Funeral Homes Reusing Body Bags & Other Medical Equipments Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
FUNERAL HOMES REUSING BODY BAGS – Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic, funeral directors were forced to reuse “single-use” medical equipment.
As bans on large crowds in addition to other emergency measures had impacted funerals. Along with this, behind-the-scenes staff faces challenges due to a shortage of protective gear.
According to the National Funeral Directors Association of Australia president Nigel Davies, the industry has been forgotten during the pandemic.
He stated that the Federal Government of Australia did not recognize funerals as an essential health care service.
Davies emphasized that new healthcare guidelines amid the pandemic stipulated eye protection, mask, full-body gown, gloves, and leak-free body bags used in the transportation of bodies suspected of having COVID-19.
However, those new guidelines did not account for the equipment used by the funeral home staff. Instead, that equipment was reserved for hospitals and nursing home staff.
We’re already getting requests from places to be wearing PPE (personal protection equipment) that we can’t get because, theoretically, nobody has bothered to notice we’re essential-service workers as yet
The issue is our staff – that spend their entire time going and collecting deceased, some of whom may be infectious, we don’t know – are walking into nursing homes that are in lockdown without necessarily having the adequate equipment
We’re already at the point of trying to re-use things that are theoretically disposable, but if they can be sterilised or re-used in any way, we’re having to do so.
According to an article by Mobile ABC Australia, Davies said there was a huge shortage of leak-proof body bags used in handling bodies confirmed to have died from the coronavirus.
As a result, the bags were deemed “too valuable” to dispose of after a single use.
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