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CUPE 1999 president Joanne Wilson has an opinon piece in Oct. 29’s Toronto Star about the role of hospital cleaning in the battle against contagion and diseases like SARS.
Wilson, a cleaner at Lakeridge Health Centre in Oshawa points out that cheap cleaning won’t control the spread of superbugs like C. difficile and MRSA.
She writes:
Smitherman
may not be aware of it, but cleaning a hospital is a little different
than cleaning a bank. It’s this obtuse thinking that poses a hazard to
Ontario patients.
For example, to clean a room of a SARS patient,
hospital cleaners had to “terminally” clean the room twice. Each
cleaning takes 85 minutes. The cleaner must put on and take off masks,
gown, and gloves in a specific order. Failure to do this correctly will
mean infection and possibly death.
Who would be willing to do this work for $9 an hour, while placing themselves at risk?
may not be aware of it, but cleaning a hospital is a little different
than cleaning a bank. It’s this obtuse thinking that poses a hazard to
Ontario patients.
For example, to clean a room of a SARS patient,
hospital cleaners had to “terminally” clean the room twice. Each
cleaning takes 85 minutes. The cleaner must put on and take off masks,
gown, and gloves in a specific order. Failure to do this correctly will
mean infection and possibly death.
Who would be willing to do this work for $9 an hour, while placing themselves at risk?