Osakidetza is not adequately controlling contamination of its staff
- “Doctors are treating patients, but health workers don’t know whether they are sick or not. And if they’re sick, they can spread more people until symptoms appear, because they don’t know how they are actually.” This has been communicated to ARGIA by a person who is well aware of the situation in Osakidetza in Donostia-San Sebastián. Another doctor in Vitoria-Gasteiz has confirmed the complaint, Osakidetza is not testing coronavirus on healthcare workers if the situation is not extreme. "Because if the positives multiply, these professionals should stay at home," he added. This would jeopardise the viability of the health system.
A source that does not want to give its name informs us of the situation at Donostia Hospital: on Friday six positive were detected among patients who were in a section of that hospital and all patients were tested. But not the professionals who were in contact with them.
According to ARGIA, health professionals have warned of the risk this situation poses to other professionals and patients in the hospital, but, at least until Sunday morning, they still had no tests.
In addition, the same source has confirmed that a sanitarian with obvious symptoms of Covid-19 was tested and tested positive. But, once again, Osakidetza has still not tested the professionals who have worked with him.
“Doctors are treating patients, health workers don’t know if they are sick or not. And if they’re sick, they can spread more people until symptoms appear, because they don’t know how they really are,” he said.
In Álava, another doctor who has not wanted to give names to ARGIA has described similar situations and practices. In his opinion, health professionals and doctors are not being tested until "more extreme symptoms" of the disease appear. Neither those who work in hospitals, nor those who move from home to home to serve the citizens.
“They know that we are many infected by the conditions in which we are working.” In addition to denouncing it, the doctor has valued the personal responsibility and responsibility of each of the workers. In their opinion, maintaining the tension to respect basic prevention measures at all times among professionals is not easy, and sometimes you have to relax too much, “especially outside the CAU”.
The analysis of all professionals would, according to this source, lead to a "collapse" in the Basque health system. If positive, the worker must remain at home for at least 14 days. “They would run out of a doctor,” says the doctor of Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Confirmed positives in a week reach nearly 1,000 among Osakidetza workers
Meanwhile, the Basque Government’s Department of Health has reported that in a week 768 new cases of covid-19 have been confirmed among Osakidetza workers. This is a sample of the risks that CAV public health workers are taking as a result of the spread of the coronavirus.
According to the data provided by the Basque Department of Health, some 3,000 health personnel have been employed. In total, there are 26,500 workers, as you can see on your website.
