A London hospital was totally unprepared when a suspected Ebola patient walked into A&E, it was claimed today.
Health
authorities have carried out high-profile drills in a bid to show that
Britain is ready for the feared arrival of the disease.
But
an insider at Lewisham hospital said the response when a potential case
walked into casualty on Saturday night shows the reality of the
situation is much worse.
A man walked into
Lewisham hospital with suspected Ebola on Saturday night and was put
into isolation - but an insider says he was allowed to use a communal
toilet and even received visitors
The incident came on the same day as
the NHS carried out a training drill on how to deal with the outbreak
(pictured at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary)
It
was reported today that a man arrived at the hospital fearing he had
the deadly virus after travelling to Britain from Sierra Leone two weeks
ago.
But a source told The Sun some staff refused to go near the man, who was reportedly allowed visitors and used a communal toilet.
The insider said: 'The hospital is unprepared. Staff are panicking and scared for their safety.'
The
man - who was later found not to have the virus - was not transferred
to the specialist Royal Free Hospital, which is the only hospital in
Britain equipped with a fully 'ebola-proof' isolation unit.
The
source claimed hospital staff only have 'aprons, masks and flimsy
surgical gloves' rather than the bio-protection suits used in the drill.
Reports of the incident contrast with the well-organised response shown in a training exercise carried out on the same day.
In
the NHS drill, an actor feigned collapse at a shopping centre in
Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, after telling passers-by he was not feeling
well.
He
was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle by an ambulance
crew equipped to deal with an Ebola case, where he was put into an
isolation unit.
An actor used as a patient in the
drill in Newcastle (pictured) was transferred to the specialist Royal
Free Hospital in London - but a source in Lewisham said this did not
happen in a suspected case on Saturday
Staff in Hillingdon hospital in
Uxbridge, west London taking part in the national Ebola exercise. Staff
in Lewisham have reportedly been left with only masks, aprons and gloves
to deal with the disease
Lewisham hospital - which has found the man does not have Ebola - say worried staff are being supported
The 'victim' was then transferred 300 miles to the Royal Free Hospital in north London, as planned.
The
exercises were announced days in advance – but the Department of Health
has said 'key people' at the hospitals involved had been given only a
few hours' notice that they would take part.
A
spokesman for Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust said: 'It's important to
stress that we did follow robust and established systems that are in
place to manage and care for people with suspected infectious diseases.
'Following
a clinical assessment and advice from the Imported Fever Service Unit,
the patient was identified as "low risk" for Ebola. They were always
treated in isolation and all staff wore appropriate protective clothing.
'As
a low risk patient, they were allowed to see a visitor under controlled
conditions, meaning the visitor was given protective clothing for the
duration of the visit. Tests have confirmed that the patient does not
have the Ebola virus.
'We
understand that cases like this can be alarming for staff, and it's
unfortunate someone has raised concerns publicly when the Trust did
follow best practice guidelines.
'We
will be speaking to staff to remind them of our protocols and
procedures for infection control and to encourage them to let us know if
they need any additional support.'
British nurse Will Pooley was the first Briton to contract the disease but was successfully treated in the UK
He was flown back to the High Secure Infectious Disease Unit at The Royal Free Hospital (pictured) in August
The
Ebola outbreak is thought to have started in Guinea in December last
year and deaths from the virus rose rapidly in West Africa this summer
and now top 4,000.
The World Health Organization today called the Ebola outbreak 'the most severe, acute health emergency seen in modern times'.
It
added that economic disruption can be curbed if people are educated so
they don't make any irrational moves to dodge infection.
WHO
Director-General Margaret Chan, citing World Bank figures, said 90 per
cent of economic costs of any outbreak 'come from irrational and
disorganised efforts of the public to avoid infection.'
'We
are seeing, right now, how this virus can disrupt economies and
societies around the world,' she said, but added that adequately
educating the public was a 'good defense strategy' and would allow
governments to prevent economic disruptions.
British
nurse Will Pooley became the first Briton to contract the virus after
working as a volunteer in Sierra Leone, one of the worst-hit countries.
Mr
Pooley was flown back to Britain on August 24 and recovered after being
treated in an isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital.
London
mayor Boris Johnson has admitted that he expects Ebola to come to
Britain soon and says he fears the disease will probably hit the capital
first.
'I
have little doubt that eventually there will be a case of Ebola in this
country and probably in this city,' he said, adding that it was
impossible to blood test everybody coming into the country.
Thomas Eric Duncan became the first person to die of Ebola in the United States last week.
The 42-year-old Liberian's body was incinerated alongside items that were feared contaminated by the virus in Texas on Friday.
Since
Mr Duncan's death, it has emerged that a female nurse who treated him
has become the second person in the country to test positive for the
virus.
British
man Colin Jaffray was suspected of being the first UK citizen to be
killed by Ebola after he died on a business trip to Macedonia last week.
But
health officials in the eastern European country have since said the
58-year-old, from Royston, Hertfordshire, did not have the disease.
Ebola has killed 4,000 people in western Africa this year, with burial teams in Liberia struggling to cope
Teams of volunteers have been picking
up the bodies of victims in Liberian capital, Freetown, and officials
expect the disease will move to Britain in the future
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