Hospital Virgen de las Nieves in Granada has lost over 30 staff after they became infected at a farewell party of one of their number who was retiring.

This has resulted in five wards having to be closed: two on the 9th floor, two on the sixth floor and one on the fifth floor.

Seventeen patients on the same floor were found to have coranovirus even though they gave negative readings when given a PCR upon being admitted to hospital. This meant that they had picked up the virus within the hospital itself, even though these wards had been desinfected.

The conclusion was that these infections were the result of a recent social event when the staff reported for duty on the 9th floor without realising that they had picked up the virus at the party

While many of the staff at the party were far from happy with their colleagues as they consider that now was not the time for such a retirement party given the pandemic situation. The staff on the 9th floor, however, were convinced that it was not them that had introduced the virus into the hospital… until they gave positive readings on PCR tests.

The tracing work needed is a vast problem because it could involve tracing medical staff in training, medical personnel working with out patients and those that attend to elderly patients in their own homes.

In the meantime there has been another outbreak at the hospital, this time on the fifth floor were there are Covid-19 patients. Five nursing staff have confirmed contagion and three more patients on the 6th floor.

It’s a tremendous headache for hospital management with these 34 cases; doctors and nurses are in quarantine and even those that give negative readings in a mass testing in the building, will have to remain confined for ten days.

The hospital has had to look for staff elsewhere in a question of hours so that it could continue functioning. So far they have twelve nurses and 21 auxilaries.

As of next week planned operations will have to go on the back burner.

The infected staff on the 9th floor put the situation down to disasterous hospital management and a lack of means, refusing to believe that it had anything to do with the retirement dinner. One of their number pointed out that patients are admitted to hospital after the PCR check but before the results are known. Furthermore family members can visit the wards freely with no check on their movements. In short, they believe, that they are being used as scapegoats for this lack of organisation.

(News: Metropolitan Area, Granada, Andalucia)