A group of San Diego nurses and union representatives from the California Nurses Association gathered Tuesday in front of UC San Diego Medical Center to question what they say is a lack of Ebola preparedness at the hospital.
"We believe that the frontline workers, all of the nurses, in particular where patients are likely to present in the emergency room, need to be better prepared," said Terry Bunting, a union labor representative.
The hospital is one of five UC centers in the state that was recently declared a “priority hospital” in treating Ebola-infected patients.
“We are calling on the university to provide rigorous, robust, in-person, interactive training for the nurses, as well as strong protective equipment,” Bunting said.
Nurse Janice Webb said the current protective gear for nurses leaves part of their skin exposed. She’s worried her lack of training could endanger her own life and the public.
“We would like to have the in-person training and have drills,” Webb said. “And the buddy system, which is two nurses — one puts on the gear, the other one checks out to make sure that it’s all intact. We're also asking for highest standard of the personal protective equipment."
UC San Diego Health System officials dispute the nurses’ claims and say they are training a designated team of doctors and nurses.
“UC San Diego Health System is fully prepared to care for any adult patient who is confirmed to have ebola. The hospital has invested in the appropriate personal protective equipment necessary to achieve the highest standard of safety for a select team of personnel who are designated to care for patients with the Ebola virus,” officials stated.
