April 26, 2003
Not to be sneezed at
The handling of the SARS issue has turned into a comedy show. All this week, there has been confusion over whether a Chinese woman admitted to Waterford Hospital last week was a suspected or a probable sufferer of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. Conflicting information emanating from the Department of Health has confused everybody, and doctors around the country are complaining that they haven't received enough information (or face masks) to deal with the problem. Of course, it doesn't help that the very group of doctors who are charged with managing outbreaks of infectious diseases are on strike over money and conditions. The 300 Public Health doctors would normally be co-ordinating the response to SARS, but clearly feel that their pay claim warrants a continuation of the strike.
The Minister for Health, Michael Martin, under a lot of pressure as it is, blew his top yesterday and accused them of abdicating their responsibility and putting lives at risk. Not so clever (even if true). The Irish Medical Organisation (which represents many doctors in Ireland) are having their annual conference this weekend and, angered by Martin's comments, have decided to support the Public Health doctors - in a manner to be decided today.
However aggrieved doctors feel, the strike, and any escalation thereof, is a mistake at this time. An outbreak of SARS in Ireland has the potential to kill, and even one fatality would be a scandal. And let's face it, doctors are not exactly starving, as a profession.
The comparison with the Foot and Mouth outbreak two years ago is instructive. There was a collective sense of purpose in the country to minimise the problem as quickly as possible. And there was no talk by the vets of using the crisis to extract a pay hike.
And like the summer of 2001, tt goes without saying that we could say goodbye to the tourist industry this year if there are even a few confirmed cases of SARS in the country.
I passed through both Dublin and Heathrow airports on Thursday - apart from a few posters, there was no other references to SARS. I'm not sure what else can be done, unless anyone with a hacking cough is hauled off for testing (apparently, in Singapore, passengers have to pass through infrared detectors to see if their temperature is abnormal). There was one passenger at Heathrow going through security wearing a mask (which just served to alarm everyone else- was she trying to protect herself ... or the rest of us).
Meanwhile, the war against terror continues unabated. The passenger in front of me at Heathrow was taken to one side, and a miniature scissors was confiscated from her bag. As she received a stern lecture, I was comforted by the knowledge that the risk of terrorism by elderly Nigerian nuns using personal grooming equipment had been reduced. Phew!
Posted by Monasette at April 26, 2003 11:21 AM | TrackBack