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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2014
40 PAGES
Watching the river flow A boat travels along the Fraser River with the trees in the background showing hints of autumn. Clare Scott photo
Quarantine plan in place for Ebola travellers Richmond Hospital would screen suspected cases coming through the airport by Martin van den Hemel Staff Reporter In the very remote chance somebody stricken with the often-lethal Ebola virus—that’s currently ravaging western Africa—landed at Vancouver International Airport, how would that traveller be handled? While Surrey Memorial Hospital has been designated to deal with confirmed cases of Ebola—one of five designated hospitals spread across the province—Richmond Hospital still has an ongoing relationship with the quarantine services program at Vancouver
International Airport, which monitors incoming passengers for symptoms of illnesses of concern, including among others tuberculosis and Ebola. Dr. Patricia Daly, chief medical health officer at Vancouver Coastal Health, said Richmond Hospital is equipped with a negative pressure room capable of isolating people with diseases that are transmitted through the air. Daly said the health authority recognizes that every hospital needs to be able to properly screen people. What’s challenging about Ebola is that people who are very ill tend to release a lot of bodily fluids like vomit, diarrhea and in many cases blood, which are virus-laden. “When they become very ill, and healthcare workers are caring for them, we have to ensure the right protocols are in place,” Daly said. But she re-iterated that the risk of Ebola coming to B.C. is extremely low, noting that there
are no direct flights from any of the affected countries in Africa to any city in Canada. New procedures have been implemented to deal with indirect flights through cities like London and Frankfurt, where suspected cases will be handled by the public health authority and monitored for 21 days—the disease’s incubation period—with Richmond Hospital one of the reference hospitals. Confirmed cases are then directed to Surrey Memorial. But concerns remain about the level of safety-protocol training nurses have, considering they are the front-line workers who might be tasked with dealing with an Ebola case. Gayle Duteil, president of the B.C. Nurses’ Union, said it’s critical that nurses receive repeated training, and that they demonstrate their competency. “Right now, our members feel there’s a disconnect between what’s going on in policy and practice,” she said.
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The majority of B.C. nurses don’t feel confident or prepared to take on an Ebola case, were one to show up, she said. Two nurses in Texas were infected with Ebola after caring for the first U.S. patient diagnosed with the disease. This despite the nurses following protocols that include the use of masks, goggles and protective head-to-toe gowns. Duteil said nurses need access to personal protective equipment and training to safely care for Ebola cases. “It is absolutely paramount that health authorities and the government now have to care for the nurses,” she said, adding there’s no doubt nurses will play a front-line role in stopping the disease’s spread. While the risk of Ebola coming to B.C. is low, “the consequences are high and the consequences are high for the nurses of B.C.” See Page 3
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