Craigavon hospital staff: ‘We did not catch Coronavirus by partying’

A health professional at Craigavon Area Hospital says he was angered by authorities giving what he felt was the inaccurate impression that a recent Covid outbreak at the facility had happened while workers were “out partying”.
The Emergency Department at Craigavon Area Hospital where the Southern Trust says three staff members have tested positive for Coronavirus. Source: Google maps.The Emergency Department at Craigavon Area Hospital where the Southern Trust says three staff members have tested positive for Coronavirus. Source: Google maps.
The Emergency Department at Craigavon Area Hospital where the Southern Trust says three staff members have tested positive for Coronavirus. Source: Google maps.

Last week the Southern Health Trust issued a statement confirming that two members of staff who work in the Respiratory Emergency Department (ED) at Craigavon Area Hospital had tested positive for Covid-19.

“As a precaution, any other members of staff who have been in close contact with the confirmed cases are being tested and are at home isolating,” the Trust said.

“At this stage it is understood that the infection may have transferred in a social setting ie not within the ED.”

However a health professional working the hospital has now contacted the News Letter to say they believe the staff were infected as they shared the same rest room/pod on their work break.

The front of the hospital now has an extended number of portacabins and large marquis where health staff can take their breaks. The portacabins are labelled according to the ward they relate to.

The staff member said that face masks are not worn in rest ‘pods’, which he said are quite confined spaces.

“I felt the Trust statement about this outbreak implied that the people who were infected were out partying when they caught it,” the angered employee told the News Letter. “But it was much more likely they had caught it in hospital as those infected shared the same rest pod.”

He was annoyed that, in his view, the hospital statement  was deliberately misleading.

Last week the trust said two staff from ED were infected but yesteray it said there were three.

“The circumstances relating to the Craigavon Area Hospital staff who have tested positive for Covid-19, are still being investigated.

“At this stage, it is believed that the infection may have transferred in a social setting – by this we mean, it did not transfer within the Emergency Department but in another location possibly within the hospital or in the community.

“The wearing of masks is not required in the “green area” at the front of the hospital as staff come to the canteen/portacabin rest pods to have something to eat/drink during their breaks. We encourage anyone on any of the Trust’s premises to physically distance and regularly sanitise their hands when they are not wearing PPE.”

A spokesperson for the RCN said: “The RCN would encourage all staff to observe COVID-19 related precautions in all work settings and ensure they adhere to the guidelines set out by the trust.”

The British Medical Association did not offer any comment.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Alistair Bushe

Editor