Safety procedures are not being followed strictly enough in U.K. hospitals to prevent medical staff from becoming infected in the potential Ebola outbreak, according to an article on the Independent website.
Dr. Simon Mardel, the World Health Organization’s international Ebola clinical co-ordinator, said that infection control in NHS hospitals was still not up to standard.
“Standard procedures are not being followed closely enough. This is a very unforgiving virus, and it’s a wake-up call. There is no more room for slip-ups. I do think there’s going to be a tragedy. When we do get a case, I’m confident that public health procedures will work really well and prevent further transmission [to the general public] but I think there will be transmission to medical staff.”
There were many weaknesses in the British hospital system, Mardel said.
“For example, we’re mixing clinical and clerical areas, with people eating and drinking in both.”
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