More than 400 nursers and other staff members working at the only Ebola treatment clinic in southern Sierra Leone, in Bandajuma, have gone on strike because they have not been getting paid the $100 weekly “hazard payment” they were promised for putting themselves at risk in the clinic since September.
The clinic is run by medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and the charity has said they will be forced to close the clinic if the strike continues. MSF pays for the workers basic salary, but the government was supposed to be paying for the additional risk allowance. MSF’s emergency coordinator in Sierra Leone, Ewald Stars, told the BBC that about 60 patients had been left unattended because of the strike at the clinic in Bandajuma.
“An ambulance has just been turned away with a patient because the workers cannot go into the clinic if allowances are not paid,” a representative of the striking workers, Mohamed Mbawah, said.
Other news:
Two new deaths reported in Mali – Officials announced Wednesday that a sick imam had died from Ebola in the capital, Bamako. A nurse who treated him has also died. It’s been confirmed that these cases were not related to the 2-year-old patient who died. Communications Minister Mahamadou Camara said Wednesday that tests had confirmed the patient and nurse at Clinique Pasteur both had Ebola.
Thomas Eric Duncan’s family settles with Dallas hospital – Duncan’s family took legal matters after his Duncan’s death because he had had been sent home from Texas Presbyterian Hospital after an initial visit, and then returned later, potentially being a case for why he did not survive. A “resolution” has been put in place now concerning the matter.
Nurse strike in California expands to 100,000 nationwide – What started as 20,000 nurses protesting Tuesday will be much bigger today as the National Nurses United takes the protest to 15 states and D.C. over complaints that hospitals are poorly equipped to handle potential Ebola patients. Adding weight to this issue, in a Kaplan survey released today, the majority of 2,200 recent nursing school graduates said they would feel unsafe treating Ebola patients.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Bats involvement with the spread of viruses – Recent research shows that bats can be the source of infectious diseases like SARS and Ebola, as well as lesser-known pathogens like Hendra and Nipah virus. But spillover to humans isn’t necessarily their fault, considering deforestation and hunting.
How HIPAA works with Ebola cases – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has outlined how HIPAA privacy should work when it comes to emergency situations like the Ebola outbreak, should more cases show up in the states.
And now, sometimes it’s good to step away from the harsh reality of this situation and have a brief laugh. Even if it’s just with a two-minute clip from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart:
