‘The woeful working conditions at these facilities are leading to unsafe practices’
This week, the Ministry of Health confirmed that two health workers in Christchurch have tested positive to COVID-19.
The announcement has raised questions about working conditions for health care workers and how employers should react to keep their employees safe.
The two nurses were working at the Sudima Hotel in Christchurch which is being used to isolate 235 Russian and Ukrainian fishermen.
New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) kaiwhakahaere (co-director) Kerri Nuku said she had been receiving notice of rising concerns from nurses working in managed isolation and quarantine facilities.
The NZNO is also aware of significant problems in Auckland facilities managed by Counties Manukau DHB.
Nuku said that nurses and health workers at those facilities are under-staffed, have insufficient access to PPE and do not have the support in place to care for the large number of quarantined people.
“Our members are telling us they are anxious and fearful. The woeful working conditions at these facilities are leading to unsafe practices which put their health at risk,” said Nuku.
“This puts those they care for at risk and poses a threat to the border and therefore to the welfare of the public.”
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Nuku called for a review of how MIQ facilities are run to identify systemic failures, and said she feared more health workers would become infected if this was not done soon.
“We need assurances across the board that our members will be cared for and safe, because at the moment they are telling us they are not.”
Furthermore, the NZNO claimed that the conditions for workers in these facilities had been exacerbated by problems with rostering and inadequate pay for nurses and other health staff working in MIQ facilities.
So how can employers create a safe workplace if a staff member has tested positive for COVID-19?
“First and foremost, make sure the person who has tested positive doesn’t come into work,” according to Sherridan Cook, partner at Buddle Findlay.
Cook told HRD that if employers knowingly allow employees to come to a workplace when they are sick with COVID-19, then they are likely to be in breach of their duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
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“Following this, you need to ensure that employees or other people who have been exposed to that staff member are obviously told and they would need to self-isolate by staying home for 14 days and be tested,” he said.
“The Ministry of Health is actively involved in ensuring that employees who have been exposed are self-isolating. As the employer, you want to make sure that all of that is occurring.”
Cook said it’s also important to ensure the workplace is cleaned to the required standards and that organisations may need to shut down for a period of time for that to take place.