EBOLA PANIC CONTINUES IN LONDON
AS A PATIENT ADMITTED TO A LONDON HOSPITAL LAST NIGHT IS BEING TESTED FOR EBOLA....
A patient admitted to a London hospital last night is being tested for Ebola, it has been confirmed.
The
person, believed to be a woman, has a history of travel in west Africa
and is described as suffering from a ‘haemorrhagic fever’.
It
is thought she presented herself to St George’s Hospital in Tooting,
south London, with a high temperature. The patient is being treated in
isolation in a clinical infections unit.
Treatment: The
patient, believed to be a woman, is thought to have presented herself to
St George's Hospital (pictured) in Tooting, south London, with a high
temperature
Today,
a woman visiting her father at the hospital told how the accident and
emergency department was cordoned off following the arrival of the
patient being tested for Ebola.
The
visitor had popped out to phone a relative as she saw her father, who
had been taken in to A&E. But when she returned, the corridor was
blocked - and staff were not letting people through.
The
woman, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘When I went back in, the
A&E section was closed off with a big sign saying "do not enter"
with staff standing nearby to make sure no-one got through.
‘I
heard someone saying something about a woman having Ebola. I was
worried as I had to get back to my dad and the corridor was now blocked.
A&E is split into major and minor and it was the major that was
cordoned off.’
St
George’s Healthcare NHS Trust confirmed to MailOnline today that the
area where the patient was being treated had been cordoned off.
A
spokesman said: ‘A patient has been admitted to St George’s Hospital
with a haemorrhagic fever and is currently undergoing a series of tests,
as a precaution one of which is for Ebola.
‘The
trust has followed national guidance and moved the patient to our
clinical infections unit where they are being cared for in isolation,
away from other patients.
‘Infection
control procedures remain in place while we await the results. We are
confident that all appropriate actions have been taken by our staff to
protect the public and the patient.’
Map of the location: The patient is being treated in isolation at St George's Hospital in Tooting, south London
Health crisis: So far, almost 5,000
people have been killed by the virus. Pictured, an ambulance leaves an
isolation unit carrying the bodies of victims to a burial site, at the
Kenema Government Hospital in Sierra Leone
And
a Public Health England spokesman said: ‘PHE can confirm it will
undertake precautionary tests relating to a patient presently at St
George’s Hospital in Tooting, who has a history of travel to West
Africa.
The
A&E section was closed off with a big sign saying "do not enter"
with staff standing nearby to make sure no-one got through
Visitor to St George's Hospital
‘Ebola
is considered unlikely but testing is being done as a precaution, as is
our usual practice in these circumstances. We are confident that all
appropriate actions are being taken to protect the public’s health.
‘It
is important to remember that as yet, there has not been a case of
Ebola diagnosed in the UK and the infection can only be transmitted
through contact with the bodily fluids - such as blood, vomit or faeces -
of an infected person.
‘We
have advised all front line medical practitioners and NHS call handlers
to be alert to signs and symptoms of Ebola in those returning from
affected areas and following such advice we would expect to see an
increase in testing.’
It
comes after the head of a leading charity said yesterday that the Ebola
crisis in west Africa is still getting worse. An atmosphere of ‘fear
and anxiety’ pervades the region, Save the Children chief executive
Justin Forsyth said on a trip to Freetown in Sierra Leone.
Previous case: William Pooley, 19, who
had been working as a nurse in Sierra Leone - was the first confirmed
Briton to contract Ebola and was flown home to be treated in a
specially-adapted unit in north-west London
So
far, almost 5,000 people have been killed by the virus and more than
13,000 have been infected, although experts say the real figures could
be much higher.
A
patient has been admitted to St George’s Hospital with a haemorrhagic
fever and is currently undergoing a series of tests, as a precaution one
of which is for Ebola
St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust
William
Pooley, 19, of Suffolk - who had been working as a nurse in Sierra
Leone - was the first confirmed Briton to contract Ebola and was flown
home in August to be treated in a specially-adapted unit at the Royal
Free Hospital in Hampstead, north-west London.
He
was treated with the experimental drug ZMapp. After being given the
all-clear he agreed to donate his blood plasma, which contains
antibodies vital to combating the disease, in a bid to develop treatment
for victims. But he returned to Sierra Leone again last month.
Last
month, a suspected Ebola patient walked into A&E at Lewisham
Hospital in south-east London, fearing he had the virus after travelling
to Britain from Sierra Leone two weeks earlier.
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.
Test run: Staff from North East
Ambulance Service and the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle carry
out a Ebola training exercise last month
Also
last month, a training exercise saw an actor pretend to collapse at a
shopping centre in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, after telling passers-by he
was not feeling well.
There
has not been a case of Ebola diagnosed in the UK and the infection can
only be transmitted through contact with the bodily fluids - such as
blood, vomit or faeces - of an infected person
Public Health England
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 - and then transferred 300 miles south to the Royal Free
Hospital.
London
Mayor Boris Johnson has previously admitted that he expected Ebola to
come to Britain soon and warned that he feared the disease would
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.
And
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told Parliament in October that up to ten
Ebola cases could be seen in Britain by Christmas - and that the health
crisis will get worse before it improves.
Other
UK hospitals and health centres which have seen walk-in cases of
patients tested for Ebola - with negative results - include the City of
Coventry Health Centre and Southmead Hospital in Bristol.
St
George’s Hospital - which is currently featuring in Channel 4 series 24
Hours in A&E - has nearly 8,000 staff across the Trust and serves a
local population in the capital of 1.3million.
No comments:
Post a Comment