Flu strategy under fire
Wednesday August 26th, 2009
There
were growing signs today of discontent amongst doctors and nurses at the
handling of the swine flu pandemic.
In England nurses said they were being diverted from the care of seriously ill patients to staff anti-flu drug collection points.
And in Wales, GPs said they would cope with the outbreak - and that flu hotlines were not needed.
Meanwhile another survey suggested widespread resistannce globally from professionals at being required to under swine flu vaccination.
Nursing Standard reports today that nurses are being moved from work with cancer patients to staff collection points.
Ros Godson, of the Community Practitioners' and Health Visitors' Association, condemned the practice as "appalling".
And Katherine Guellard, a newly retired nurse, told the journal that the specialist Macmillan nurses, who care for cancer patients, in Northumberland, are having to staff collection clinics.
A spokesman for Northumberland Care Trust, said: "We are required to include a nurse in the team at each antiviral collection point."
Evidence is mounting that many health care workers may refuse to have swine flu vaccination.
Almost all countries with a pandemic flu plan aim to vaccinate healthcare workers as a priority group.
But a survey of over 8,500 doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals in Hong Kong, reported today, found that less than half (47.9 per cent) of respondents said they would be willing to be vaccinated against swine flu.
Lead author, Professor Paul Chan from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, highlighted fears over side-effects, and doubts about efficacy. Details appear on the website of the British Medical Journal.
But he emphasises that vaccination is effective and believes that its benefits far outweigh the potential risks. He calls for a campaign to "address the knowledge gap of staff".
But Dr Rachel Jordan of Birmingham University, UK, writes in the journal: "Evidence from decades of seasonal vaccination suggests likely benefits and low risk of adverse events.
"Without vaccination many healthcare workers will become infected," she states. "Flu vaccination is likely to reduce this risk." It may also help to keep the healthcare system operating at maximum capacity, she adds.
Professor David Salisbury from the Department of Health said that nurses "have a duty" to protect themselves, their patients, and their families.
Tags: Asia | Flu & Viruses | Nursing & Midwifery | UK News
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