By EMS1 Staff
NEW SOUTH WALES, Australia — In an effort to protect workers from the H1N1 influenza virus, all members of the Ambulance Service of New South Wales, Australia, are now required to wear face masks while tending to patients.
Signed into effect on Tuesday, the new Standard Operating Procedure mandates all paramedics, patient transport officers, and ambulance volunteers employ protective goggles and masks until respiratory symptoms can be excluded from patient diagnoses.
The measure is designed to maximize staff safety and minimize risk for patients, according to Ambulance Service of NSW chief executive Greg Rochford.
“This virus continues to cause life threatening illness and death in patients belonging to identified vulnerable groups,” Rochford said Tuesday. “The age group most affected by this virus has been the 5- to 51-year-olds … [which] is also the age bracket where the majority of our staff and their family members fit.”
Rochford also noted an increased susceptibility to the virus possessed by pregnant women.
“As part of the overall protective measures being put in place for staff, the Service is developing a range of alternative work locations for pregnant officers, who are deemed to be at risk by their treating doctor,” Rochford said.
While there have already been 3,648 confirmed cases of swine flu in NSW, the peak of the H1N1 outbreak is not expected to arrive until fall.