Retired nurse warns Doncaster hospital over face to face training concerns

But officials say only courses that cannot be done any other way are carried out in person.

Retired nurse Andy Parrott, a former emergency department nurse at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, says former colleagues are concerned about arrangements which see them sharing rooms with other people for some courses despite the coronavirus pandemic.

He said: “At a time when we are again approaching an increase in the numbers of those infected with SARS-COV2 (the virus that causes Covid 19) and increasing hospital admissions, it seems incredible that frontline nurses at DRI are having to attend classroom based training days.

“There is now plenty of evidence that SARS-COV2 is airborne and enclosed environments are a very high risk.

“Clinical staff are already at risk simply from doing their jobs. Placing them in a situation where they could get infected, when there are IT based solutions is unacceptable.”

Mr Parrott retired several months ago after nearly 40 years in nursing, finishing his career as a nurse with an agency which saw him work at the DRI in his home town.

But officials say some trainining cannot be done virtually.

Dr Sam Debbage, deputy director of education and research at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals, said: “In response to the current challenges posed by Covid-19, all training which can be conducted virtually is, and anything that can’t be is conducted with all appropriate guidelines and safeguards in mind.

“Since March, our teams have done a fantastic job in moving the vast majority of learning onto digital platforms. However, there are certain statutory and essential courses, such as resuscitation, which, due to their nature, must be undertaken in person.

"For these courses it remains essential for the safety of our patients and staff that some of the course delivery remains face to face to ensure our staff feel confident and are checked as clinically competent.

"We have worked closely with our Infection Prevention and Control team to ensure that colleagues who engage with these sessions have the appropriate personal protective equipment, stay two metres apart whenever possible and are asked to regularly wash their hands.”

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