CORONAVIRUS —
INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL
439. Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE to the minister representing the
Minister for Health:
I
refer to COVID-19 protocol breaches at Royal Perth Hospital on 18 April,
Geraldton hospital on 4 July and Fiona Stanley Hospital on 27 July, all
of which occurred due to staff members entering elevators after they were used
to transport COVID-19-positive patients.
(1) What
protocols are in place to prevent staff from entering an elevator after a COVID-19-positive
patient has been in the elevator?
(2) In respect of
each incident, please detail why this protocol was not followed and what
measures have subsequently been put in place to prevent similar breaches in the
future.
(3) How many close contacts and
casual contacts were identified as a result of each breach?
(4) For what length of time were
those people identified as close or casual contacts required to self-isolate?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following answer is provided on behalf of the
Minister for Health.
(1) An
overarching hospital guidance document refers to safe patient transfer practices
in hospitals, including lifts—Coronavirus disease—2019
(COVID-19): Infection prevention and control in Western Australian
healthcare facilities. Each hospital has a protocol in place with reference
to the particular setting.
(2) With regard to the incident on 26 July 2021 at
Fiona Stanley Hospital, appropriate protocols were followed; however, there was a technical malfunction with
the elevator that meant that the elevator dropped out of helipad mode.
Together with staff from emergency preparedness and disaster management, and
from security, it was determined that for future transfers, a member of
security staff in full personal protective equipment would remain in the lift,
place it in fire mode and send it to level 9 to await ventilation and cleaning.
This is the process that will be used in the short term for any additional
patient movements via lifts.
For Geraldton hospital, insufficient
controls were in place at the time to prevent staff from entering the lift or
transfer corridors. Additional measures at Geraldton hospital now include
locking the lift utilising mechanical means, staff supervision and the use of
portable barricades, and regular assurance exercises and drills are undertaken.
The
elevator breach at Royal Perth Hospital on 17 April 2021 occurred due to a breakdown
in communication processes between
staff, allowing the lift to remain operational for 90 minutes prior to being
locked and closed for cleaning. There
were also personal protective equipment breaches identified in relation to this
incident.
Measures
in place to prevent this occurring again include the coordination of
COVID-positive or suspected COVID-positive
patient movement being managed centrally by the RPH operations hub; the
inclusion of a forward scout to
manage and coordinate transfer of COVID-positive or suspected COVID-positive patients,
including PPE spotting for the transfer team and holding the lift key to lock
the lift on conclusion of transfer; the
addition of a lift monitor in the transfer process to close and monitor the
lift while the cleaning team arrive
and clean the lift; the monitoring of staff PPE compliance; and regular
scenario testing of patient transport processes in place.
(3) At Royal
Perth Hospital, there was one close contact. At Geraldton hospital, there was
one close contact and 55 casual contacts. At Fiona Stanley Hospital, there were
two close contacts.
(4) Close
contacts were required to quarantine for 14 days and be tested. Casual contacts
were not required to quarantine but were required to be tested.