The Victorian second wave of COVID-19 has been well reported, but as the wave subsides and the state records more than a week without new cases or fatalities, attention has been turned to the 3,500 healthcare workers who were infected by the virus.
ABC’s 7:30 Report interviewed a number of key stakeholders, including the state’s CMO, front-line staff, medical experts and occupational hygienists in its report into the troubling rates of infections.
Professor Jeffrey Braithwaite of Macquarie University explained that if “there is that level of staff being infected, it really is a big warning sign about the system and how well it is performing.”
Despite the claims made in August by the Andrews Government that many workers were infected outside their place of employment, state health department research showed that the rate of infections at work was as high as seven out of ten.
Kate Cole, an occupational hygienist and member of the state’s taskforce for COVID-19, explained that arguably, “that is one of the highest incidences of occupational illness and disease that we have seen in this country for more than a decade.
“So that tells us that we did something wrong and that we need to learn from it.
“When I look at healthcare as a sector, I feel as though it is at least 15 to 20 years behind in terms of workplace health and safety.
“They haven’t had the benefit of a safe workplace like other Australian workers do in other high-risk industries.
“No matter what industry you work in, in Australia, when you go to work, you should be protected.”
Dr Norman Swan explained that the masks supplied at hospitals and other health care facilities across the country need to be fit tested “to ensure there are no leaks and yet even now fit testing is still not routinely done.”
Front line workers who were employed at affected hospitals during the second wave explained that there wasn’t fit testing available. One worker explained that “you had to use what was available to you there at the time, and it was either that or nothing.”
Ms Cole explained that “We need to learn from it and improve drastically to prepare ourselves in case there is a third wave because we can’t just do the same thing and expect different results.”