Largest nurses' union in U.S. release statement condemning handling of Ebola patient

Improper equipment, changing protocals blamed

National Nurses United, the largest nurses' union in the United States, alleges the Dallas hospital that dealt with the Liberian Ebola patient allowed the nurses treating him to work "for days" without proper protective gear or set protocols.

Deborah Burger, spokeswoman for the union, says nurses used medical tape to secure openings in their "flimsy" garments and worried constantly about the areas of their bodies still exposed as they cared for the patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, who died last Oct. 8.

Two of his nurses have since been diagnosed with the disease.
 
"Sloppy precautions and dangerous lapses" for health care worker protection is to blame, Burger alleges.

Among the nurses’ allegations is Duncan’s lab samples travelled through the hospital’s pneumatic tubes, possibly contaminating the specimen delivery system. The nurses also allege hazardous waste was allowed to pile up to the ceiling.

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control Ebola response team was sent to Dallas Oct. 14.

Wendell Watson, a spokesman for Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, made a statement on the hospital's behalf, without specifically addressing the nurses' allegations.

“Patient and employee safety is our greatest priority and we take compliance very seriously,” he said.

“We have numerous measures in place to provide a safe working environment, including mandatory annual training and a 24/7 hotline and other mechanisms that allow for anonymous reporting.”

He added the hospital would “review and respond to any concerns raised by our nurses and all employees.”

The nurses allege:

  • Duncan was kept in a non-isolated area of the emergency department for several hours, potentially exposing up to seven other patients to Ebola;
  • Patients who may have been exposed to Duncan were kept in isolation only for a day before being moved to areas where there were other patients;
  • Nurses treating Duncan were also caring for other patients in the hospital;
  • Preparation for Ebola at the hospital amounted to little more than an optional seminar for staff;
  • In the face of constantly shifting guidelines, nurses were allowed to follow whichever ones they chose.
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