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Survey of UK Health Care First Responders’ Knowledge of Personal Protective Equipment Requirements

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2015

Jan Schumacher ,
Alexandra R. Bond ,
Valentine Woodham ,
Anna Buckingham ,
Francesca Garnham  and
Andrea Brinker
Jan Schumacher*
Affiliation:
Department of Anesthesiology, Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
Alexandra R. Bond
Affiliation:
Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
Valentine Woodham
Affiliation:
Department of Anesthesiology, Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, London, UK
Anna Buckingham
Affiliation:
Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, St Georges Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK
Francesca Garnham
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
Andrea Brinker
Affiliation:
Department of Anesthesiology, Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
*
Correspondence: Jan Schumacher, MD, PhD King’s College London St Thomas’ Campus Department of Anaesthetics Lambeth Palace Rd, London SE1 7EH, UK E-mail: Jan.Schumacher@kcl.ac.uk
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Abstract

Introduction

An adequate level of personal protective equipment (PPE) is necessary when treating patients with highly infectious diseases or those contaminated with hazardous substances.

Methods

Following National Institute for Health Research’s Research Centre (London, United Kingdom) approval, the authors of this study conducted a survey of specialist registrars’ knowledge of the respiratory and skin protection requirements needed during a resuscitation scenario with Advanced Life Support. Participant responses were compared to UK national recommendations and to a previous survey in 2009.

Results

A total of 98 specialist registrars (in Anesthesiology, n=51; in Emergency Medicine (EM), n=21; and in Intensive Care Medicine (ICM) n=26) completed hand-delivered surveys. The best knowledge of PPE requirements (76%) was found for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), with less knowledge about PPE requirements for anthrax, plague, Ebola virus disease (EVD), and smallpox (60%). The results show limited knowledge of PPE requirements (20%-30%) for various chemical warfare agents. Personal protective equipment knowledge regarding treatment of sarin-contaminated casualties was over-rated by 80%, and for patients with EVD, it was over-rated by up to 67% of participants.

Conclusion

The results of the tested cohort indicate that current knowledge regarding PPE for chemical warfare agents remains very limited.

SchumacherJ, BondAR, WoodhamV, BuckinghamA, GarnhamF, BrinkerA. Survey of UK Health Care First Responders’ Knowledge of Personal Protective Equipment Requirements. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2015;30(3):15

Keywords

CBRNEbolaPPEresuscitationsarin
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 30 , Supplement 3 , June 2015 , pp. 254 - 258
Copyright
© World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2015 

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