Home care and support workers say they’re being provided with food grade gloves that are ripping and splitting on the job, exposing them to urine and faecal matter.
Care workers use gloves to bathe and toilet clients, as well as carry out tasks such as administering suppositories and changing catheter bags. Some workers say the quality of gloves being provided by the Ministry of Health has changed in the last few months, from medical nitrile gloves to vinyl food grade gloves which they say aren’t up to the task.
“Tearing, perished gloves in brand-new boxes… You open a brand new box and see they've got holes and tears in them already,” care worker Karen Phillips said.
“If you put on a glove and you don't know there's a tear in there… I keep getting faecal matter all over my arms.”
Fellow care worker Sheryllee Hancock says the gloves being provided are getting “worse and worse as time goes on”.
“They're loose so you get splash-out from emptying out catheter bags and it runs down the glove.”
E tū union health director Kirsty McCully says she’s heard similar complaints from all over the country.
“This is nationwide. We're hearing from workers from Northland to Invercargill and we believe it’s the decision of the Ministry of Health, ultimately, to supply these gloves to home and community support workers. This needs to change.”
She says care workers are extra anxious given Covid-19 cases are increasingly being cared for at home.
“We could pass something on to them and they could pass something onto us,” Phillips said.
E tū, the Public Service Association and the Home and Community Health Association wrote to the Ministry of Health on November 9 reiterating concerns about the provision of food grade vinyl gloves.
“There are multiple continuing complaints of the gloves ripping … The simple fact is that these gloves pose a serious threat to the safety of the support workers,” the letter read.
“Despite assurances received, we do not accept that the vinyl gloves, currently being supplied, are fit for purpose.”
But a Ministry of Health spokesperson says the gloves are appropriate for personal care.
“Personal care activity can include showering/bathing. However, as previously discussed and communicated with the sector, such work does not always indicate a need for gloves.
“Gloves are only required if there is potential for exposure of the hands to blood and body fluids, mucous membranes, or broken skin. Hand hygiene remains the most important step to prevent infection.”
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield says he’s not aware of any concerns around the use of food grade gloves.
“I’d be surprised because we have an incredibly good supply of gloves in our PPE stores,” he said.
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