A nurses' union says it should have been notified sooner about a positive Covid-19 case at a south Auckland hospital.
A security guard worked at Middlemore Hospital's emergency department on Thursday last week while symptomatic with Covid-19. Photo: LDR / Stephen Forbes
Staff at Middlemore Hospital were informed on Monday morning that a security guard who worked a shift on Thursday while symptomatic had tested positive for Covid-19.
It was the third recorded positive case involving a person who had worked at, or visited, the emergency department since the latest lockdown began.
A memo sent to staff said: "Staff who may have worked in the area where the security officer was stationed have been advised of the incident and are required to follow MOH guidelines. No one has been stood down as a result of this incident.
"We strongly encourage all staff to start and/or continue with weekly asymptomatic testing."
Christine Gallagher, an organiser for the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO), said the union only found out about the latest case late on Monday afternoon during a debrief with Counties Manukau District Health Board (DHB).
"We should have been copied into the emails so when our members contacted us we knew what was going on. I don't think it is great communication on the DHB's part and things could be improved," Gallagher said.
"We shouldn't have to wait for a debrief which only happens twice a week."
A DHB spokeswoman said it had been sharing staff communications about Covid-19 with the unions, but a change in the process delayed a release involving the recent case. That had since been rectified.
The spokeswoman said the DHB was informed about the security officer returning a positive test on Sunday evening.
"An email was distributed to all ED staff the same evening with an organisation-wide email sent out early Monday morning. Services impacted by any incidents send information to their staff as soon as information is available and before wider comms goes out within the organisation.
"With Covid taking up significant time and resources our key focus is on ensuring our staff are provided multiple channels via which they can receive information - which we have enabled."
A Ministry of Health spokesman said that the security officer worked one shift at Middlemore Hospital during their infectious period.
"The risk of exposure to patients and staff is considered to be low. As it was possible to identify all staff who may have been affected (no members of the public were in this setting), this exposure event did not need to be treated as a location of interest."
They said to date no Counties Manukau DHB staff had contracted Covid-19 while at work.
Last week, it was revealed another Middlemore Hospital staff member, who works in the emergency department, had tested positive for Covid-19.
The Ministry of Health has since investigated the case and the person has returned a negative result.
Another case involved a patient who visited Middlemore Hospital's ED between 10.45pm and 2.30am on August 13 and 14.
The person discharged themselves without seeing a doctor and later returned a positive Covid test.
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