WHSCT Ebola plan was testedlast month

The Western Trust’s plans to deal with an Ebola case were tested on October 23, according to the Health Minister Jim Wells, who also says that anyone confirmed with the illness will be flown to the Royal Free Hospital in London for treatment.
Health Minister Jim WellsHealth Minister Jim Wells
Health Minister Jim Wells

He made the comments on Monday when a woman who had travelled in Sierra Leone was still being assessed in accordance with the national risk assessment protocol at the Royal Victoria Hospital. The patient ultimately tested negative for the virus.

Speaking at the Assembly, Mr Wells said: “We have been here before: in Londonderry, a similar scare at Altnagelvin proved to be negative, and, in Donegal in the Irish Republic, a similar situation arose. This is third time this has happened on the island of Ireland.

“We have an arrangement with the Royal Free Hospital in London, where any patient who is assessed as having Ebola will be flown. Arrangements have been established for that to be done rapidly. Therefore, the overall treatment of anyone who has Ebola will be carried out on the mainland and not in Northern Ireland.”

The Health Minister explained that samples from the woman at the centre of the Belfast case was sent to the Government military science park in Porton Down and to Dublin for testing.

He said that even if Ebola does arrive in the Northern Ireland it shouldn’t place a major burden on local doctors and nurses.

“Even in the worst-case scenario, the numbers in the UK would be expected to be in single figures. Therefore, whilst it is a matter of great concern to the public, we do not envisage this placing an inordinate burden on our health services or those in the rest of the UK. In Northern Ireland, every health and social care trust has plans in place that were tested in a regional exercise on October 23. We had all the bodies, including the trusts, the Public Health Agency and colleagues from England, Wales, Scotland and the Irish Republic involved to make certain that we were fully prepared in the event of a suspected case of Ebola or, in the worst-case scenario, a confirmed case,” he said.