Hospital Porters battling their own employer as well as the Coronavirus
"Two confirmed cases among Porters at Brighton and Sussex University Hospital can only be due to a lack of PPE and a lack of leadership", say GMB
GMB, the union for hospital workers, have been contacted by members in portering at the BSUH to raise serious concerns about a lack of access to testing and poor managerial decision making. The combination of these two factors has seen two colleagues among the latest NHS staff to be confirmed with Covid-19.
The colleagues had carried on working for two weeks despite showing symptoms, with the cross-infection implications of this obvious – both to fellow porters due to their shared facilities in the porters’ lodge, and to all patients around the hospital that they may have moved or attended to
GMB have previously raised concerns about management failings and poor decision making (see the previous press releases below).
Gary Palmer, GMB Regional Organiser said: “GMB have been calling out and will continue to call out the paltry attempts to protect our protectors that are being made by BSUH senior management. Where is the duty of care being shown by the trust?
The fact that porters who were clearly showing signs of infection over a two-week period were simply allowed to carry on working, potentially infecting everyone they come in contact with, is simply astonishing.
Every frontline NHS Hospital worker is putting themselves at risk caring for our loved ones, and they accept that in the line of that duty.
What is not acceptable is that incompetent senior management do not appear have their best interests at heart. If they did, they would be providing the best standard PPE possible and a safe workplace in which to carry out their duties.
GMB are calling for Covid-19 testing to be made immediately available, not only to put the portering team’s minds at rest, but also to make sure that they themselves are now not actively spreading the potentially deadly virus around the hospital.
Contact: Gary Palmer on 07552165950
Previous Press Releases:
https://www.gmb-southern.org.uk/news/gmb-hospital-workers-making-their-own-ppe
https://www.gmb-southern.org.uk/news/frontline-healthcare-lose-faith-ppe-advice
https://www.gmb-southern.org.uk/news/bsuh-trust-basic-hygiene-failures-spread-covid
