcohol or soap, says Tobias Baudin.
The updated recommendations of the Public Health Authority do not establish that oral protection should always be used in contact with infected patients. Instead, he says, “You should wear a visor or goggles at work that involve the risk of contact with body fluids.”
The recommendations of the Public Health Authority
The updated recommendations of the Public Health Authority do not establish that oral protection should always be used in contact with infected patients. Instead, he says, “The visor (should) be worn at work that involves the risk of contact with bodily fluids. If the visor is not fully splash-protected against the mouth, it is combined with mouth guards. As an alternative to the visors, safety glasses can be worn in conjunction with mouthguards. a risk assessment and work done are the most appropriate option selected. “
Source: Public Health Authority
Joint declaration
The Swedish Authority for the Work Environment, the Public Health Authority, the Health and Care Inspection (IVO) and the National Board of Health and Welfare issued a joint statement over the Easter weekend following the decision to stop the shelter in old people’s homes in Stockholm:
“Risk assessments should be carried out with the support of regional protection against infections, health care units, and medical nurses in municipalities, to ensure patient safety and employee protection,” write the four authorities.
The Public Health Authority, and also the Swedish Work Environment Authority, write on their websites: “In recent days, users have been brought up on the issue of personal protective equipment for personnel dealing with possible covid-19 infections in users The Swedish Work Environment Authority has clarified that a decision made a few days ago at a single workplace after a safety stop at the ombud in Stockholm is not a general decision on what Personal Protective Equipment should be worn by staff in care, but only applied to the workplace in question. “
The Swedish Employers, Municipalities and Regions (SKR) page welcomed the statement by the authorities.
“It is important that expert authorities have a strong consensus on how protection against infection should be managed in health care and that it is clear that the recommendations of the Public Health Authority on protective equipment should be applied in the workplace “says Emma Spak, head of the SKR Health and Medicine Section, in a press release.
Source: Public Health Authority, Work Environment Authority, municipalities and regions of Sweden.
