1262- Five babies died of diarrhoea at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. NIght view of the hospital. 1805010 Picture: Neil Baynes 1262- Five babies died of diarrhoea at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. NIght view of the hospital. 1805010 Picture: Neil Baynes
Johannesburg - “I am so traumatised, I’m scared to go back.” These are the words of a nurse at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital’s neurosurgery intensive care ward.
She has contracted methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) - a bacterium responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans.
MRSA can either be contracted through physical contact with someone already infected, or physical contact with objects touched by an infected person. MRSA strains are resistant to antibiotics.
The nurse - who asked to remain anonymous for fear of victimisation - believes she came into contact with the bacterium at high-care wards where staff are expected to treat one highly infectious patient after the next without a break.
It’s a situation where the isolation cubicles themselves are dangerous as, she claims, they are never scrubbed down after highly infectious patients leave.
“We work in a high-risk area where we are in constant contact with patients with multi-drug resistant TB, MRSA or ventilator pneumonia, and yet there are core standards that are not being followed by the hospital at our ward,” she said.
“Let’s say a patient has recovered from an infection, they (hospital cleaning staff) need to close down that particular isolation room and scrub it down to remove all possible bacteria. But that has never happened in the five years I’ve been there.”
On October 15, she felt the need to do something about her ongoing dizziness and symptoms of flu.
“I went to take my tonsils out as well as have a sinus operation, but I didn’t get better. Instead, the doctor told me that during the tonsil op, pus was coming out. That was when I was diagnosed with MRSA,” she said.
The nurse noted that another problem was the late diagnosis of patients by doctors that put the nurses at risk of exposure. Also, “unfair delegations” were made by senior nurses, resulting in juniors doing work outside their scope, treating patients who should be seen to by senior nurses.
“Two patients I nursed in the normal wards are also currently in isolation with MRSA,” she added.
Another nurse (who also asked to remain anonymous), working in the same ward, said: “Yes, the hospital has infection control and often there’s no space in the wards. But we should be given antibiotics too to prevent us from getting these infections. It’s risky for us and puts our patients at risk too.”
Hospital chief executive Gladys Bogoshi said the management were not aware of the issues raised and were not aware of nurses contracting MRSA at the hospital.
“The one we are aware of is on sick leave, following surgery done in a private hospital… there is concurrent cleaning three times daily with a mop and a disinfectant solution (in the wards). On discharge or death of patients, curtains are removed and all items are removed for scrubbing of walls and floors.”
Bogoshi said there were two cleaners in the ward who implemented the cleaning programme according to the infection control unit.
She denied patients were not being properly assessed, but said diagnostic delays were sometimes a reality of medicine and were not unique to the neurosurgery unit.
vuyo.mkhize@inl.co.za
The Star
