Tygerberg hospital counters claim that staff told to use bleach to sanitise ward
Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town said on Tuesday that it followed provincial health guidelines on decontamination after a cleaner reportedly claimed they were told to use bleach to sanitise a ward where a nurse, who recently died of Covid-19, worked.
Tygerberg Hospital.
IOL reported that the cleaner alleged that they were told to use Jik and other cleaning products to sanitise the J Ground.
This followed the infection and death of nurse Ntombizakithi Ngidi last week.
She is the second nurse to die of Covid-19 in the province after Petronella Benjamin succumbed a day before she was supposed to retire.
Tygerberg Hospital spokesperson Laticia Pienaar said the ward had been decontaminated on Friday, followed by the cleaning of the terminal over the weekend.
“An outside contractor was procured to decontaminate the ward,” she said.
Procedure
“The hospital follows the Western Cape [health department’s] Covid-19 occupational health and safety policy which provides occupational health guidance on the management of Covid-19 among health workers, and it includes guidelines on risk assessment and mitigation, medical surveillance, case management of health workers diagnosed with Covid-19, etc.
“This entails the procedure to follow to decontaminate an identified area and screen and test relevant staff who were in contact with a confirmed case.”
Tuesday marked International Nurses Day, during which Health Minister Zweli Mkhize would, together with his deputy Dr Joe Phaahla and Health MECs, hold a special candlelight ceremony for all nurses in the country.
Tally
The Western Cape’s commemoration was supposed to take place at Tygerberg Hospital.
Nationwide, 206 people have died and 11 350 are infected with Covid-19 as of Tuesday.
The Western Cape has the highest number of positive cases, currently sitting at 53% of the total national cases at 6 105.
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