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Staff in the emergency department at the Mater hospital must now provide and wash their own hospital uniforms - something staff say could pose an infection risk. Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland

Concerns over infection risk as Mater tells staff: 'Wash your own scrubs'

Staff at the emergency department in the Mater Hospital have been told to buy and wash their own uniforms – a system which could pose risks of cross-contamination.

MEDICAL STAFF in the emergency department at the Mater hospital have been told to buy and clean their own ‘scrubs’ as part of hospital spending cutbacks – a move some staff fear poses a major infection risk.

Staff were previously supplied with the standard blue and green uniforms, worn over their own everyday clothing, and had these washed by the hospital – but staff now have to take care of this themselves.

Aside from the expense of buying their own uniforms – which are specially embroidered with the hospital logo, and therefore cost more than a standard set of scrubs – staff have also raised concerns about possible infection hazards under the new regime.

Medical staff have voiced fears that domestic washing machines would not be suitable for removing any infection risk from a contaminated hospital uniform. TheJournal.ie understands, however, that staff have been advised not to speak to the media about the arrangements.

One source said it was “farcical” to think that medical staff could be treating someone carrying a highly infectious disease, only to have their hospital uniform “brought home to wash with our family machine”.

In a statement to TheJournal.ie the Mater said the initiative “was introduced in areas where uniforms were traditionally worn, for example emergency department, dialysis, oncology and haematology day wards.”

This had been done “in consultation and agreement with relevant staff members”, it said, adding that the initiative was the hospital’s own and not a HSE instruction. The hospital insisted, however, that there was “no infection control issue” around the new regime.

Seven-stage wash

This conflicted with advice from Professor Ronnie Russell, a microbiologist at Trinity College Dublin, who said the best practice in hospitals was to run a seven-stage wash including peracetic acid on clinical textiles, including bedsheets and pillowcases.

“The coats and the personal protective equipment [...] used by the staff during nursing obviously become contaminated and they were vehicles of transmission of disease, just as hands are,” Russell said.

“Really the odds of actually doing a decent job in a domestic washing machine are quite low,” he said.

Russell said there were scientific publications which showed that the likes of MRSA, the so-called hospital ‘superbug’, could easily survive a domestic wash.

There was also the possibility that clothing carrying an infection, while not being removed of that infection, could also cross-contaminate other garments in that wash.

Even if the wash was on a high temperature, killing any bacteria, Russell said there was a possibility of endotoxin, when dead bacteria fall into an open wound and cause irritation.

In general, Russell said best practice was for hospitals to provide appropriate changing facilities for staff, and lockers with two or three fresh uniforms for staff to use as needed.

Because some hospitals did not have facilities for changing, however, some staff might put on their uniforms at home, before they leave for work – which could also pose potential infection risks.

Read: Fianna Fáil TD tells Department of Health chief civil servant to quit

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51 Comments
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    Mute cosmological
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    Nov 8th 2014, 5:15 PM

    Hard labour in N Korea, lucky to survive – very happy for them.

    178
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    Mute Alanearls
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    Nov 8th 2014, 6:29 PM

    Who brings a bible to a nightclub??

    108
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    Mute Cian Monaghan
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    Nov 9th 2014, 1:37 AM

    There’s nightclubs in North Korea?

    36
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    Mute Coco McDee
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    Nov 8th 2014, 5:22 PM

    We might as well be in North Korea the way our media is controlled

    72
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    Mute Banga Ncube
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    Nov 8th 2014, 5:27 PM

    Elect SF/IRA and you will wish that you lived in N Korea.

    112
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    Mute Adrian™
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    Nov 8th 2014, 5:28 PM

    That’s a ridiculous statement, maybe you should travel there and say that to them and see how ya get on!

    83
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    Mute J
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    Nov 8th 2014, 5:28 PM

    Coco loco

    26
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    Mute Tweety McTweeter
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    Nov 8th 2014, 5:29 PM

    Yep. North Korea, Ireland. Practically the same thing.

    85
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    Mute Alan Ryan
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    Nov 8th 2014, 5:30 PM

    Was thinking the same thing Coco. Careful now or the journal might remove your comment.

    30
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    Mute dabuyincojen
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    Nov 8th 2014, 5:34 PM

    Coco..I agree!! For example I made a comment on TheJournal.ie this morning and it was taken down..freedom of speech, ya sure!! Freedom is an illusion!!!!!!!!

    45
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    Mute Brendan Julian
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    Nov 8th 2014, 5:44 PM

    Banga the troll strikes again with his famous sf/ira argument

    41
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    Mute Adrian™
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    Nov 8th 2014, 5:44 PM

    @dabuyincojen having a comment taken down as your punishment is preferable to being tortured I’d like to think though

    33
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    Mute thetruth
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    Nov 8th 2014, 5:48 PM

    I made a point last night on an article. The grammar in daid article was atrocious. Comment got deleted, grammar corrected

    21
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    Mute Anne Marie Devlin
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    Nov 8th 2014, 5:24 PM

    Haven’t the north Koreans suffered enough without the intervention of the god squad! If they were doing something that would benefit the people in drnk, I might have sympathy, but trying to enslave them to a fictional character…

    47
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    Mute Kris Morephy
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    Nov 8th 2014, 5:41 PM

    That’s so funny. Gonna use that line myself.

    1
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    Mute Kris Morephy
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    Nov 8th 2014, 5:43 PM

    That’s the funniest thing I’d heard in ages! Thatll go on the list of things to say next time the bible bashers arrive at the door

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    Mute Kris Morephy
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    Nov 8th 2014, 5:43 PM

    That’s the funniest thing I’d heard in ages! Thatll go on the list of things to say next time the bible bashers arrive at the door

    1
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    Mute Declan Noonan
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    Nov 8th 2014, 6:05 PM

    They cannot get anymore enslaved then what they are now.

    40
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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Nov 8th 2014, 8:30 PM

    Its getting disturbingly common with ‘liberal’ people not understanding their own supposed liberalism.
    They believe in freedom until someones doing something they don’t like, then suddenly they wanna mock or obstruct that freedom.
    I’ve found it a better exercise to try to show religious people some respect and try to understand where they are coming from, why they think the way they do etc, and generally if you approach them like that they treat you back the same then, and everyone comes out of it understanding each other a little better. It is possible for two intelligent people to look at the same data and come to diff conclusions, someone else not agreeing with you does not make them a moron by default.

    Some supposed liberals need to sneer a little less and understand a little more, when you look down on people, sneer at them and mock them it does not make them any more likely to come around to your point of view.

    24
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    Mute Ablitive
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    Nov 8th 2014, 9:37 PM

    Declan Noonan .. AT least DPNK dose not hold statistics for having the highest incarceration rate on the face of this planet.

    # US Slave Labor in Private Prisons.

    4
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    Mute Mick Jordan
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    Nov 8th 2014, 10:46 PM

    LOL Frank they don’t need stats. The entire country is a prison camp. Even young Kims own family aren’t safe. Remember what he did to his uncle.

    7
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    Mute Silent Majority
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    Nov 8th 2014, 11:40 PM

    Ryan, modern day liberals have no idea what liberalism means. The other day a lot of these “liberals” were out in support of the NI authorities attempting to gag that unfortunate baker, while liberals also regularly call for the destruction of the Church & even reported a priest for making reference to the arrows of secularism. Anyone who disagrees with their supposedly liberal agenda should be silenced, by force of the state if necessary, and if you argue with them you’re labelled a bigot. Very few actual liberals would consider freedom of expression, freedom of religion, or freedom of conscience to be bigoted or conservative values. These right-on “liberals” are dangerous people, their fascist agenda is advancing in society, and they do need to be challenged.

    9
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    Mute Ablitive
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    Nov 9th 2014, 1:38 AM

    Mick Jordan .. That is a serious understatement.

    GAZA is a greater example of a prison camp and what dose the united States do?

    They replenish Israels entire stock of Hellfire missiles IMMEDIATELY after they bombed the crap out of the country slaughtering 500+ Children.

    http://s9.postimg.org/72zznaqa7/car465.jpg
    .

    5
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    Mute Jason Doyle
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    Nov 9th 2014, 1:14 PM

    And make a fortune doing it.

    1
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    Mute Declan Noonan
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    Nov 8th 2014, 6:05 PM

    There will be silence from frank on this

    37
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    Mute Ablitive
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    Nov 8th 2014, 9:41 PM

    No . Similar cases of unjust miscarriages of Justice happen all the time in the United States except we do not hear about them.

    # Media Blackout.

    11
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    Mute Mick Jordan
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    Nov 8th 2014, 6:32 PM

    The White House is claiming that they gave the North Korean nothing in return. I find that hard to believe. Obama has already being caught trying to do back door deals with Iran. And I doubt young Kim would roll over and play nice just because Admiral Clapped talked nice to him. Obama as already released terrorists from Gitmo to get the traitor Bergdhal back. So assurances from the Obama White House carry as much weight as smoke on a windy day.

    26
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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Nov 8th 2014, 8:25 PM

    I’m always amazed that Irish people who take sides in internal US politics despite having no friends family or connections to the country, I’ve always found it strange and so do they. My cousins have no opinion on FF v FG and they find it odd when a European takes sides in their politics, esp since for most of them both parties are as bad as each other.

    Anyone who’s been watching North Korea for any length of time knows they use threats of violence to extort aid out of the rest of us. That’s what they do, but they want it done in secret so they won’t have to admit their insane economic system hasn’t worked.
    I’m not aware of them releasing people from Gitmo other than the people who turned out to be innocent , and it was Bush who released most of those, Obama would never release guilty people he’s a spineless wimp when it comes to the GOP he’d never risk giving them an open shot like that. You also should recall if you know a lot about US politics that it’s not just democratic presidents who make those kind of deals, given the Iran Contra affair

    10
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    Mute Mick Jordan
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    Nov 8th 2014, 10:44 PM

    Ryan many of us do have family and friends in the US. Some are even serving in the US military.

    13
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    Mute Freddie Rincon
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    Nov 9th 2014, 4:54 AM

    Some of those released like Bae are right numpties. I have sympathy for the average north korean. Not people who try and break into prisons.

    2
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    Mute Jason Doyle
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    Nov 9th 2014, 1:06 PM

    Are you serious?
    America is a super power.
    There actions have a knock on effect globally, that’s why people have a opinion on what happens in American politics.
    People are interested in who there going to invade next.

    2
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    Mute Matt Byrne
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    Nov 8th 2014, 6:02 PM

    That’s it. Uninstall journal. …

    7
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    Mute Praise Hope
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    Nov 8th 2014, 10:40 PM

    Ah North Korea, athiesm at it’s finest.

    6
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    Mute Ablitive
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    Nov 9th 2014, 1:46 AM

    Can’t be any more atheistic than Western Government.

    # Those that fund and arm Christian murdering head hackers to carry out their proxy warfare in the middle east

    2
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    Mute Matthew Donoghue
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    Nov 8th 2014, 11:13 PM

    that lad doesnt look like hes been through two and a half weeks of hard labour, never mind two and a half years.

    2
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