By NOEL MURPHY
A SUSPECTED Ebola case transported by ambulance to Geelong Hospital last month was a drill, according to Bellarine MP and former Barwon Health chair Lisa Neville.
But Ambulance Employees of Australia has told the Independent it knew nothing of the incident, while a health care professional who photographed the transfer and showed the images to the Independent insisted the incident was not a drill.
“This was only a practice scenario to ensure preparedness – no actual or possible case of Ebola in Geelong,” Ms Neville said.
“I give you 100 per cent guarantee it was a practice run. A practice means some people involved have to believe it’s real.”
Ms Neville’s comments followed the Independent revealing that ambulance officers went into biohazard emergency mode when they transported the suspected Ebola suffererer to Geelong Hospital on 13 March.
The man, recently returned from a cruise-ship tour that took in Africa, had displayed flu-like symptoms, the witness told the Independent on condition of anonymity.
Ambulance crews took biohazard precautions when transferring the patient to hospital.
The private photographs presented to the Independent showed health staff in head-to-toe protective gear wheeling a passenger on a gurney into emergency.
The witness said ambulance officers had adopted biohazard precautions because they were concerned they might have been “at potential risk”, given the patient’s recent travel itinerary.
Barwon Health criticised the 3 April report on social media, saying it “could be misconstrued and create panic in our community unnecessarily”. The Barwon Health comments made no mention of any drill or practice run.
The witness said ambulance officers had adopted biohazard precautions because they were concerned they might have been “at potential risk”, given the patient’s recent travel itinerary.
