Aussies: Queensland Paramedics' facial hair threat

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23564564-5007190,00.html


Paramedics' facial hair threat

Article from: The Sunday Mail (Qld)
By Darrell Giles

April 20, 2008 12:00am

QUEENSLAND paramedics claim they have been threatened with the sack unless they shave off their beards, moustaches and sideburns.
Several frontline ambulance officers are reported to have refused and now face suspension without pay.

The order follows the issue of special new face masks that paramedics must carry in case of a bird flu pandemic, or biological or chemical terrorist attacks.

A memo from Queensland Ambulance Service bosses said the Australian Standard stated there had to be a perfect seal between mask and skin or the manufacturer could not guarantee full protection.

The manufacturer warned that facial hair interfered with the seal.

Paramedics with long hair and ear piercings are also being targeted, said one senior officer, who has been told to shave off the beard he has worn for 20 years for what he calls the "one-in-a-million chance of having to wear the mask".

He said he had resisted and been disciplined. He has already been taken off managerial shifts and warned that he will be suspended if he doesn't comply by a set date.

"I can't understand. Why should I have to shave off my goatee in the highly unlikely event we will ever have to wear these masks? My beard is part of my identity," he said.

"It's beyond a joke. It's akin to workplace bullying."

Another officer said paramedics did not go into contaminated areas.

"Retrieval and decontamination of patients from contaminated areas is the responsibility of the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service. Paramedics are unlikely to ever require these masks," he said.

Acting Ambulance Commissioner David Melville said he was unaware that staff had been threatened with disciplinary action, and promised that no officer would be sacked.

He said the QAS had a duty of care to protect staff in the event of an emergency and they had to abide by Australian Standards.

Opposition emergency services spokesman Ted Malone said management had an obligation to ensure staff safety, but there had to be a compromise.

"Where's the wisdom in suspending frontline officers when the QAS is already struggling to find 350 new paramedics," he said.

 

[gsgs]

Re: Aussies: Queensland Paramedics' facial hair threat

it should be enough, if they promise to shave when/if panflu
starts. (IMO)

However, when shaved the beard will appear again after some days/weeks,
so is there a method to prevent this ?

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: Aussies: Queensland Paramedics' facial hair threat

it should be enough, if they promise to shave when/if panflu
starts. (IMO)

However, when shaved the beard will appear again after some days/weeks,
so is there a method to prevent this ?

Only women at work! Female quota needed.
Perhaps, the men may use hormone therapy or cut testicles:surrender:

 

[Laidback Al]

Re: Aussies: Queensland Paramedics' facial hair threat

Only women at work! Female quota needed.
Perhaps, the men may use hormone therapy or cut testicles:surrender:

Good one. LOL

 

[tropical]

Re: Aussies: Queensland Paramedics' facial hair threat

Yes, it was a good one, but after the joke, start the grim reality:

Even those paramedics didn't understand the necessary biosecurity measures, imagin how understand that the lay peoples.

The fact is that with such autolesionistic behaviour those paramedics challenging an potentialy infectious disease contagion.

"The order follows the issue of special new face masks that paramedics must carry in case of a bird flu pandemic, or biological or chemical terrorist attacks.
A memo from Queensland Ambulance Service bosses said the Australian Standard stated there had to be a perfect seal between mask and skin or the manufacturer could not guarantee full protection.
The manufacturer warned that facial hair interfered with the seal.
Paramedics with long hair and ear piercings are also being targeted, said one senior officer, who has been told to shave off the beard he has worn for 20 years for what he calls the "one-in-a-million chance of having to wear the mask".
He said he had resisted and been disciplined. He has already been taken off managerial shifts and warned that he will be suspended if he doesn't comply by a set date.
"I can't understand. Why should I have to shave off my goatee in the highly unlikely event we will ever have to wear these masks? My beard is part of my identity," he said.
"It's beyond a joke. It's akin to workplace bullying."
Another officer said paramedics did not go into contaminated areas.
"Retrieval and decontamination of patients from contaminated areas is the responsibility of the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service. Paramedics are unlikely to ever require these masks," he said."

What a brain washing - it's notorious that the seal must be accomplished.
How can the paramedic personnel who are part of hospital and primary care emergency teams think that they will not enter contaminated areas, or they be the ones who mustn't wear the masks?

It isn't necessary to have a pandemic, or a biological attack, the emergency care subject can be affected by any of other high infectious illness (XTB, ...). Every time when such illness is suspected by the initialy reported simptoms previous the hospitalization, the ER team must wore the masks, paramedics included.

If not, it would be an infectious illness spreading to other patients, and citizens present in the facility, plus an unknown rings number at home, and throughout the city by transport vehicles.

That's local paramedics behaviour is higly dangerous.
We can only imagin how many other biosecurity breaches it would be if the personnel don't achieve this, and other biosecurity standards.

With all respect to individual needs, doing an (para)medical job isn't like grinding with a mask, that's an medical sensitive job, and such gadgets, or selficoning, must be deminished, like in many other jobs where the person can't presents at job like a free artist.

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: Aussies: Queensland Paramedics' facial hair threat

Yes, it was a good one, but after the joke, start the grim reality:

Even those paramedics didn't understand the necessary biosecurity measures, imagin how understand that the lay peoples.

The fact is that with such autolesionistic behaviour those paramedics challenging an potentialy infectious disease contagion.

It is also a problem not exclusively for Aussies.
In Italy seems to circulate a false sense of security among certain paramedics. Example: my mother was accepted by local University Hospital Emergency Department (at Padua) for radiologic confirmed pneumonia a couple of years ago.
The facility is one of the best of the kind in Italy and in Europe but no ONE between medics and paramedics wore masks.
My mother remained in ED for several hours without any facial protection and the ED was crowded by other patients (among them very elderly people and pregnant women clearly without respiratory illness).
I requested the head of ED for the masks but she answered with a shoulders' scroll 'Your mother isn't contagious for other patients'.
During ambulance trip from our home to hospital none of the paramedics wore masks.
My mother remains in hospital for ten days and no causative agents were recovered from her tracheal aspirates (from a bronchoscopy). He was repeatedly requested for contacts with animals, as my mother used to stay for relax into a small garden near our home, and sometimes crows and pigeons leave faeces around.
He recovered completely from the illness.
This experience has changed greatly my trust in continuing education of HCWs at least in Italy, where a public - universally accessible - health care system is considered superior with respect some other EU countries (such as UK and France).

 

[tropical]

Re: Aussies: Queensland Paramedics' facial hair threat

I agreed with you that's an widespread problem seen in moustly very developed countries, for the in-development countries is obviously worse.

When we will see that paramedics disinfect hands and change gloves at every subsequent patient treated in the wards, and wear on the cited masks in resp., and inf. wards, we can start thinking that those multipages pandemic plans maybe started to be implemented a little bit more, instead af remain only paper words.

 

[tropical]

Re: Aussies: Queensland Paramedics' facial hair threat

"I can't understand. Why should I have to shave off my goatee in the highly unlikely event we will ever have to wear these masks? My beard is part of my identity," he said.

Answer:
Look now at the Peru off shore ship mutant adenovirus FT thread, and the quarantined navy/med. helper team.