Clean Queens was called to cleanup after a break in at a suburban chemist over the weekend. This chemist had been broken into twice in the space of a few days.

On his second attempt, the offender sustained a cut to his hand after shattering the glass door, leaving plenty of DNA evidence (blood) behind. Thankfully NSW Police now have him in custody.

There were blood splatters and droplets covering the door, carpets, the cash register, counter and several shelves.  Despite this, the pharmacy owner was completly ignorant of the public health risk this break-in posed to her, the staff and the general public.  This was a clear OH& S issue which could have been solved efficiently.

Yes, I say ‘could have’. 

Secure in her ignorance, this pharmacy owner did not want to pay for the services of Clean Queens. A brand new back-to-base alarm system was installed the day of the 2nd break-in, so cost was not the issue. Forensic cleaning costs are claimable through insurance of victims of crime – unlike the costs for the ’back to base alarm system’.

Not only could we have removed the risk for of cross-infection from blood borne viruses but we could have also removed the resistant finger print dust and Luminol used by police in their job of establishing evidence for a conviction.

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia in conjunction with Guild Group Holdings state on their website:

“Infection from body substances, mainly blood, is a potential risk where a pharmacy offers services such as piercing, blood glucose and cholesterol testing.”

After seeing the amount of blood spatter throughout the shop, across areas of public access as well as where pharmacy medications were stored,  I am shocked and concerned about this pharmacy, which obviously places no priority on the health and safety of the general public and the staff.

We are in the middle of a Federal election campaign and all parties come forward with every dirty little secret.

A cameraman who used a toilet, found an overflowing sharps container with used needles. OK, this is an OH&S issue.

We all visit or use hospitals. Some of us work there and there are occasions in our lives when we have to be in one.

Hospitals are rife with sharps hazards, viruses and bacteria. Either emergency staff were too busy to deal with the bin and the contract cleaners clearly didn’t get to that area.

In hospitals where maintenance of clinical waste and sharps containers are not tended to and areas are not cleaned properly, the staff, patients and the general public are all put at risk of exposure.

There are a lot of important issues there with the election ahead and our health care.