This is terribly boring. We bought the masks in the good faith belief that this was the proper p3-masks. Now it turns out that they are confusingly similar, and perceived as counterfeit.
It says the managing director of the University hospital of North-Norway, Anita Schumacher to NRK.
the Managing director of the University hospital of North Norway (UNN) Anita Schumacher.
Photo: Jan Fredrik Frantzen / TREAT
the University hospital of North Norway in Tromsø, norway received 20. march a delivery of several thousand åndedrettsmasker, also called P3-s, provided by a private operator. In anticipation of a product description they took even with what they thought was the manufacturer of the masks.
the Manufacturer they contacted had not made the masks, and could thus not assure the quality of the meshes that were delivered the TREAT.
It was then decided that s should be set aside. Unfortunately, 800 of these delivered out to the staff and taken into use, and it should not have happened.
200 employees tested for koronaviruset
Åndedrettsmaskene is a part of smittevernutstyret which is used among other things in the work with koronasmittede patients. Preliminary tests of the masks shows that they do not have as high filtreringsgrad as ordinary P3 masks.
Schumacher says that the 800 feilutleverte the masks unfortunately are used by employees at a isolatpost by intensivmedisinsk department.
An employee at UNN, carries here a åndedrettsmaske, P3-mask. The image is taken in a different occasion.
Photo: Per-Christian Johansen / TREAT
She estimates that between 150 and 200 employees must be tested for korona and followed up in the time ahead. They are not quarantined.
– It is not possible to put so many people at an intensive care unit in quarantine. If they have symptoms of korona, so they should not be on the job, but we have a tight monitoring of the employees now, which will include repeat testing.
Even if the meshes that are used are likely to be poorer than ordinary masks, there is little reason to believe that the employee has been exposed to the infection.
We do not know how tight the stitches are, and that is why they were put to the side. Proper masks to filter 99,95 per cent, but these we do not know anything about yet.
Schumacher says that the error is not to go beyond the health of the patients who are treated by the employees with the feilproduserte P3-sts.
Several private suppliers
In addition to the traditional national suppliers of equipment to hospitals, has TREAT got the masks from ten private suppliers. Schumacher says that they are glad to get the private offer in a time where the lack of equipment has been a fact.
– Products which have been through the national quality control, should be set aside until they have been quality assured. It has happened to us is not something we had foreseen, but which we now must take the consequence of.
TREAT is promised a new delivery of masks before the holidays.
The feilproduserte the masks are now sent to the Norwegian Defence research establishment, where it is expected an answer to kvalitetstesten no later than this coming Tuesday.
