Secretary’s Report

March – April 2020

FEATURED AND FAVOURITES 3 Secretary’s Report 4 Dorothy’s Stories 6 Mark’s Q & A 8 ANF Out ‘n’ About 12 Florence Nightingale – 200 years 14 Special ANF Fitness Feature 24 Pet Page 26 Recipe Corner 28 Businesses Say Thank You 30 Internet Watch

CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: CLINICAL UPDATES 18 Endometriosis 20 The problem with opioids 22 Alteplase – A medication update 23 Staphylococcus aureus

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Australian Nursing Federation 260 Pier Street, Perth WA 6000 Editor Mark Olson Phone 08 6218 9444 Freecall 1800 199 145 Email editorwesternnurse@anfiuwp.org.au Web anfiuwp.org.au

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State Secretary Mark Olson

The past few months have been the strangest most of us have ever experienced. We have completely changed our lives in such a short time – with nothing seemingly left untouched by the COVID-19 virus. Aside from the weirdness of the pandemic, I also often wonder what weird world our politicians are living in.

This State Government has told us to stop travelling internationally, interstate and even between regions in WA. We’ve also been told to practise social distancing, to completely alter or halt our normal routines, and to generally try to protect ourselves. I agree, emphatically, with all that. Yet this same Government has asked our members to repeatedly risk their lives by caring for diagnosed COVID-19 patients and testing others suspected of having the disease without the appropriate personal protective equipment. The WA Health Department policy enforcing this madness indicates it’s an effort to save PPE for any future outbreak.

But aren’t we at risk of bringing on such an outbreak by putting our frontline health staff at risk of infection because they do not have the right PPE, such as N95 masks? I have repeatedly told the WA Health Minister that this is an unacceptable situation and that I am gravely concerned about whether we have enough PPE to get through any such outbreak or likely "second wave". But I worry our State Government feels or wants to hope that the pandemic has passed for WA. That’s unrealistic. It’s a pandemic. It’s still out there in the world. That means West Australians are still at risk, and will remain so until we have a vaccine or possess, at the very least, a proven medicine or combination of medicines with which to treat this highly infectious and lethal illness.

I know our politicians are human, that they are to a degree, just like all of us, flying by the seat of their pants when guessing and hoping about what will happen next.

They are balancing the advice and projections from the many health experts around them and the available economic data, and are trying to save WA both health-wise and financially. I don’t doubt their intentions. But I question their optimism. I would rather that they be hopeful about, and prepare for, the best outcome, but also prepare for the worst. That way we will be as ready as we can be for a disease that seems to have taken the entire world by surprise.

I am not going to let up about PPE. Our members still contact me daily about their concerns, so I will keep going until our members tell me they have enough PPE or the disease truly evaporates, whichever comes first.