NHS Scotland - Confirmed case of Ebola diagnosed in Glasgow - Nurse Pauline Cafferkey treated at Royal Free London hospital - free of the virus - dis

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[h=1]Ebola case[/h] Downloads
29/12/2014 18:35

Confirmed case in Glasgow

A confirmed case of Ebola has been diagnosed in Glasgow.

NHS Scotland infectious diseases procedures have now been put into effect and the patient has been isolated and is receiving treatment in the specialist Brownlee Unit for Infectious Diseases on the Gartnavel Hospital campus.

The patient is a health care worker who was helping to combat the disease in west Africa. They returned to Scotland from Sierra Leone late last night via Casablanca and London Heathrow, arriving into Glasgow Airport on a British Airways flight at around 11.30pm.

The patient was admitted to hospital early in the morning after feeling unwell and was placed into isolation at 7.50am. All possible contacts with the patient are now being investigated and anyone deemed to be at risk will be contacted and closely monitored. However, having been diagnosed in the very early stages of the illness, the risk to others is considered extremely low.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has chaired a meeting of the Scottish Government Resilience Committee (SGoRR) to ensure all necessary steps are being taken, and has also spoken to Prime Minister David Cameron.

According to UK and Scottish protocol for anyone diagnosed with Ebola, the patient will be transferred to the high level isolation unit in the Royal Free hospital, London, as soon as possible. This is where the facilities, staff and systems are in place to ensure the best quality and safest care.

While public health experts have emphasised that the risks are negligible, a telephone helpline has been set up for anyone who was on the Heathrow to Glasgow flight last night.

The number is: 08000 858531

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:

?Our first thoughts at this time must be with the patient diagnosed with Ebola and their friends and family. I wish them a speedy recovery.

?Scotland has been preparing for this possibility from the beginning of the outbreak in West Africa and I am confident that we are well prepared.

?We have the robust procedures in place to identify cases rapidly. Our health service also has the expertise and facilities to ensure that confirmed Ebola cases such as this are contained and isolated effectively minimising any potential spread of the disease.

?Scotland?s NHS has proved it is well able to cope with infectious diseases in the past, such as swine flu, and I am confident we will be able to respond effectively again.?

Contact: Mark Taylor: 0131 244 3092

http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/Ebola-case-1414.aspx

 

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...
29 December 2014 at 7:57pm

BA names flight to Glasgow Ebola patient travelled on
... We are working closely with the health authorities in England and Scotland and will offer assistance with any information they require. Customers who flew from London Heathrow to Glasgow on BA1478 which departed at 2100 on Sunday December 28 and have concerns should contact the special number 08000 858531 set up by the Scottish Government...

? British Airways


Last updated Mon 29 Dec 2014

http://www.itv.com/news/update/2014-12-29/ba-names-flight-to-glasgow-ebola-patient-travelled-on/

 

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Ebola case confirmed in Scotland

From: Department of Health, Public Health England and NHS England First published: 29 December 2014 Part of: Ebola virus: UK government response, Public health and Public safety and emergencies

The Scottish government confirms a case of Ebola in an individual who had travelled from Sierra Leone.

The Scottish government has confirmed a case of Ebola in an individual in Scotland, who travelled to Glasgow from Sierra Leone.

The patient will be transferred for treatment in isolation at the Royal Free hospital in London.

The UK has well established and practised infection control procedures for dealing with cases of imported infectious disease. These procedures will be strictly followed while the patient is in transit and when receiving treatment at the Royal Free hospital.

The UK government is working closely with the Scottish government to ensure the patient receives the best possible treatment.

The confirmed case of Ebola in Scotland was a healthcare worker returning from Sierra Leone. They had left Sierra Leone on 28 December and had been a passenger on flight AT596 from Freetown to Casablanca, flight AT0800 from Casablanca to London, and transferred at Heathrow to flight BA1478 for onward travel to Glasgow.

The risk of infection to other passengers on the flights is considered extremely low. However, as a precaution, Public Health England is arranging for all passengers and crew on the flight from Casablanca to Heathrow to be provided with health information and will be contacting and following up those passengers who were sitting near the affected passenger on these flights. Health Protection Scotland is carrying out a similar exercise for the passengers on the Heathrow to Glasgow flight.

Ebola is transmitted by direct contact with the bodily fluids, such as blood, vomit or faeces, of an infected person while they are symptomatic. Therefore, the risk of Ebola being passed from an individual before they developed symptoms is extremely low.

As before, the advice is that if anyone is worried about symptoms (such as fever, chills, muscle aches, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, sore throat or rash) within 21 days of coming back from Guinea, Liberia or Sierra Leone, they should stay at home and immediately telephone 111 or 999 and explain they believe they have come into contact with someone with Ebola.

Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer, said: Our thoughts are with this individual who, along with other NHS and public health colleagues, has been doing a fantastic job saving lives.

The English and Scottish governments and health authorities are working together to make sure that this individual receives the best possible care. UK hospitals have a proven track record of dealing with imported infectious diseases.

It is important to be reassured that although a case has been identified, the overall the risk to the public continues to be low.

We have robust, well-developed and well-tested NHS systems for managing unusual infectious diseases when they arise, supported by a wide range of experts. The UK system was prepared, and reacted as planned, when this case of Ebola was identified.

Professor Paul Cosford, Director for Health Protection and Medical Director at PHE, said:

For Ebola to be transmitted from one person to another contact with blood or other body fluids is needed. The individual involved did not experience any symptoms consistent with the transmission of Ebola, and as such, the risk that this infection will have been passed from the affected individual to others is extremely unlikely.

However as a precaution, PHE is following up all those in the vicinity of the passenger on the flight to the UK to ensure anyone who feels unwell undergoes a medical assessment rapidly. Our colleagues at Health Protection Scotland are carrying out a similar exercise for the passengers on the Heathrow to Glasgow flight.

Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS England?s Medical Director, said:

The NHS is prepared. The Royal Free hospital has an international standard infectious diseases team with experience treating dangerous diseases including Ebola. Staff who treat these patients have volunteered in the same way as those working in West Africa ? testament to their dedication and professionalism.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/e...ed-in-scotland

 

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30 December 2014 Last updated at 11:20 ET t

Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey transferred to London unit

A health worker who was diagnosed with Ebola after returning to Scotland from Sierra Leone has arrived at a specialist treatment centre in London.

Pauline Cafferkey, who flew to Glasgow via Casablanca and London Heathrow, was taken to the Royal Free Hospital.

She is understood to have been flown to RAF Northolt in an air force plane after leaving Glasgow in a convoy.
...

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-30629397

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Ebola patient receiving treatment

30 December 2014

Updated: 3.55pm

The Royal Free London can confirm it is treating Pauline Cafferkey, 39, from Glasgow in Scotland for the Ebola virus.

A trained nurse, Ms Cafferkey worked in Sierra Leone as a volunteer before returning to the UK on 28 December 2014.

Ms Cafferkey has asked that her privacy is respected.
...

https://www.royalfree.nhs.uk/news-media/news/ebola-patient-receiving-treatment/

 

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Ebola update

Downloads
30/12/2014 15:53
​

A patient being treated for Ebola at Gartnavel hospital in Glasgow has been transferred to Royal Free Hospital in London.

The health care worker, who had been helping combat the disease in west Africa, travelled to London overnight, in line with Scottish and UK protocol.

There are also precautionary steps being taken by NHS Highland and NHS Grampian around a case of a returning healthcare worker in Torridon, which is assessed as ‘low probability’ of Ebola. The patient is being transferred by the Scottish Ambulance Service to the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and diagnostic tests – including for Ebola - will take place today.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has chaired another meeting of the Scottish Government Resilience Committee (SGoRR) to ensure all necessary steps are being taken. She also took part in the COBR teleconference today and spoke to Prime Minister David Cameron. The Scottish and UK Governments are working closely to ensure a co-ordinated response.
Ms Sturgeon said:
“
Our thoughts remain with the patient diagnosed with Ebola and I wish her a speedy and full recovery.

“We have robust measures in place to deal with a situation like this. Scotland’s NHS has proved it is well able to cope with infectious diseases in the past, such as swine flu. In treating the patient effectively, and then ensuring a smooth transfer to the Royal Free London, our NHS has again risen to the considerable challenge. I want to thank all involved in Scotland and England for their considerable efforts so far.
“
Health Protection Scotland are continuing to trace and contact people who were on the Heathrow to Glasgow flight on Sunday evening. Many of those people have already been contacted and, while that’s been done very much on a precautionary basis, it is important we ensure we have taken all necessary steps as a result of this confirmed case.
“
I am also being kept fully informed about the precautionary steps being taken by NHS Highland and NHS Grampian around a case of a returning healthcare worker who had been visiting Torridon. This patient is a ‘low probability’ case, who returned to the UK separately to the confirmed case and is believed to have had no contact with infected patients.
However we are taking all necessary precautions and following agreed protocols. Over the course of today, the patient will be transferred to the ARI and undergo the appropriate tests – including for Ebola.
“
The last 24 hours have been a real reminder of how often and how selflessly health care workers do put themselves at risk to help others and they deserve our gratitude and respect for that. I would also like to thank everyone that is involved in helping throughout Scotland.”

http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/Ebola-update-141f.aspx​

 

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30 December 2014 Last updated at 12:29 ET

Ebola nurse to be treated with recovered patients' plasma

Nurse Pauline Cafferkey, who is battling Ebola at a London hospital, is to be treated with plasma from patients who have survived the virus.

The plasma comes from a European network of recovered patients.

The network includes British nurse William Pooley, Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies confirmed.

Mr Pooley recovered from Ebola in September after being treated at the Royal Free Hospital, where Ms Cafferkey is currently being cared for.

He was treated with the experimental drug ZMapp, but supplies of the medication have now run out.
...

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-30637199

 

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Ebola nurse 'should not have left Heathrow', says chief medical officer
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By Matthew Holehouse4:57PM GMT 30 Dec 2014
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Pauline Cafferkey complained of a temperature after leaving a screening area and was retested, but allowed to fly onwards to Glasgow.
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The nurse was tested in total seven times after landed at Heathrow airport within the space of two hours - once as part of a routine screening, and six more times after complaining of a high temperature around an hour later.

She was allowed to fly after no unusual temperature was detected, Professor Paul Cosford, Director for Health Protection and Medical Director of PHE, told a press conference in London.
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Miss Cafferkey, from Fife, had volunteered at a Save the Children treatment centre near Free Town, Sierra Leone, in November.

She was one of 30 NHS volunteers to fly from Sierra Leone to Heathrow airport via Casablanca in Morocco on Sunday, before she flew on to Glasgow.
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Health officials have traced 45 out of the 133 people on the Royal Air Maroc flight AT0800 from Casablana to Heathrow Terminal 4.

They have also traced 56 out of 72 people on British Airways flight BA1478 from Heathrow to Glasgow Airport, which landed at 11.30pm on Sunday night.

It means just 101 out of 205 people have been traced. Prof Cosford said the process was being delayed because flights had been booked through travel agents, making it slow to trace contact details.

The eight people sat immediately surrounding Miss Cafferkey are being sought as a priority, and they will be told to take their temperatures regularly until January 18.
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Two more people are being tested as reporting potential symptoms of Ebola: one at the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and one at the Royal Cornwall hospital in Truro.
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Full text:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...l-officer.html

 

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Ebola test negative

30/12/2014 22:32​

A patient at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary has tested negative for Ebola.

The individual was transferred to the hospital by the Scottish Ambulance Service today (30th December) after falling ill while visiting Torridon in the Scottish Highlands.

As a returning health care worker who had recently been in west Africa, they were tested for Ebola as a precaution, although they had not been in contact with anyone who had the disease. A blood sample was taken to the testing facility in Edinburgh and has been confirmed as negative for Ebola.

http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/Ebo...tive-1421.aspx​

 

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Ebola contact tracing underway

From: Public Health England, Department of Health and NHS England First published: 30 December 2014 Part of: Ebola virus: UK government response and Public health

Public Health England is contacting plane passengers following the recent UK case of Ebola.

Public Health England (PHE) is undertaking contact tracing following the confirmed case of Ebola in a healthcare worker returning from Sierra Leone, and as of 6pm on 30 December 2014, has spoken to 63 passengers.
The person had left Sierra Leone on 28 December and had been a passenger on flight AT596 from Freetown to Casablanca, flight AT0800 from Casablanca to London, and transferred at Heathrow to flight BA1478 for onward travel to Glasgow.

Although the risk of infection to other passengers on the flights is considered extremely low, PHE is contacting 132 passengers, and the crew on the flight from Casablanca to Heathrow. Health Protection Scotland is carrying out a similar exercise for the 71 passengers on the Heathrow to Glasgow flight, speaking with 56 to date.
People contacted by Public Health England will be made aware that a person on their flight was confirmed with Ebola after they returned to the UK, although the person would have been in the very early stages of disease and extremely unlikely to be infectious.

Even though the risk is considered extremely low, as a precaution we inform people sitting directly of the vicinity of the passenger (2 rows adjacent, ahead and behind, comprising 21 passengers) to take their temperature twice daily until the 18 January 2015. If their temperature is 37.5?C or higher, or they begin to feel unwell in any way, they are advised to call a dedicated Public Health England contact immediately for advice.

Other passengers and crew on board will be advised to call NHS111 with their flight details, if they begin to feel unwell.

The period between exposure and when symptoms might develop (the incubation period) for Ebola is currently considered to be up to 21 days. Any illness that passengers might experience beyond that point would not be considered to be related.

This process is currently under-way, and follows other recent successful Public Health England contact tracing efforts for UK incidents involving Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome and Congo Crimean Haemorrhagic Fever.

The patient was on the returning worker scheme and was screened at Heathrow Airport on arrival, in line with standard procedures. At this point they did not have any symptoms of a fever, stated they had been well in the previous 24 hours and were cleared to travel home as per the protocol. This process was overseen by a medical consultant.

PHE is leading the screening process and is providing clinical staff on a rota in all of the ports identified for the enhanced screening. Since October 2014, we have screened over 1,700 people returning from Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.
Professor Paul Cosford, director for health protection and medical director at PHE, said:

For Ebola to be transmitted from one person to another contact with blood or other body fluids is needed. The individual involved did not experience any symptoms consistent with the transmission of Ebola, and as such, the risk that this infection will have been passed from the affected individual to others is extremely unlikely.

However as a precaution, PHE is contacting all passengers on the flight to the UK and providing a further level of follow-up for all those in the vicinity of the passenger to ensure anyone who feels unwell undergoes a medical assessment rapidly. Our colleagues at Health Protection Scotland are carrying out a similar exercise for the passengers on the Heathrow to Glasgow flight.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/e...acing-underway​

 

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UPDATE 7-

Nurse becomes first Ebola victim diagnosed in Britain

Tue Dec 30, 2014 6:34pm EST
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"The latest update we have on the condition of the patient is that she is doing as well as can be expected in the circumstances," Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said.
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Officials said three other patients were being tested for Ebola in Britain.

One of them, who was described by Sturgeon as a "low probability" case in Scotland, has tested negative for the disease. The health service said the second possible case was in Cornwall, England, and details were not available on the third.
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Local media said she had been working in the Kerry Town Ebola treatment centre outside Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown.

A Reuters journalist who visited the centre last week said it was a huge, pristine facility built by British army engineers, with around 80 beds and stringent cleansing procedures far superior to those of a nearby Sierra Leonean treatment centre.
...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/30/health-ebola-britain-idUSL6N0UE0QJ20141230

 

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31 December 2014 Last updated at 11:38 ET

Experimental drug for Ebola patient Pauline Cafferkey

Ebola patient Pauline Cafferkey is receiving an experimental anti-viral drug and blood from survivors of the disease, doctors in London have said.

Specialists at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, where the nurse is being treated, did not name the drug.

Dr Michael Jacobs said Ms Cafferkey was in isolation and was sitting up in bed, talking and reading.
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http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-30644986
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Ebola contact tracing underway

Fromublic Health England, Department of Health and NHS England

First published:30 December 2014
Last updated:31 December 2014

Public Health England is contacting plane passengers following the recent UK case of Ebola.

Public Health England (PHE) is undertaking contact tracing following the confirmed case of Ebola in a healthcare worker returning from Sierra Leone, and as of 4pm on 31 December 2014, has spoken to 85 passengers.

The person had left Sierra Leone on 28 December and had been a passenger on flight AT596 from Freetown to Casablanca, flight AT0800 from Casablanca to London, and transferred at Heathrow to flight BA1478 for onward travel to Glasgow.

Although the risk of infection to other passengers on the flights is considered extremely low, PHE is contacting 100 passengers, and the crew on the flight from Casablanca to Heathrow. An additional 32 international passengers are being contacted by international public health authorities. Health Protection Scotland is carrying out a similar exercise for the 71 passengers on the Heathrow to Glasgow flight, speaking with 56 to date.
...

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ebola-contact-tracing-underway

 

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Passengers on flight with Scottish Ebola nurse have all been traced, say officials
People who sat in rows near Pauline Cafferkey on BA flight from Heathrow to Glasgow are asked to monitor their temperatures

Robert Booth
Thursday 1 January 2015 12.08 EST
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The last 15 of the 70 passengers on the British Airways flight carrying the volunteer nurse, who flew home from assignment at an Ebola clinic in Sierra Leone on 28 December, were tracked down on New Year?s Eve. Eight passengers who were sitting in the two rows in front and two rows behind Cafferkey on the Heathrow to Glasgow flight BA1478 have been requested to take their temperature for 20 days.
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Cafferkey had been working at the Kerry Town treatment centre, a UK-government-backed facility built last autumn in a forest clearing an hour outside Freetown. It is staffed by locals, NHS workers and Cuban medics. Save the Children, which has run the centre since it opened on 5 November, has launched an investigation into how Cafferkey contracted the killer virus and whether she was exposed outside the treatment centre compound.

Michael von Bertele, the charity?s humanitarian director, said: ?It?s really important for us to try and understand whether it was a failure of training, of protection, of procedure, or indeed whether she contracted it in some incidental contact within the community, because our workers don?t just work inside the red zone, which is a very high-risk area, they do also have contact ? although we are very, very careful in briefing people to avoid personal contact ? outside of the treatment centre.?
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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/01/passengers-flight-scottish-ebola-nurse-traced

 

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3 January 2015 Last updated at 11:11 ET

UK Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey 'in critical condition'

A British nurse who was diagnosed with Ebola after returning from Sierra Leone is now in a critical condition, the London hospital treating her has said.

The Royal Free Hospital said it was "sorry to announce that the condition of Pauline Cafferkey has gradually deteriorated over the past two days".

Ms Cafferkey, from South Lanarkshire, was given an experimental anti-viral drug and blood from disease survivors. She was diagnosed in December after volunteering with Save the Children.

Prime Minister David Cameron said on Twitter: "My thoughts and prayers are with nurse Pauline Cafferkey who is in a critical condition with Ebola." Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt also expressed his concern, adding: "I know Dr Mike Jacobs and his team at the Royal Free Hospital are working tirelessly to provide her with the best possible care."

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: "My thoughts are with Pauline & her family at this extremely difficult time. Thanks to all who are caring for her."
...
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-30666265

 

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4 January 2015 Last updated at 23:54 ET

Save the Children probe how UK nurse contracted Ebola

The charity Save The Children has said "no stone will be left unturned" in its investigation into how a British nurse working at an Ebola treatment centre contracted the disease.

Pauline Cafferkey, from South Lanarkshire, had been working with the charity in Kerrytown, Sierra Leone.

Ms Cafferkey is critically ill in a north London hospital after her condition worsened in recent days.
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BBC global health correspondent Tulip Mazumdar said the part of the charity's investigation will include the use of personal protective equipment.
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http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-30677619

 

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5 January 2015 Last updated at 12:32 ET

UK Ebola nurse has 'stabilised'

By James Gallagher
Health editor, BBC News website

A British nurse who was diagnosed with Ebola after returning from Sierra Leone is still in a critical condition, but has stabilised, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt says.
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Speaking in the Commons, Mr Hunt said: "I have this morning spoken to Dr Mike Jacobs, an expert in infectious diseases who is leading the team of doctors and nurses caring for Pauline at the Royal Free.

"As has been reported, Pauline's condition has deteriorated to a critical state although she stabilised yesterday and continues to receive the best possible care."
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He said screening had been enhanced: "We have also, as of last Monday, strengthened our guidance to ensure anyone from a higher risk group who feels unwell will be reassessed.

"Advice will be immediately sought from an infectious disease specialist and the passenger will be referred for testing, if appropriate."
...

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30657485

 

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Managers order NHS 24 staff not to put Ebola risk patients in call back queue

Helen Puttick
Health Correspondent
Friday 9 January 2015

Managers have sent an urgent memo to frontline NHS 24 staff ordering them not to put patients at risk from Ebola in a call back queue, just days after the case of Scottish nurse Pauline Cafferkey.

Although it is not clear whether the Lanarkshire health worker used the NHS helpline when she returned home to Scotland, the email to the service's call operators raises questions whether she was given the priority that was essential.

The memo has been circulated across call centres emphasising that patients who visited countries where the disease is spreading and are at high risk of suffering from Ebola, must be treated as "serious and urgent."

In capital letters supervisors are told not to advise call handlers to list such patients among those who can wait for a nurse to ring them back later.

Nurses are told in red ink to sign forms as confirmation they read the memo and understood its content.

NHS 24 declined to comment on whether Pauline Cafferkey, who remains in a critical condition at the Royal Free Hospital in London, had rung the service when she fell ill on her return trip from Sierra Leone just before New Year.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/...ebola-calls-dont-say-well-call-back.115800041

 

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[h=1]Ebola patient improving[/h]
12 January 2015

Updated: 2pm

The Royal Free Hospital is pleased to announce that Pauline Cafferkey is showing signs of improvement and is no longer critically ill. She remains in isolation as she receives specialist care for the Ebola virus.


https://www.royalfree.nhs.uk/news-media/news/ebola-patient-improving/

 

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Ebola patient discharged

24 January 2015

Pauline Cafferkey, the Scottish nurse who was admitted to the Royal Free Hospital with Ebola in December 2014, has been discharged today.

Ms Cafferkey has made a complete recovery and is now free of the virus, which she caught while caring for patients with Ebola in Sierra Leone. She praised the staff who cared for her at the Royal Free Hospital and said she was delighted to be going home after being treated in the high level isolation unit (HLIU) for more than three weeks.

The infectious diseases team, led by Dr Michael Jacobs, has treated Ms Cafferkey since she was admitted to the hospital on 30 December 2014.

She said: “I am just happy to be alive. I still don’t feel 100%, I feel quite weak, but I’m looking forward to going home. I want to say a big thank you to the staff who treated me - they were amazing. They were always very reassuring and I knew I was in the best hands. They saved my life.”

Ms Cafferkey also wanted to thank the Royal Free Charity, which donated an iPad for her to use while she was in the unit. “As I was beginning to recover, I listened to lots of music when I was in the HLIU and that was a massive help,” she said. “I also had lots of Irn Bru to help me through!”

Dr Jacobs added: “We are delighted that Pauline has recovered and is now well enough to go home. I am very proud of the staff who have been caring for her. It is because of the skill and hard work of the entire team that she is now able to go home.”

The Royal Free Hospital has the UK’s only HLIU, which is run by a dedicated team of medical staff.

The unit is designed to ensure staff can safely treat a patient with a dangerous infectious disease. Access to the unit is restricted and there are a number of measures in place to ensure the virus is contained.

Ms Cafferkey has left the hospital.

https://www.royalfree.nhs.uk/news-me...nt-discharged/

 

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SAVE THE CHILDREN PUBLISHES FINDINGS OF INDEPENDENT REPORT INTO POSSIBLE CAUSE OF HOW PAULINE CAFFERKEY CONTRACTED EBOLA


Wednesday 4 February 2015

Save the Children today published the summary findings and recommendations of the independent review into how volunteer NHS nurse Pauline Cafferkey may have contracted Ebola.

Pauline Cafferkey worked at the Save the Children Ebola Treatment Centre (ETC) at Kerry Town, Sierra Leone for nearly three weeks, from 7 December 2014 until she left the country to return to the UK on 28 December.

The independent expert panel - chaired by Professor Nick Phin, Interim Director, Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance and Control, Public Health England - considered an extensive range of available information related to the practice and procedures of staff working at the ETC and the training given to volunteers.

The summary findings can be found here.

Dr Michael von Bertele, Humanitarian Director of Save the Children, said:

I am delighted for Pauline Cafferkey and her family that she has fully recovered from Ebola. Pauline is a dedicated humanitarian who worked tirelessly and selflessly in the fight against Ebola.

“We will never be 100 per cent sure how Pauline contracted Ebola, but the independent panel found that it is most likely, though not conclusive, she acquired her illness while working at the Ebola Treatment Centre at Kerry Town in Sierra Leone. It thought it unlikely that Pauline contracted the disease while in the local community.

“The panel found that the Save the Children procedures, equipment and protocols at the ETC are safe and meet all required standards and that training is of a good standard.
“
Working under such intense and challenging conditions, however, cannot be without risk. Although there is no conclusive evidence, the panel suggests that Pauline’s use of a visor, within a context geared to the use of goggles, was the most likely cause of her contracting Ebola.

“Both visors - used by UK Ministry of Defence staff and recommended by the World Health Organisation - and goggles, which are used by Save the Children after consultation with M?decins Sans Fronti?res, are safe but there are slight differences in the clothing used with each and the protocols for putting the equipment on and taking it off.

“The panel found that where Save the Children approved protocols may not have been followed, or where prescribed equipment was not used, they weren’t picked up immediately and therefore action might not have been taken quickly to correct them.

“Lessons have already been learned and as a result of the findings we have further tightened our protocols and procedures. These include refresher training of the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and working within ‘risk zones’; improved logging of potential incidents; and, all changes in PPE protocol must be signed off by the ETC director.

“Save the Children has robust and strict protocols in place to protect our staff and the communities we seek to serve. We maintain confidence in both our equipment and our protocols, as long as they are followed properly. But we keep them under constant review. Staff safety is our number one priority.​

Notes to editors

1) The independent panel was made up of:

• Chairman: Professor Nick Phin, Interim Director, Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance and Control, Public Health England
• Member: Professor John Coia, Consultant Microbiologist, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde
• Member: Joanne Bosanquet, Deputy Director Nursing and Midwifery Public Health England
• Member: David Tucker, Deputy Director Infection Prevention and Control, Guy' and St Thomas' NHS Trust
• Member: Dr Michael von Bertele, Humanitarian Director, Save the Children

...
http://www.savethechildren.net/artic...line-cafferkey

 

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UK Ebola nurse under investigation after claims of misconduct
...

Kevin Rawlinson
Sunday 22 February 2015 18.13 EST
Last modified on Sunday 22 February 2015 18.36 EST

A British nurse who was diagnosed with the Ebola virus after returning from Sierra Leone is being investigated over claims of misconduct, the body that oversees nursing within the UK has confirmed.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) said that it had received information from Public Health England about the conduct of Pauline Cafferkey that it would look into, along with two other nurses.
...
The claims reportedly centre on concerns that Cafferkey was known to be feeling unwell when she returned to Britain, but that her symptoms were obscured. The NMC refused to confirm those reports.
...
An NMC spokesman said: ?Following information we received from Public Health England, we can confirm that we are investigating allegations about the conduct of three nurses. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.?
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http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...nder-investigation-after-claims-of-misconduct