Ten Sunshine Coast University Hospital in isolation after saving the life of Covid-19 patient

Ten quick-thinking and selfless Queensland hospital staff have been forced into 14-day isolation after they rushed to saved the life of a patient with Covid-19 before they were able to put on full PPE.

Ten staff from the Sunshine Coast University Hospital who saved the life of a patient with COVID-19 have been forced into 14-day isolation.

The staff members became casual contacts after the patient, who was moved from the Covid ward to the medical unit, suffered anaphylactic shock.

Staff raced to save the patient’s life, who went into shock due to contrast dye used before an MRI scan on Wednesday, but didn’t have time to put on personal protective equipment.

As a result, they have been forced into a 14-day isolation.

Sunshine Coast University Public Hospital at Birtinya.

Queensland’ Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young praised the actions of the group.

“These staff put themselves in harm’s way to help a patient in need. They put the patient’s welfare before their own,” she said.

“From the information I have, staff were required to act quickly and may not have been able to maintain full infection control while attending to the emergency.

“They absolutely followed the right process.

“Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service has put a range of measures in place and there is no risk to anyone else from this incident.”

Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service acting chief executive Andrew McDonald said the medical emergency staff should be commended.

“Our staff put their lives at risk to provide life-saving treatment to this patient who is thankfully now in a stable condition in the ward,” Mr McDonald said.

He said the 10 staff were placed in quarantine because they were considered to be primary and casual contacts.

“All areas involved in the incident have been COVID cleaned,” he said.

“There is no risk to other patients or staff or to the community.

“Once again, the staff are to be commended for all they did to save this patient’s life.”

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said that what the nurses did was “absolutely astonishing”.

“They are heroes,” she said.

“Right throughout this pandemic we’ve seen that tough times bring out the best in many of us.

“It makes me proud to be a Queenslander.” Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union secretary Beth Mohle said: “This is why it’s so important for there to be two arms to protect health workers, which is vaccinations and adequate PPE.

“In this instance, it seems that the circumstances were as such that they didn’t have the opportunity to actually put on the properly tested and properly fitted PPE.”

Ms Mohle said that the pandemic has highlighted even more so to the general public how dangerous the work is.

“Our members may not be comfortable with the label ‘hero’, but I have to say that the work they do is truly selfless and heroic because they put the needs of others first,” she said.

“It’s a testament to health workers that their job is dangerous work.”