PREPAREDNESS FOR BUSINESSES AND HOMES

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MANAGING ILL EMPLOYEES
12.1
Discovering ill employees in the workplace could mean
healthy employees' refusal to come to the office due to safety concerns.
According to the workplace health and safety regulations in most countries they
would be well within their rights to do so.
12.2
It is imperative therefore to have clear
guidelines in place for dealing with ill employees and these plans must be
communicated effectively to all staff.
12.3
Such plans should include the following:
12.3.1
If a person feels ill, or if someone observes
that another person is ill at work, they are to
contact the Crisis Manager/Influenza Manager or person responsible by telephone as soon as
possible.
12.3.2
Avoid visiting this person if possible - manage
the process over the phone
12.3.3
Check if the employee has any of the symptoms.
Use the ill screening flow chart.
12.3.4
If the ill employee does not have any symptoms like
those listed, they are very unlikely to have influenza, and should be reassured
but advised to call the Influenza Manager again later or to see their doctor if
they are still concerned.
12.3.5
If the ill employee does have symptoms that match
some of those listed, they should be treated as a 'suspect case'. It may be
helpful to have a Sickness at Work Report Form completed, including
details of any staff and/or visitors they have been in contact with.
12.3.6
This information will permit the Influenza
Manager to identify recent movements and monitor well-being during the
pandemic.
12.3.7
The ill employee should be informed where they can
find a face mask and instructed to wear it immediately. This is to help protect
other staff.
12.3.8
The ill employee should leave work and immediately
contact medical assistance. This may involve phoning the person's normal doctor
or nurse, or a specially designated centre to seek further advice. The
employee's manager should be informed that they have left work.
12.3.9
The ill employee, should, if at all possible, avoid
public transport when leaving work.
12.3.10
Ascertain who has the ill staff been in
contact with. Identify contacts (once an employee is suspected to be infected)
and advise contacts in person that they have been in contact with a person
suspected of having influenza
12.3.11
Ask contacts to go home, and stay at home until
advised otherwise.
12.3.12
The ill employee's work station should be cleaned
and disinfected.
12.4
The Influenza Manager will need to set up pandemic response phases system to manage the absence and return to work of the employee and their
contacts. Some issues to consider include:
12.4.1
Advice to the ill employee on how long to stay away
from work.
12.4.2
Decisions on the leave and cover arrangements.
12.4.3
Checking on the ill staff member during his/her
absence from work. This will facilitate treatment, contact tracing, etc., if
they become ill.
12.4.4
Set up a process in the plan for ensuring both
that: the ill employee is healthy before allowing them to return to work; and that
they are encouraged to return to work once they are well.
12.5
Prevention is always better than cure. Encourage
staff to perform a self-illness check before coming to work each day, including
themselves and their families.
12.6
Have a return-to-normal notification tree in
place so that all staff are aware of the all-clear in the office in case some
are waiting to return to work.
12.7
Have Public Relations plans in place and ensure
all staff are aware of the 'line-to-take' in case they are asked by the press
or public to comment on the situation.
12.8
Workplace cleaning. Most modern offices
sub-contract cleaning services, organised either by the businesses themselves
or by the building's management company. If your cleaning services are
sub-contracted or otherwise managed by outside service providers, query their
plans for cleaning and disinfection during a Bird Flu outbreak.
12.9
Study the response to those queries, or if
cleaning services are provided internally, consider the following:
12.9.1
During a pandemic, it is necessary to implement
additional measures to minimise the transmission of the virus through
environmental sources, particularly hard surfaces (e.g. sinks, handles,
railings, objects and counters).
12.9.2
Transmission from contaminated hard surfaces is
unlikely but influenza viruses may live up to two days on such surfaces.
12.9.3
Influenza viruses are inactivated by alcohol and
by chlorine. Cleaning of environmental surfaces with a neutral detergent
followed by a disinfectant solution is recommended. Surfaces that are
frequently touched with hands should be cleaned often, preferably daily.
12.10
Should no additional cleaning services be
available for whatever reason, then refer to the following table to assist in
your own cleaning and disinfecting regime.
12.10.1
Workplace Cleaning Products Disinfectants Recommended use Precautions Sodium hypochlorite: 1000 parts per million of available chlorine, usually
achieved by a 1 in 5 dilution of hospital grade bleach. Disinfection of material contaminated with blood body
fluids. Should be used in well ventilated areas. Protective clothing required while handling and using undiluted bleach. Do not mix with strong acids to avoid release of chlorine gas. Corrosive to metals. Granular chlorine: May be used in place of liquid bleach, if it is
unavailable. Should be used in well ventilated areas. Protective clothing required while handling and using undiluted bleach. Do not mix with strong acids to avoid release of chlorine gas. Corrosive to metals. Alcohol: e.g. Det-Sol 5000 or Diversol, to be diluted as per manufacturer's instructions. e.g. Isopropyl 70%, ethyl alcohol 60%. Smooth metal surfaces tabletops and other surfaces on
which bleach cannot be used. Flammable and toxic. To be used in well ventilated areas. Avoid inhalation. Keep away from heat sources, electrical equipment, flames,and hot surfaces. Allow it to dry completely, particularly when using diathermy, as this can cause diathermy burns.
12.11
When an ill person with suspected influenza is
identified and has left the workplace, it is important that their work area /
office, along with any other known places they have been are thoroughly cleaned
and disinfected.
12.12
Among other things, planning should identify the
basic hygiene practices (including hand hygiene) to be followed by cleaners,
protocols for the use personal protection equipment and methods for waste
disposal.

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*Email addresses are NOT released to any other parties. Please see our privacy statement.
More help? Need a complete solution? Something with all the hard work done for you? Something with customisable templates of procedures, presentations, project timelines and tutorials ... to hand hold you through it all? Then you're looking for our Bird Flu D-I-Y eManual-eBook. It has all of this and much, much more. To learn more about it and get some free stuff click here.
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